It’s Trojan Family Weekend on campus and we’re spotlighting our next Fresh Encounter from Cohort 11!

Anantika Mannby comes to IYA already experienced in conceptualizing, creating, and launching a social, online marketplace called Treffa! She spent countless hours and sleepless nights bringing her startup to life and now she’s at the Academy ready to learn, create, and collaborate. She also has a ginormous Husky-Malamute menace for a pup. Welcome Mannby to the Trojan Family by learning more about her below! 

Tell us a little bit about your journey to IYA. What were you looking for in an undergraduate program?

Software provides the twenty-first century with the unique ability to democratize all aspects of life from healthcare to education, and I am fascinated by the possibilities of such system-redefining change. To fully understand such change requires an interdisciplinary education, such as the one offered by IYA. I believe both entrepreneurship and impactful innovation require an interdisciplinary understanding of society, technology, design, innovation, business and entrepreneurship. 

When I first started Treffa, a social marketplace working to democratize online retail, I was working alone. I spent two years on a journey from customer concept validation and whiteboard designs, to Figma prototypes, to coding. It wasn't until I met a friend in the IYA program that I realized I could and should build a team. She joined as our first designer, and inspired me to reach out to others. Practically overnight I was leading a team of roughly 20 people who helped successfully onboard thousands of users in a matter of months. She revealed to me a community that would allow me to grow my startup while being surrounded by inspirational peers and a curriculum that would let me pursue my interests. From being a client for USC’s InnoD design agency to collaborating with many students in the IYA program, I knew then IYA and its creative community was where I needed to be.

What are you most looking forward to at IYA?

The community. To be at the center of USC’s innovative community in the center of the most creative city in the world–I can’t imagine anywhere else to be learning about and creating the future. 

What are three goals you want to accomplish during your time at IYA and/or USC?

Let’s say you were miraculously provided $1,000,000 in seed funding tomorrow. What would you create?

If I had $1,000,000 in seed funding I would put it into my startup, Treffa. A social-media for shopping advice, Treffa empowers users to both make shopping requests and make money helping others. Whether it's “Where can I buy my dream wedding dress,” “What are the best hiking boots for the Pacific Northwest,” or “What makeup products would best match my features”: the Treffa community has every shopper covered by providing them both advice and directly linking products. Treffa creates a world where shopping is social, personalized, and easy. I launched Treffa a year ago, since then it has grown to have over 40,000 users. With $1,000,000, I would increase our current marketing budget of $0, expand our team, and continue to bring a democratized and personalized shopping experience to the world.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

I have spent nearly three years building Treffa. Instead of going to college right away, I began to push a boulder up a hill. Endless hours spent typing away in my room to the sound of rattling server fans, countless UI re-designs, bug fixes, marketing strategies…made three years of work often feel Sisyphean. While this was a boulder I chose to push, I wondered if I would ever have a functioning app, find users, and even more ambitiously, find users who would pay to use the service I was providing.

Then, on a random summer day, months after launching, the first-ever user paid. A ten-dollar sign of faith seemed to instantly validate three years of my life. “SOMEONE USED IT, MOM! SOME RANDOM PERSON I'LL NEVER KNOW USED IT, MOM!” I ran around my house screaming. 

Describe one thing most people don’t know about you.

I have a 90 pound Husky-Malamute mix that is both the biggest menace and the cutest dog on the planet. 

What is one thing a significant person in your life taught you that you’d like to share?

My mom is my role model. She has taught me that kindness and confidence go hand in hand and that there should never be one without the other. 

fashion-loving, passionate, people-person

What is your favorite app/website and why?

My notes app has seen the inside of my brain–my little safe space on my phone.

If you could be any kitchen appliance, what would you be and why? 

A tea pot because I love tea and cannot start a day without a homemade cup of chai.

What do you like to do/watch/read during your downtime?

In my downtime I love to read and write, especially creative non-fiction. My favorite book is Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger.

Kindness and creativity. I think these are the two most important and beautiful things in life & they fuel me.

What do you consider the most impactful invention in history and why?

The Internet. While there are many extremely impactful inventions in history, the internet (and such surrounding inventions) has completely changed our generation. The global Interconnectedness of our generation is incredible & I am deeply interested in understanding the sociology of our digital world.

What would the title of your autobiography be?

FRESH Encounters: Anantika Mannby

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