Once Studacom.ng, then HostelsVilla.com and now myPadi.ng
So originally, the HostelsVilla you know today was Studacom.ng which is a portmanteau of Student Accommodation.
Several persons opined that it was cumbersome and not straight to the service we’re rendering.
While some would type studa.com instead of studacom.ng, others would relate what we do as a telecommunication service like Vodacom, Globacom, etc
Of course, customers always win.
So we changed to HostelsVilla
PS: Pro-Studacom still frown at this move till date.
So we got a .com version of it and so we were happy
Alas we now have a name that spells the service more
In the midst of the excitement, we discovered that people tend to omit the “S” when they pronounce or even spell
I presume most of us have been a victim severally
This wouldn’t have been a problem if we had not discovered that HostelVilla.com is registered too doing a similar service in India
Trust me, that threw us off balance
So, if you are still curious as to why we are changing the name again, you just got a reason.
Another reason for this change is as a result of us having broader view of what the brand could actually evolve into.
So for lots of reasons, we’ve seen that we could venture into helping students in other areas.
No doubt, all the above analysed doesn’t really count, but for a majority including myself, it does.
SO we needed a name that is simple to pronounce, easy to remember, one that doesn’t limit us, et al
PS 1: I can see Pro-Studacom saying, “I told you”.
After several back and forth brainstorming, we finally settled for MyPadi.ng
Think of MyPadi.ng as that platform (friend) who is just a click away that will students get an affordable off-campus hostel.
MyPadi.ng is still the friend who’ll help students get a suitable roommates while in school.
MyPadi.ng will also be a click away to making life easier in other related services we might look at in the future.
Aside the change of the name, we’re working on an improved version of the platform primarily to provide 360 degree critical information on hostels we put online among others.
We’re improving on the UI/UX which is fully optimized for our target audience.
Though we still have an Under Construction page on Mypadi.ng, we’re set to roll out the Version 2 pretty soon!
To us, we just got started. We’re about getting some more fuel which of-course will help us do all the cool stuffs we’ve always nursed.
In the meantime, kindly take a ride with us as we save Nigerian students from every corner of the country the hurdles and pain of walking around and going through billboards, newspaper, and other unverified portals to search for off-campus hostels and roommates as we integrate the whole long process of searching, contacting owners, booking hostels and roommates into one safe & secured, free-to-use and hassle-free platform.
For me, Its been a long day and so before my eyes gets tucked in, let me quickly assert that I have been terrible in branding.
If you’re a wannabe entrepreneur reading this, please take this seriously.
But each time I think of how terrible some decisions have been, I only smile and say, “It can only get better”.
