Ryan Blum is the co-founder and CEO of Study Abroad Apartments. Study Abroad Apartments acts as a third party intermediary between American students studying abroad and international housing providers. University students are able to rent apartments for as little as a few weeks to several months. It also offers a roommate matching service and a brand ambassador program for college students. Brand ambassadors have the opportunity to earn money for themselves and discounts for the people they refer.
Blum started the company his senior year after coming back from studying abroad in Barcelona and encountering inefficiencies with housing. He cofounded the company with Brett Newman, now president of Study Abroad Apartments, who graduated from Ohio State University in 2014. They realized there is an untapped market in housing for students studying abroad. In 2014 alone, the number of students that studied abroad and the amount of money spent on temporary international housing increased by 2.5%. Since 2013, their “goal has been to offer students and programs the best selection of apartments with reliable service.” Blum and Newman now travel the world to personally approve each property before offering it with Study Abroad Apartments.
Study Abroad Apartments just opened its second office in Manhattan, its first in Barcelona. The Manhattan office serves as the Study Abroad Apartments headquarters. The company currently has over 2,250 apartments in ten major European cities as well as Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ryan Blum graduated from the Whitman School in 2014. He received a B.S. in Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises.
More information can be found at www.studyabroadapartments.com
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