By Dave DeFusco
When Brighton Mukundwi began his M.S. in Data Analytics and Visualization at the Katz School of Science and Health, he was thinking about a challenge many university students face every day: how to support themselves while balancing classes and living expenses. Tuition, rent, food and transportation add up quickly, and student loans only increase the pressure. While many students are interested in entrepreneurship, starting a business usually requires money, inventory and risk鈥攖hings most students don鈥檛 have.
At the same time, Mukundwi noticed another problem. Companies that sell popular products often struggle to reach college campuses. Traditional advertising can be expensive and ineffective, and it doesn鈥檛 reflect how students actually discover new products. Students tend to trust recommendations from friends, classmates, teammates and group chats far more than online ads.
Mukundwi saw opportunity in this gap. College campuses are dense, highly connected communities filled with strong social networks. These networks already influence buying decisions, but they are informal and unorganized. His project, Leveraging Social Networks for Commerce: A Campus Affiliate Marketplace Platform, aims to turn these everyday connections into a structured system that benefits both students and suppliers.
A pilot project that he designed, called Stitch Affiliate, is a campus-focused online marketplace where students would sell trending products and earn a commission on each sale. Unlike traditional businesses, students don鈥檛 buy products upfront, manage inventory or handle payments, and there isn鈥檛 financial risk or startup cost. Stitch would simply formalize peer-to-peer selling that already happens on campus.
鈥淪tudents need financial opportunities, and suppliers need campus access,鈥 said Mukundwi. 鈥淪titch connects the two using networks that already exist.鈥
The platform is envisioned with simplicity in mind. Students would sign up through a mobile app or mobile-friendly website. Once registered, they could browse a catalog of trending products selected by the platform. Each product would come with a unique affiliate link tied to the student. Affiliates then would share these links with friends through social media, messaging apps or in person. When someone made a purchase through that link, the student would earn a commission. Stitch would take care of everything else, including order processing, payments, fulfillment and commission tracking. For the student, the process would be clear and easy: browse, share, earn.
Behind this simple experience is a strong technical system. Stitch would use a cloud-based backend to manage product listings, transactions, payments and commissions. The platform would be mobile-first, designed for smartphones since that is how students interact online. Every transaction would be recorded in real time and sent through a data pipeline that feeds into an analytics engine.
This data is central to Mukundwi鈥檚 vision. Each purchase would add to a real-time database showing what products students want, when demand rises and which items perform best on campus. Over time, this data is expected to reveal emerging trends, seasonal spikes and underserved niches.
For suppliers, this transaction data becomes valuable market intelligence. Instead of guessing what students want or spending heavily on ads, suppliers can see real demand and adjust their offerings. In the future, Stitch could offer advanced analytics tools such as trend reports and targeted promotions.
鈥淐ampuses are ideal starting points for this type of marketplace,鈥 said Mukundwi. 鈥淯niversities are tightly connected communities where trust is built in. Students naturally share products through dorms, clubs, sports teams and friend groups. This trust lowers marketing costs and leads to faster feedback, making campuses perfect testing grounds for new products.鈥
Stitch would create value for both sides. Product distributors would gain instant access to hundreds of student micro-influencers without hiring sales teams or paying for ads. Students, meanwhile, would gain more than just commissions. They'd get early access to trending products, exclusive offers and the chance to earn higher commissions and bonuses as top performers. Each affiliate also would build a verified sales profile that tracks performance and rankings.
Looking ahead, Mukundwi envisions expanding Stitch to universities worldwide, integrating with global supply chains and developing advanced analytics products. Over time, the platform could grow beyond campuses into a broader demand network that connects communities everywhere.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using data, technology and trust to create opportunity,鈥 said Mukundwi, 鈥渨hile helping students earn a living and giving suppliers a smarter way to reach their audience.鈥
