Teodor Mihalache (Diverzum): BusinessLeague helped us identify and access brands relevant to Gen Z and our student community

In BusinessLeague, Diverzum is still in the Start-Ups affiliate tier, but they had a very strong Black Friday. The business is still in the Go-To-Market stage for the Romanian market, so there are not many active collaborations yet.

However, among the partners we also promote on the Diverzum platform, Fashion Days delivers the best results.

Fortunately, affiliate marketing appears to be a priority for Diverzum—specifically "a tool with huge potential that we want to explore more deeply through BusinessLeague."

Read the full conversation with Teodor, right before the holidays, below.

What is the most important thing to know for a student hearing about Diverzum for the first time today?

The fact that Diverzum is not just a simple app, but an authentic community dedicated to students. It is a space where they get access to exclusive experiences, benefits, and offers tailored specifically to their needs and lifestyle, at prices adapted to a student budget.

How was the idea behind the app born and what is your business model?

The idea for Diverzum started with our founders, Miki and Fanni, out of a desire to give students across the CEE region access to their favorite brands at fair prices suited to their student status.

Our business model is based on partnerships with relevant brands, offering them direct access to a verified community of students, while the students benefit from real, advantageous deals.

Over 230,000 students use the app. Which countries are they from, and where are you most efficient/profitable?

The Diverzum story began in Hungary, where 3 out of 4 students currently use the app. Our success there allowed our expansion into Romania to be supported 100% by the profit generated in Hungary.

We already have the know-how required to build a similar community in Romania, where there are over 1.5 million students compared to roughly 700,000 in Hungary. Because of this, the foundations for growth are even stronger, and we are very confident in the potential of the local market.

How does BusinessLeague help you grow?

BusinessLeague has helped us identify and access brands relevant to Gen Z and our student community much more easily. The negotiation process is more efficient because each advertiser's profile page already provides clear, structured information.

We want BusinessLeague to become the primary "supplier" of offers that we pass along to the students in the Diverzum community.

Tell us about the stores you currently collaborate with in BusinessLeague. What works well, and where is there still work to do?

We are currently still in the Go-To-Market phase, so we don't have very many active collaborations yet. However, among the partners we also promote on the Diverzum platform, Fashion Days delivers the best results.

That success comes from both how the offer is structured and its relevance to Gen Z, which is reflected in high conversion rates. I believe partners in BusinessLeague should build truly exclusive packages for the audience segments they want to attract. A clear, easy-to-understand offer with immediate impact is the key to success when communicating with Gen Z.

Among the stores you don't collaborate with yet, which ones do you think would be a good match and why?

We constantly look toward potential partners that offer products or experiences relevant to Gen Z. In that sense, we would love to collaborate with brands such as Bookzone, Dr. Max, Answear, Cupio, EvoMag, Flip, and the list goes on.

We try to open discussions with each of them about our business model, though sometimes we run into a lack of response or slower decision-making processes.

How do you view affiliate marketing in terms of potential – both in Romania and abroad?

Without a doubt, affiliate marketing is a tool with huge potential, which we want to explore more deeply through BusinessLeague. I believe it can serve as a gateway to large, established brands that would normally be much harder to approach through traditional cold outreach.

How does affiliate marketing deliver for you compared to other channels?

We have both affiliate marketing partnerships and direct collaborations. Given the expansion stage we are at in Romania, we are very pleased with the conversions generated through affiliate marketing. As a downside, I would mention the rigidity of this channel, since it is more difficult to build fully customized services or offers for a very specific audience segment.

How would you describe BusinessLeague in a single sentence?

The recipe for success, without complex ingredients.

How was 2025 for you overall, and what expectations do you have for next year?

2025 was the year of opportunities. When many development directions open up, there is a temptation to say "YES" to all of them. For us, however, 2025 was the year we learned to say "NO" many times so we could focus our energy and resources on consolidating operational processes in Hungary and building a solid foundation for our expansion into Romania.

We enter 2026 with strong confidence in our product, ready to take on a new market and with a clear focus on growth.