Launching a new startup is hard. Getting users is even harder. But getting 600+ downloads in just 12 hours without spending a single rupee on ads or PR?
That’s what we achieved with StayZ — a student housing platform built by students, for students.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through:
🧠 Our growth strategy
🔍 SEO + organic tactics
🚫 Why we skipped paid ads
🤝 Real learnings from Gen Z traction
💡 What Is StayZ?
StayZ is a modern student housing and PG discovery app — think Tinder for PGs, where you swipe to discover hostels and book in 1 tap.
We help students:
Find verified PGs/hostels around colleges
Chat with owners
Book instantly
Join local events & get perks (free food, parties, etc.)
Now let’s get to the spicy part — how we exploded in 12 hours.
🧩 Our Strategy to Hit 600+ Installs Organically
- 🎯 Targeted WhatsApp Campaigns We created personalized messages like:
“🎉 Congrats on your Galgotias admission! Download StayZ — your university buddy! 📱"
Then:
Shared them in admission groups
Added campus memes
Asked people to follow our Insta @staywithstayz
Result? 🚀 Viral among students.
- 🧵 Micro-Influencer Push (Zero Budget) We DM’d:
Campus creators
PG owners
Freshers with big WhatsApp groups
Gave them early access. They loved it. Some even posted us for free.
- 🕸️ On-Point SEO + Quora + Reddit We posted answers to questions like:
"How to find PG in Greater Noida?"
"Affordable hostels near Galgotias?"
Always ended with:
“Check out StayZ — built by students like you. It’s free!”
Bonus: We used free backlink sites to get indexed quickly.
- 🎉 Emotional + Meme Marketing We posted on Instagram and Dev.to with messages like:
“Hostel life mein thoda comfort, thoda pyaar zaroori hota hai... ❤️”
If your boyfriend can’t treat you like a princess, StayZ will 👑
Worked like magic. People shared. Girls booked.
👨💻 The Tech Stack (For Fellow Devs)
Frontend: React Native + Tailwind
Backend: Node.js, MongoDB
SEO: Ghost Blog, Quora, Reddit, backlinks
Analytics: Mixpanel, Firebase
Hosting: Ubuntu VPS
📈 Our Growth So Far
🔥 600+ downloads in 12 hours
💬 10+ direct bookings
💰 ₹59,500 in first-day revenue
❤️ 180+ early users across 3 colleges
All without paid marketing.
🧠 Final Thoughts
We’re just getting started — and the dream is big. From one hostel to thousands, from one city to all of India.
If you're building a startup and don’t have funding, remember:
You don't need ₹1 Lakh ads.
You need good friends, good memes, and student problems to solve.
Thanks to everyone supporting us. Join our journey.
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