Photo of Alp Niksarli winner of the fall 2024 Avinger Impact Fund

Alp Niksarli ‘27 Tackles Dutch Housing Crisis with Avinger Impact Fund Award

The Hurt Hub@Davidson is pleased to announce Alp Niksarli ’27 as the fall 2024 recipient of the Avinger Impact Fund award. Alp Niksarli and his co-founder Cagan Oflazoglu’s startup, GrotN, aims to revolutionize how students and young professionals find housing in the Netherlands and beyond through an innovative roommate-matching platform.

A Solution Born from Experience

Born from personal experience and technical expertise, GrotN addresses a critical need in the European housing market. With average home prices in the Netherlands reaching €452,000—more than ten times the median salary—and rental waitlists stretching up to 19 years, the housing crisis has reached unprecedented levels. The situation is particularly dire for international students, who often arrive without local connections or housing support beyond their first year.

“This challenge became clear through my co-founder Cagan’s experience as an international student in Amsterdam,” explains Niksarli. “We detected many others struggling to find housing, risking their academic or professional dreams. Being a part of this community sparked our determination to create a solution.” The team’s initial community-building efforts through WhatsApp and a Discord bot prototype quickly attracted over 300 members, demonstrating the urgent need for their platform. The severity of this housing crisis is underscored by alarming statistics from the Better Business Bureau: more than 5 million people have lost money to rental scams, and 43% of online shoppers have encountered fraudulent listings. With scams so prevalent, anyone searching online for rental housing faces a significant risk of encountering deceptive listings.

GrotN brings together the strengths of both founders. Niksarli contributes his technical expertise, having won awards at national hackathons including HopHacks, VandyHacks, and HackHarvard. He also earned the Nisbet Venture Fund people’s choice award. Cagan brings his experience in project management and an extensive network in the international student community. The platform uses this combined expertise to match potential roommates effectively. It considers factors like lifestyle preferences, hobbies, personality traits, and budgets. Through this approach, GrotN creates safer and more efficient paths to shared housing.

Building for the Future

The Avinger Impact Fund, established in honor of Robert L. Avinger, Jr. ’60, former Davidson professor of Economics (1967-1980), provides microgrants up to $7,000 to Davidson student entrepreneurs. These grants, combined with mentorship and guidance from The Hurt Hub@Davidson, have proven to be catalytic in the early stages of venture development.

With the Avinger Impact Fund award, GrotN plans to develop its platform’s backend and frontend, integrate security measures, and implement payment solutions. The team has already completed user interface/user experience design work and created a successful proof of concept through a Discord bot (an automated software application that can interact with users, respond to commands, and perform various functions within the Discord messaging platform). Their growing network includes partnerships with established real estate agencies and connections to student associations like the Study Association of Economics and Business at the University of Amsterdam and Tulip Ventures.

“What makes GrotN particularly compelling is its potential to grow beyond its initial target market in Amsterdam – housing crises are pervasive across many global markets, including here in Greater Charlotte,” noted Liz Brigham, W. Spencer Mitchem Executive Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “It’s exactly the kind of innovative and humanistic thinking we aim to support through the Avinger Impact Fund.”

As the Dutch government works toward building 100,000 new homes by 2030, GrotN’s approach could help maximize the efficiency of existing housing options while providing immediate relief to international students and young professionals seeking safe, affordable housing solutions.

Join the Pioneer Community

Be among the first to experience GrotN! They welcome early adopters from around the world to help shape the future of their platform. Join their pioneer community and sign up for early access testing at https://www.grotn.com. Your feedback will be invaluable in refining and perfecting the experience.

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