In the annals of higher education, few things can feel quite as adventurous as the search for your own personal fortress of solitude.
Ideally, your college apartment should be a personal haven, a symbol of both respite and budding independence.
For the unfortunate, however, it also could be the accursed abode where you meet your version of Ed from “Shaun of the Dead.” Yikes.
It’s an issue that one startup with a Reno connection hopes to address when it launches this summer. The idea behind CampusCribz is to leverage technology to provide a better experience for folks looking for housing near campus, said chief marketing officer Joel Burke.
Traditionally, finding an apartment or house to rent involved driving around or looking at postings on Craigslist, Burke said. Roommate choices, meanwhile, often involve two extremes, limiting you to people you already know or folks you have never met before, he added.
For its part, CampusCribz attempts to be a one-stop shop by providing more options for users through its online portal.
“If you’re looking for a house and just need one room, (CampusCribz) can help you with that,” Burke said. “If you want roommates, CampusCribz lets you upload their profiles from social media so you can see if they’re party animals or quiet students and what their majors are.”
Prospective roommates can even form groups through the site to share their housing finds with each other to help reach consensus. Other features include the ability to make rent payments through CampusCribz, set up cleaning services prior to moving out and even subletting your apartment to someone else when you’re away. The site will offer deals such as discounts for services as well.
“What we really do is simplify the process and make things a little bit easier for students,” Burke said. “We try to put everything in one place.”
The service, however, is not limited to students. Whether you’re a teacher or simply a person who wants to find housing near campus, you’re free to use the site, Burke said.
The site will provide service for cities nationwide once it launches, which is quite fitting given the company’s staffing arrangement. CampusCribz’s six-man team is actually spread out among four cities — Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Reno and New York — making its operations the perfect example of how technology has changed the way business can be done.
“We do daily Skype calls and work remotely,” Burke said. “It’s actually worked out really well.”
CampusCribz also serves as Exhibit A for folks looking to start their own bootstrapped operation. This means lots of long hours and sacrifices to get things off the ground. Burke, for example, works 60 hours per week between CampusCribz and his other job at the Nevada Small Business Development Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Responsibility also feels heavier when you know a company’s very survival rides on your efforts as opposed to working at a regular job and simply collecting a paycheck.
“However much work you think a startup will take, the real work is probably going to be double that,” Burke said. “If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’re going to be burned out quickly.”
At the same time, working for a startup is also one the most exciting experiences he’s ever had, Burke said. The experience you gain from working on a new company and being involved in its initial growth is invaluable, according to Burke.
The same can be said about working in Reno as the city starts to develop a startup community of its own. Burke said all Northern Nevada needs is that extra push for its innovative spirit to truly take off.
“What I would really love to see is for Reno to have a full-blown accelerator,” Burke said. “We have incubators and that new Reno Accelerator Fund, but we don’t have a real accelerator that stacks up to a Y Combinator or Techstars. But I also think the momentum we’re getting in town for startups is fantastic.”
THREE TIPS
Advice for prospective entrepreneurs from Joel Burke of CampusCribz.
• Be passionate: However much work you think a startup will take, the real work is probably going to be double that. If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’re going to be burned out quickly.
• Have a plan: Plan your business strategy as much as you can. Even if you don’t follow it to the letter, it will still help you figure out what needs to be done and how to deal with potential problems should they happen.
• Know your customers: Just because you like something doesn’t mean other people will. You might have what you think is the greatest product since sliced bread, but it won’t work out if there isn’t a market for it.
ON THE WEB
CampusCribz is planning for a July launch date in order to serve students looking for a place before the start of the fall semester. You can visit it online at www.campuscribz.com.