HUGS

Hassle-Free Housing for Internationals: Fast & Secure. No SSN. No Credit Score!

Problem

International students face major obstacles in obtaining housing in the US

Every year 70% of International Students that come to study in the U.S. are unable to secure off-campus housing

International students face these issues by lacking a credit score 

60% cite the lack of ssn as an issue in securing housing. Without a credit score or social security number to generate a credit score international students have no way of proving how qualified they are as potential tenants. 

Solution
Help International Students and Landlords better understand one another 

HUGS is building the future of International Student Housing by being one of a kind. 

1️⃣   International students create an account on the HUGS website.
2️⃣   Students upload their documents and are calculated a HUGS Score!
3️⃣   Students can now secure housing and browse worry free - all this can be done before they even step foot into the U.S.!

HUGS is here to innovate. The HUGS advantage:

✅  No Credit Score / SSN Required

✅  Secure housing before arrival to the U.S.

✅  Turnkey solutions to find a new place

✅  Access to large tenant pool

✅  Ability to qualify a tenant

Business Model

Why HUGS works

Our Proprietary Rating System

The Market Opportunity

✅  Market Share: There are no leading companies in this space.

✅  Go to Market: Target the 11 - 17k international students coming to San Diego, then target nationwide aiming for the 1.1M international students that are in the U.S.

✅  Market Opportunity: In California alone, we are looking at over $177,000,000 with nationwide sitting at about $747,000,000.

The Competition

In our current market, international students have few options when searching for housing, all of which require them to have either a social security number or a credit score.

Key Milestones

HUGS' Initial Success

The HUGS vision

What's next for HUGS

OUR FOUNDER'S STORY

How Carl created HUGS

THE TEAM

"When Life Gives You Lemons - Make Lemonade." - Elbert Hubbart

This is one of the best quotes that sums up our humble beginning and encapsulates what HUGS does. All of our foundational members came together through a bond and sympathy for the issue. Just hear how some of our founding members were inspired to join.

Akash Atapattu - CTO
"I first met Carl and heard about HUGS through the USD Fowler Business competition. As an international student who has had many friends struggle to find housing in the US, Carl's idea immediately struck me as a necessary solution to a nationally prevalent problem. When I learned that HUGS needed help with engineering in January of 2021, I immediately joined the team to build the future of student housing."

Russell Leong - COO
"When I met Carl during my previous role at a startup, I immediately connected over our shared background as international students, and our mutual passion for entrepreneurship. HUGS’s mission deeply resonated with me and I jumped at the opportunity to leverage my operations background to create a better environment for other international students here in the US."

What Do People Say About Us?

“On Nov. 15, a problem-solving idea generated by Dumesle and d’Amours resulted in an entrepreneurial victory. The inaugural $45,000 Fowler Business Concept Challenge (FBCC) hosted by the equally new Entrepreneurship and innovation Catalyzer in the USD School of Business awarded the duo’s idea, Housing for Undergraduates and Graduate Students (HUGS), as the top prize winner of $15,000 in scholarship money, both increasing awareness of the issue and working toward a solution.” - USD News Center, 2019