A New Sublease on Life

Farley student Bella Le Sage shares how Farley courses, staff, and resources supported her journey from student athlete to full-time startup founder

When Bella Le Sage (’25) came to Northwestern to play volleyball, she envisioned herself working with a team, honing her problem-solving skills, and making a name for herself as a leader. However, when a summer housing headache converged with a Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation class assignment, she was reminded these skills are applicable to more than just her athletic career. 

Now a senior majoring in economics with minors in entrepreneurship and business institutions, Le Sage is the founder of hostU, a startup helping college students navigate the tricky world of subletting and subleasing off-campus housing. Born from a Farley class and driven by a passion for problem-solving, hostU has grown from brass tacks into a fully-fledged venture that’s raised two rounds of funding. And with summer — the startup’s busiest season — right around the corner, Le Sage is all in. 

In a conversation, Le Sage shared some key insights from her time taking Farley courses and shaping her startup. 

What motivated you to take classes in entrepreneurship? 

I'd heard good things about Farley's ENTREP 225: Principles of Entrepreneurship class with Neal Sales-Griffin, so I took the course. The class completely changed my outlook on everything and taught me the basics of entrepreneurship. It taught me how to get hostU running and off the ground. After the course, Neal was really encouraging and told me to keep going with the startup. 

What does entrepreneurial thinking mean to you? 

Entrepreneurial thinking is about obsessing over a problem and having the guts to solve it. It’s the belief in a solution, in the problem’s importance, and, most critically, in yourself. To me, it’s a mindset grounded in creativity, curiosity, and the confidence to question the standard path. It means being open to evolve, take risks, and adapt — even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.  

At Farley, that mindset is everywhere, and it’s shaped how I’ve built hostU from the ground up. 

What was a memorable moment from a Farley class? 

In my first Farley class, we were asked to build a scrappy prototype of our idea, no matter how unfinished. It was the first time I stopped planning and actually started building. That moment of putting something out into the world set the tone for how I approached hostU from then on. 

How was your startup, hostU, conceived? 

In the first week of Neal’s class, he had everyone come with a business model that addressed a problem that people were facing. At the same time, I was trying to find housing for the summer since I would be on campus for summer training. I thought the best way was just to text GroupMe group chats and Facebook groups.  

I had friends doing internships and getting these amazing opportunities in other cities yet having this huge barrier in finding a place to do the experience. Even the financial aspect of being able to capitalize on their space while they were away was an issue. 

I framed my startup by thinking about how we fix this problem that people are experiencing, versus just how we can make money on it. That set the building blocks for how we built the business: we're focused on enabling student mobility, helping students find affordable places to live or sublet their place to be able to earn cash to be able to make the most out of their college years. 

How did Farley help you shape hostU? 

Having the flexibility in the classroom to make assignments applicable to hostU was great. We were able to do classwork and homework assignments that were relevant to what we were building.  

Also, I learned the core principles of entrepreneurship. I built team building and leadership skills, and maybe most importantly I built confidence in my own abilities. Walking away from Northwestern it’s clear to me that the most impactful learnings in the classroom have come out of Farley classes.   

What skills did you learn from Farley that you have implemented in your startup? 

There's a very academic approach to the principles of building a company in the way they teach it at Farley. There's an emphasis on testing. The ability to do rapid testing has been a huge part of building hostU, and it’s one I would not have emphasized as much before taking Farley classes. There's also an aspect of getting to the edge of learning in your core area along with a general curiosity, learning about other businesses and emphasizing a wide range of business understanding. 

hostU just finished its second round of fundraising. What’s next for you and hostU? 

I had a big decision to make in the Fall. I had a great opportunity to join Goldman Sachs in their private equity and secondaries group. It’s an incredible and prestigious group, and on paper, it was my goal when I set foot on campus four years ago.  

That said, the path that Farley put me on empowered me to continue building hostU after graduation. I'm all in. I've been eating, sleeping, breathing it for this past year, and I'm so excited to be doing it without school and other distractions.  

With that, we’re expanding our AI capabilities and preparing for a third round of fundraising this summer. We’re also building out our team in New York and actively looking for high-achieving Northwestern graduates across product, tech, sales, and marketing. 

What message would you like to share with Farley students? 

Don’t wait to be "ready." Start before you have all the answers. At Northwestern, especially as a Farley student, you have an incredible network and access to alumni, faculty, and peers who genuinely want to help you succeed. You’re given the resources to solve almost any problem. You just have to start building.  

Everyone has the ability to do this. Take advantage of the ecosystem around you. Trust that momentum beats perfection, and trust your instincts. There’s no one better than you to solve the problem you’re tackling.