Marshall graduate starts buying, selling website

When Peony Sun, a class of 2015 Marshall School of Business graduate, asked her father how he felt about her being an entrepreneur, he said that he was in support as long as she was helping others.

Sun recognized this opportunity to help others while assisting her friend and fellow Marshall graduate, Sonya Chen’s, move last year.

“She couldn’t sell her apartment on the apartment lease group on Facebook or Craigslist,” Sun said.

The two students struggled to find someone to take over the lease, eventually locating a subleaser on a Chinese student association website. But, the process led them to realize that most of their success was due to luck and many students struggle with similar circumstances.

That is why Sun and Chen came up with the idea for Liradius or “Live in Radius,” a website dedicated to helping college students buy and sell items online.

“Our initial idea was that if you wanted to go to a place that is totally strange to you, then you could instantly find friends, furniture, apartments and even the most popular events at the place,” Sun said. “You’re adapting instantly.”

The name of the website is reflective of the goal that Sun has for students – to find everything they need within the “radius” of their university. The website also allows students to give and receive help within their own community of students.

The website functions like a hybrid of Craigslist and Freecycle.org, where students can post their items and apartments for sale or even give them away for free to other college students in their area.

“There’s a huge market for free stuff by international students,” Sun said. “When temporary visas expire [international students] have to get out fast — often throwing furniture pieces away instead of dealing with the hassle of putting it up on eBay or Craigslist.”

Currently on the website, desk lamps are one of the most common free items while bookshelves are selling for $15 with the option of having them delivered. In addition, Sun hopes to help students find a better way to sell their textbooks.

“You wouldn’t want to sell a book on Craigslist,” Sun said. “Nobody wants it except for college students. That’s the good thing about Liradius, having a ‘student-only’ environment. You get to know people and sell stuff faster.”

Networking and building friendships is another distinguishing factor that separates Liradius from other selling platforms. Sun emphasized the importance of helping students build social connections after realizing the difficulties international and exchange students face with making social connections when entering a new school.

“We figured, if you can trade your things on eBay, why not trade with your colleagues? That way you can get to know more people and build connections,” Sun said.

Sun believes that Facebook and other social networking sites, though updated with the latest events, are often exclusive to those who are “in the know” and require invitations that international and exchange students may not have access to when they first arrive to a new area. In addition, websites such as eBay charge people to sell their items, which is something that Sun does not agree with.

“Our primary goal is to serve all college students,” she said. “That means we are not going to charge them for transaction fees or membership costs.”

If the site succeeds, the team’s profit would mainly come from ad revenue.

In addition to Chen and Sun, three more USC graduates from the Marshall School and the School of Architecture have been part of creating the website. The five co-founders are united in their mission to create a website that can help all students.

“Despite all difficulties… and failures, what keeps our team together is our shared objective,” Sun said. “Our desire is to help enhance students’ college experiences through our platform by solving their problems or fulfilling needs. Our company will always prioritize the interests of college students and will not become a commercial tool solely for financial returns.”

The website is currently available at liradius.com with a full launch planned for August.