Unifying the student market, powering campus economies
Trusted by UK-leading brands, agencies and Students’ Unions
A LOOK BACK IN TIME
Our story
In the Summer of 2015, while enjoying their summer break from studying at Sussex University, our founders Nick and Dean found themselves asking the same questions, repeatedly. “What student events are happening in Brighton?”, “How can we find out what’s on tonight?” On learning that this was a shared frustration for students across the UK, they set out to create a single automated marketplace for on-campus experiences. native was born.
Since then, we’ve continued to unify the fragmented student market, releasing revenue to improve the student experience. Because we believe every student deserves to feel part of an engaging campus culture.
2013
Nick starts a new chapter of his life at University. Worried about the challenges surrounding making new friends, and struggling to navigate hundreds of events across multiple platforms, Nick has a brainwave.
2014
To bring his idea to life, Nick enters a uni startup competition… and wins! Armed with £2,500, Nick starts drafting the master plans for native 1.0 from his bedroom.
2016
native 1.0 launches, and student events are centralised! Securing further investment enables Nick to work on native full time after graduation. Shortly after, disaster strikes! The threat of being sued by a retail tycoon forces Nick to rebrand to native.
2019
native as we know it today is born. After realising the problem we’re trying to solve is much bigger than event discovery, we pivot to begin unifying the fragmented student market. After getting conned by a fake investor, Nick successfully raises a seed round to fund the new business.
2020
In March, Covid hits. Another curve ball, but we bounce back and pivot to enable student engagement in the virtual world. The outcome is a HUGE program of virtual content that 40+ universities across the UK tap into.
2021
Freshers is back… kind of. With a hybrid return to campus, a new team at native are on hand to help Students’ Unions welcome new and returning students with a bang. Our first media partnerships are formed, and we connect brands with students via SU media!
2022
Fast forward to the present day. We have over 70 employees and 75+ SU partners. By streamlining the student advertising landscape, we’ve removed the friction for great content to enter campus and have 100+ brand partners on our roster. We’ve hit a student reach of 1.6M and ultimately, it’s these students who benefit from a better university experience!
STATS
native in numbers
”We’re proud to be driving positive change in the student landscape, unifying the market to benefit both students and organisations.”
Nick Musto
CEO and Founder
The native network
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Our values
We deliver for students
We genuinely care about every student, always striving to do what’s right for them, and approaching our work with unwavering passion.
We are building the ecosystem
Our ambition is to create a thriving, interconnected environment where everyone benefits – students, Students Unions, and brands.
We never stand still
We’re committed to continuous evolution and relentless improvement. We’re inquisitive, bold and driven; we’re always moving forward and never settle for “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
We have freedom with accountability
Our belief is in empowering our people to make decisions based on best information, ensuring they have the freedom to act confidently and responsibly.
We lift everyone up
