When Gabe Huntsman was making the transition from high school to college, he found that there was a lack of tools to help students connect with other students. Huntsman decided to fill this gap by founding Afuse, a social networking startup with an app facilitating connections between incoming college students.
Every year, 2.2 million students take the leap from high school into college. This transition is one of the biggest moments of a person’s life, Huntsman said, and it can be a nerve-racking experience.
“I hope that we can help students find connections that can last a lifetime, and start those initial college experiences and memories off on the right foot,” Huntsman said.
Huntsman initially launched the mission of Afuse by creating Instagram profiles targeted at incoming students for specific colleges; students could submit posts featuring images and an introduction to help them meet soon-to-be peers. Huntsman still operates these profiles, but they primarily serve to direct viewers to Afuse’s app.
On the Afuse app, a student can choose the specific college they’re planning to attend, and then set up a profile by posting photos, writing an introduction and answering questions to help others get to know them. Once they’ve set up their profiles, students can browse other incoming students’ profiles and find people to connect with.
Afuse uses a freemium model to monetize the app. Afuse is free to use for all users, but students are limited in how many connection requests they can send per day. If users wish to connect with more students, they can either purchase a package of connection requests, which start at $4.99, or become a monthly subscriber for $6.99 per month, which grants them unlimited daily connection requests and access to other premium features.
Solving the current connection problems
There are many Instagram accounts that attempt to connect incoming college students by allowing them to submit posts, but these accounts have issues, Huntsman said. Afuse sets itself apart by addressing those issues.
One example is that the existence of multiple accounts for one college can create confusion for students and make attempting to connect with peers ineffective. Students may have to submit a post introducing themselves to five different accounts to ensure they are seen by as many people as possible. Afuse ensures that students only have to create and share a profile once, and that they can also browse other students’ profiles through one platform rather than having to navigate between different Instagram accounts.
Additionally, these Instagram accounts commonly post profiles of students who are not actually attending the school in question, Huntsman said. Afuse works to verify that users are actually attending the college they are posting a profile to.
Once students submit to an Instagram account for incoming students, they are not able to edit their profile. Afuse, however, is completely controlled by the student user, and they can edit their profile to add or remove information at any time.
At its core, Afuse seeks to foster genuine connections that will last throughout college, Huntsman said. The app is designed to facilitate these long-lasting relationships rather than purely interactions or likes.
“A lot of other social media apps aren’t really focused on genuineness, they are really just focused on likes or shares,” Huntsman said. “We’re really trying to create those connections that are true connections, not just something superficial.”
Reaching more colleges and more users
Afuse recently won first place and a $9K prize in North Carolina State University’s VenturePack Challenge. Huntsman himself won the 2024 John and Linda Leazar Award in Entrepreneurship, which recognizes North Carolina State University students with initiative and commitment to entrepreneurial success.
Winning these grants and awards has not only enabled Hunstman to continue to develop and market Afuse, he said, but has also helped him build connections and find advisors to support Afuse’s future.
This summer, Afuse will take part in North Carolina State University’s Andrews Launch Accelerator.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Afuse
Founder: Gabe Huntsman
Founded: 2022
Team size: 4
Location: Raleigh
Website: afuse.app
Funding: Bootstrapped + non-dilutive funding
Although Afuse started with the goal of fostering connections between incoming college students, Huntsman is actively working to retain users after they have made the transition to college. Current college students using Afuse can discuss clubs, talk about internships and provide advice to incoming freshmen, among other topics.
Afuse currently supports profiles for 25 colleges and has 6,000 active users, and Huntsman said the startup is working to expand in both categories.
“We’re focusing on just consistently making the app better through always learning more about our users and thinking of the best ways we can cater to those users.”
