Marco Nardone is the CEO and Founder of the new student social networking site Unii.com. We talk to him about making the freshers experience easier with the aid of this new social platform to integrate newcomers into university life.
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Why is the fear of not knowing anyone the biggest anxiety when starting out at uni?
When starting university you face the tough decision to leave all close friends and family behind. By doing so, you’ll need 'start again' on building new relationships - something that many young people wouldn't have had to do since they started school. The fear of these relationships failing to take off means not knowing anyone at university becomes an intimidating prospect.
Why is being away from home often more daunting than exciting?
Leaving home is often more daunting than exciting, as students are normally moving away from home or living independently for the first time. Everything is completely new, and again, it’s the fear of the unknown. Moving into a new home, making new friends and starting a new course means the whole package can seem like a life-changing hurdle to overcome. When students actually arrive at their university this fear quickly dissolves, but the build-up beforehand is often the most difficult part of the experience.
Why can making new friends be difficult at university?
Making new friends can be difficult if the people you meet in the first few days aren’t those you wouldn’t normally make an immediate connection with. It’s often the case that you don’t find likeminded people until well into Fresher’s Week, as there is such a broad mix of personalities under one roof. Unii.com aims to help people find others with similar interests before term even starts, giving them a head start on the process and hopefully some confidence too.
What were your biggest fears when going to uni and how did you overcome them?
University is like stepping into a “brave new world”- you have to manage finances that you’ve never even considered before. You live, study and party with people you’ve never met before and, most importantly, you’re responsible for your own success in whatever you attempt to do.
Like other students I was initially worried about all of these new experiences, but I just threw myself headfirst into the mix and found myself enjoying every minute of it.
Please tell us about founding Unii.com.
I noticed a gap in the market for an 'all-in-one' student platform. After being at university myself, I realised there wasn’t a dedicated website that encompassed everything a student needs to guide them through the university experience. Additionally people my age were getting fed up with the larger, impersonal social networks such as Facebook, offering an ideal opportunity to bridge the gap in the market with a closed network that offered a niche, tailored experience to its user.
What can students do to reduce homesickness?
Homesickness often occurs from overthinking about what you’ve left behind, rather than the brilliant things on your doorstep right now. By throwing yourself into social activities, it keeps your mind off thinking about home too much and is a perfect way to meet new people and embrace the university experience.
Finding those opportunities to talk to as many students in your first few weeks will mean you’ll have just as much fun with your new friends and enable you to stop worrying about those you’ve left behind.
Why is networking so important at University?
Networking is vital when thinking about that age old saying of 'treat everyone as you would hope to be treated yourself’. Be respectful and mindful of everyone you meet - you never know how these relationships could evolve and how influential these people could be in the future, particularly when searching for a job after graduation.
Why do you feel that success in your studies ranks behind the social aspect of things to worry about?
When you first go to university, it’s the simple 'life changes' that can have the most impact, such as living independently and making new friends. It’s the social aspects that are involved in these changes that are crucial to people either enjoying themselves for three or four years or being miserable. So it’s vital to get these right first before the course kicks off and deadlines start looming!
Marco’s history:
Recognising a need for online privacy amongst the student community, London based Marco, set up Unii.com to offer a site geared towards enhancing the university experience. The closed network acts as a place where any student in higher education in the UK can register to enjoy all the benefits of connecting with other students, while also keeping up with campus life and exclusive job alerts.
Despite having a physics degree from Imperial College, Marco spent the early part of his career as a trader for Credit Suisse. An entrepreneur at heart, he began to plough his part-time work savings into the stock market whilst still studying. This experience quickly paid off and by the age of 20, he was trading successfully and making up to 25 trades a day resulting in large profits, and increasing returns from companies like fashion website ASOS.
Marco takes his inspiration from other successful entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, but it is his own father who started one of the UK’s top wine companies (Enotria Wines) who continues to be his number one mentor.
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