The Gryphon chats to OBrien Alaribe, founder of SLOCO.co.uk, a brand new website for Leeds students to find out about campus events, nights out and how to make the most of their university experience.

Talk me through Sloco, what is it?

 

Because it’s university focused, through Sloco you can find out what students are doing, where they’re going, and what’s happening in the union. It keeps information among students, whereas Facebook is information from your friends somewhere which is not relevant to your university life. So the application is providing a platform for university students to share information amongst themselves on campus and between Leeds universities as well. It also gives you information about tickets and student nights on a daily basis.

 

Was there a particular moment when you had the idea or saw a need for this?

 

Initially I had a similar idea to this in second year, when I was living in Eldon Court, and they didn’t have a Facebook page for us to share information so I created one. So when I went on placement I learnt how to develop applications, and I was involved in a startup from which I learnt business. Then in September I decided to write the programme myself, build the application, get people to use it, get some feedback from students and get ready to launch it.

 

Is there an app as well?

 

Currently the mobile version is not available because I’m providing the online product so I can test it amongst students, see how they’re going to use it. Then with time it can grow, and I can develop the mobile application.

 

How do you see Sloco fitting in alongside Facebook, Twitter and YikYak what makes it different?

 

Facebook has become a media platform; people don’t use it for information anymore they just go on it to watch funny videos and pictures. Hardly anyone ever posts these days. There is nothing to tell students what’s happening on campus, students have to go on specific groups to get that information. Sloco tries to create a platform for students to actually share their university experiences, especially when you’re a fresher and new to the city. With something like Sloco you can see second and third years going, ‘This is the best place for students, this is where everyone is actually going’. Also with events you can see which of your friends have actually bought tickets. Stuff like YikYak is mobile and its nice for students because you can post anonymously, but when you want to take that interaction to the next stage its harder because you can have some weirdos on there.

 

Whats your vision for the future, how can you see Sloco expanding?

 

I see Sloco over the next few years developing in to a student-focused application with everything that students need. Things that students actually like, things that you wouldn’t get on the platform of a bigger application. It can also inform companies who want to know what students want. For example Dominoes, who come to the union every fresher’s week and give out free pizza. Sloco follows student patterns, so a few years ago students wanted selfie sticks and I can give that information to companies so if they’re coming to this union and say ‘this is what students actually want’. What students want changes every month, and you need an application that actually captures that trend.

 

Hows the concept been received, what kind of feedback have you got?

 

Very good feedback actually. When I present the application I say, ‘Imagine how you would find out where people are going to go tonight. Where would you go to find this information?’ Or ‘do you know whats happening in the Union today?’ When you present the problem like that people respond ‘Ah, thats actually true. There’s nothing that actually tells me this information.’ Then I present Sloco and tell them, ‘Look, this is what can help you find information like this. Sloco’s good in this way, it can add value to your life in this way.’ Of course I always get people to sign up as well you know.

 

How did you come up with the name?

 

So initially Sloco was meant to be a ticket information platform. I wanted to build a website for students to get information about tickets and events, and initially it was called Night Info. I started thinking about what makes Night Info unique from other ticket sites, and after I spoke to a few ticket providers, and realised it was the student target audience. I thought ok Night Info or Sloco, and it was actually my mum who said ‘Yeah I’m not sure about Night Info but Sloco, I like that. It sounds catchy’. I thought that made sense so its Student Life Only Comes Once.

 

What have you found the hardest, whats been the biggest challenge in creating Sloco? Have you had much support from the University?

 

This is the first application I’ve done and building something on this scale is massive. Every single day I programme for at least eight hours. The idea has been around for a year or so, and initially I outsourced it to a company in India but they couldn’t do the project because of how big it was. I wasted a grand on that. Then I got another guy who is more experienced than me to develop the application, but because its not his applications he wasn’t as dedicated. So in September I decided to learn to develop the application myself; I signed up to tutorials online and I did everything myself. The marketing is actually the easy part when you have a working product that speaks for itself.

So there’s a Spark business plan completion and I applied to that, but I haven’t heard from them yet. I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it but University is such a big place. Whenever I go to someone they always forward me to someone else for help. Its difficult finding a single place on campus to get information or someone who can actually help you move your product forward; you have to do the work yourself. Enterprise is there to help, but they don’t give you exactly what you need to grow or to move your product forward. Its something they said they’re working on but at the moment the University haven’t been the most help.

 

Is there anything you’d like to add?

 

I just want to tell everyone to use Sloco. Obviously the more people who use the application the more people will get from it. When there’s a lot of students on the application, that’s when you can actually see the scale of it. The more people who comment on the application the more value it will have to student lives.

Image courtesy of Jack Roberts

Rachel King