This 22-Year-Old College Student’s Platform Is Making It Easier For Brands To Hire User-Generated Content Creators – AfroTech

Quitting isn’t an option for college student and founder Elijah Khasabo.

The 22-year-old is currently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, studying marketing. His ambition is evident beyond his studies, as he is also a co-founder of Vidovo, a platform that makes it easy for brands to connect with and hire user-generated content (UGC) creators and influencers, according to its website. The platform also improves the content creator experience for its growing network, which will have access to hundreds of brands after onboarding.

On LinkedIn, Khasabo shared that he had just $19.12 to his name when he launched Vidovo at age 19 from his bedroom just over two years ago.

Vidovo has been bootstrapped, and it was built without any connections. Khasabo wanted to quit various times, but credits his mother for instilling his spirit of perseverance.

“It didn’t matter that I had nothing. I had the drive, and honestly that was enough to start. It made sense on paper, brands were sick of paying for content that didn’t work, and creators deserved a platform that actually helped them grow,” he shared on LinkedIn.

“Bootstrapping has tested everything, patience, confidence, even sanity some days, but it’s made me who I am. I don’t think I’d have the discipline or edge I do now without it. It’s truly forced me to grow up fast. There were days I wanted to quit — like seriously,” he added. “But I kept going because I didn’t have anything else, and deep down, I knew this could work if I just gave it my all. A huge part of that came from watching my mom. She never quit on us, no matter how tough things got. Single mom, working multiple jobs, still showed up every day. She’s been my biggest inspiration since DAY ONE. If she could keep pushing, so could I.”