Campus Diaries
Building creative ecosystems across the youth community and giving them a platform to express.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
$220k | Seed | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Founded in 2012 by Sumit Saurav, Raj Chourasia, and Sonic Prabhudesai, Campus Diaries emerged from Saurav's personal experience of being rejected by his college magazine, which inspired him to create a platform for student self-expression. Based in Bengaluru, India, the company established itself as an online social publishing platform targeted at the student community in schools, colleges, and universities. The platform was designed for users to publish creative content, share stories, collaborate on projects, and participate in competitions. It also served as a source for information on campus events and workshops.
The core of the business was to provide a space for students to showcase their talents and connect with peers across different campuses. This was intended to foster a sense of community beyond institutional rivalries. The founders, Sumit Saurav and Raj Chourasia, both graduates of Manipal Institute of Technology, aimed to evolve the platform from simple storytelling to a comprehensive talent and creative portfolio hub using mixed media like videos, pictures, text, and audio. The company's business model appeared to focus on becoming a channel for brands and businesses to connect with the youth demographic. To further its reach, Campus Diaries also launched a crowd-sourced print magazine called 'Unmagazine', which was circulated across college campuses in up to 18 cities.
Financially, Campus Diaries secured a total of $359,000 in funding over three seed rounds. The first round occurred in July 2013, followed by another in March 2014, and the latest round in March 2016 raised $220,000. This latest funding was led by investors Ravi Mantha and Siddarth Pai and included participation from Aarin Capital. The capital was intended to further develop the technology platform and expand its role in a student's lifecycle, from admissions to employment. Despite its initial traction and funding, information from Tracxn indicates that Campus Diaries is now a deadpooled company.
Keywords: student community, creative content platform, student collaboration, college networking, youth media, campus stories, student talent showcase, online publishing, peer-to-peer network, student expression, Unmagazine, Bengaluru startup, Sumit Saurav, Raj Chourasia, student opportunities, creative portfolio, college events, youth engagement, student life, digital media