StartUp Lab Story: Shrey Kantaria and Studental

By Alex Kinsella

Unused benefits — from massages to physiotherapy and others — are a source of financial waste for employees and employers. But these unused benefits aren't only a problem in the workforce. Students attending post-secondary institutions often end the school year with unused health benefits like dental care. It's a problem that founder Shrey Kantaria is working to solve with Studental.

Identifying the problem with unused student health benefits

Kantaria graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2021 with a degree in digital media and business management. During his time studying, it became clear to him that many benefits come with being a student, from a public transit pass to fitness facilities and meal plans.

Kantaria noticed that many of his friends and roommates were unaware of all the benefits offered — including healthcare benefits. As president of Laurier's Association of Indian Students, Kantaria saw first-hand that many international students often paid for benefits they didn't know they had access to.

"It wasn't very easy to find out what these insurance benefits were, how to use them, and what they entail. You had to do your due diligence to figure it out," Kantaria said.

Kantaria said this problem could be tackled but needed to figure out the best way to solve it. He let the idea sit as he continued his studies until a job posting on Indeed inspired him.

The role was a general marketer who could distribute flyers for a dental clinic near the university campus in the summer season. It reminded Kantaria of the problem he identified with students not knowing how to use their benefits.

"These clinics rely on students as patients — but many of these students come and go every four months. It makes sense for these clinics to need some kind of marketing campaign to help engage students and get them through the door," Kantaria said.

Rather than posting flyers, Kantaria believed that more could and should be done to promote student health and wellness within the student community while also working with dental clinics to educate and encourage students about their dental benefits. After taking various Social Entrepreneurship courses, Kantaria found himself to be a firm believer in finding innovative solutions that create positive impacts.

Helping students use their benefits

When students don't use their insurance benefits, there is no reimbursement to them or their guardians when these benefits expire at the end of the school year. He said that many post-secondary institutions offer great insurance benefits, but providers need to do a better job educating students on the benefits and how to use them.

"That's where I had the idea for Studental where what we do is educate students about their insurance benefits, and more so their dental benefits and what that entails," Kantaria said.

Studental focuses on dental benefits because it is often one of the primary insurance benefits offered to students. He said oral care is often an overlooked area for students. He added that part of the Studental brand is promoting overall health and wellness for students.

"People assume dental care is only about your teeth, but it can also impact how you speak, your self-confidence, even how you smile," Kantaria said.

Studental works with dental clinics to offer discounts to students who book through the Studental platform. Kantaria said that a common problem for many students is not understanding how to use their benefits with a dental clinic.

He gave an example of a student whose insurance benefits cover 70% of a dental checkup and cleaning. After paying for the service at the clinic and submitting the receipt and claim through an app, the student would still have to wait up to one to two weeks to receive the 30% they are due.

Rather than making students submit a claim, Studental works with clinics to offer a direct billing system. Students only need to bring their student ID for their appointment at any of the Studental-affiliated dental clinics once they book an appointment through Studental. While that simplifies using their benefits, Studental is going one step further.

"Rather than the 70% coverage, we ensure that students are 100% fully covered for a dental checkup and cleaning. We also provide them with a complimentary whitening kit or electric toothbrush. It's extremely fulfilling to see the difference that we are making within the student community, at times we come across a student in their final year of studies that, for every year before had no idea that they had been paying for unused dental coverage," Kantaria said.

With his education in social entrepreneurship, Kantaria is using Studental to help mitigate the financial vulnerability in the student community. Studental works with dental clinics in cities with large student populations to help identify ways they can better engage with and provide services for students.

"The clinics we work with have to meet our Student Engagement Criteria, we also work with clinics that go above and beyond for the student demographic. Some clinics allow students to come in groups, others offer incentives for students. One offers VR goggles to help mitigate dental anxiety," Kantaria said.

Building the business with StartUp Lab 

Venture founders at StartUp Lab are often Laurier students or alumni. For Kantaria, his exposure to StartUp Lab started while he was still in high school. During his grade 12 year, he said he remembered learning about StartUp Lab in a presentation by a Laurier ambassador.

"I specifically remember choosing Laurier because one of the things that they offered was StartUp Lab. I thought this is such a cool idea to have this unique program with mentorship and resources at a university where entrepreneurship and innovation are encouraged and supported to bring ideas to life," Kantaria said.

He added that StartUp Lab mentors helped with many of the foundational business tasks entrepreneurs need to do to bring a new business to market. He credited Neal Belovay, Co-founder, PicThrive, for helping with the social entrepreneurship components of Studental along with Jason Whalen, Manager StartUp Lab, and Adrian Krebs, Program Lead, StartUp Lab, who have been supportive in offering guidance and mentorship throughout Kantaria's entrepreneurial journey.

"I always look forward to the meetings with my mentors because they provide a different perspective on what can be improved, what can be changed, and playing around with different ideas. These mentors have their own background and it's really interesting to hear what they have gone through and their own experiences," Kantaria said.

Coming into StartUp Lab, Kantaria recognized where he wanted to take Studental in the long term.

"The mentors gave me a clearer vision of the steps that I need to take to reach my goals, some of these were processes I didn't account for at first, however; big changes were made that led to results," Kantaria said. "From tracking financials to refining the sales process, if there was anything specific like legal advice or sales training, they would have an internal connection in the StartUp Lab program who could help."

Beyond the mentorship, Kantaria believes that being in an environment where self-reflection is encouraged has been an effective practice encouraged by StartUp Lab.

"The mentors are very patient and knowledgeable; you can tell they genuinely want the best for you and to see your organization succeed," Kantaria added.

Additionally, Kantaria said the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs in the process, at various workshops or social/networking events, has added to the experience with regards to being a part of a community where new perspectives and ideas come to life.

Want to get involved? Ask us how at startuplab@wlu.ca.