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The Fast Company Guide To The Pivot

How Chegg Found A Textbook Rental Goldmine In A College Classifieds Haystack
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How Chegg Found A Textbook Rental Goldmine In A College Classifieds Haystack

Chegg rents a million textbooks a year and employs 150 people. But it was originally Cheggpost.com, a service providing free classified ads to college students. Choosing among categories like computers, electronics, furniture, housing, and textbooks, students posted ads for everything from bicycles to free kung fu lessons to want ads for a "hamster sitter." But it was the buying and selling of textbooks that was the most popular feature of the site. Profitability was hampered by the seasonality of college life, however, with traffic heaviest at the beginnings and ends of semesters.

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