Niesh was started for students, by students. Now it’s helping 1,000’s of students live an affordable life so they can focus on their education.

In 2015, James Koo (CEO) and Jae Yoo (Director) dropped out of university with a dream to transform the NZ education experience. 3 years later, the two co-founders are now leading New Zealand’s fastest growing student community.
 
It all began during the 2015 second-semester exams when Jae was faced with a decision. With $10 left in his bank account, Jae had to choose between printing out his exam material or his next meal.
 
With the belief that money should not be a barrier between students and education, the two co-founders created a free printing service where local businesses could choose to sponsor students’ printing. The word of the free printing service quickly started spreading among the student population, and the company began growing exponentially.
 
James Koo says “When we saw the student community grow past the 10,000 mark, we realized that we were in a privileged position to bring more positive impact to the student experience. That’s when we decided to launch the Niesh app.”
 
The Niesh app is a platform that allows businesses to connect with their target student audience. “When we saw how many businesses were eager to sponsor the students’ printing, we knew there was a need for a platform to connect businesses to students” says Jae. 
 
The Niesh app was launched in March 2017, and was ranked No.1 on the iOS app store and No.3 on the Google playstore during O’Week 2018.
 
“Our solution is unique because students come onto the Niesh platform for the single purpose of connecting with our brand partners.” says James. “Many brands turn to Facebook and Instagram to reach out to students with their communications. But students are on those platforms to have fun. To watch memes & videos. When students come to Niesh, their only focus is connecting with our brand partners.”
 
As the nation’s largest student community, Niesh now works with over 100 businesses including household brands such as Burger King, NZ Breakers, and STA Travel. “If a business has students as customers or employees, we can help them solve their problems” says James.
 
The young company has received several recognitions including NZ Business of the Year from Network NZ, and Winners of the ecentre Innovation Showcase, a Grow North Innovation District event.  https://www.niesh.co.nz
​If your business is based in the Grow North Innovation District, invests in R&D, has a growing customer base, and you would like your business to be featured here, contact Kel Marsh, kel@grownorth.co.nz

The Niesh Team. left to right 
Front row: Jin Lee, James Koo (Co-Founder/CEO), Jae Yoo (Co-Founder)
Back row: Joyce Wong, Eddie Chae, Dominic Kim, William Kim, Michael Chen