Four weeks ago, four undergraduates saw the culmination of months of planning and labor when they launched DormSnacks.com, an enterprise that delivers food and dorm necessities to students' doors - but only after making sure that the business wasn't violating University rules about student-run businesses.
The business, which delivers food and goods ordered on the Web to Brown dorms, features about 500 different items. Since the Web site was launched four weeks ago, business has been going well, planners say.
"The level of interest has been really great," said Robby Klaber '07, adding that he thinks "students realize the service they are getting." He said all of the orders have gone smoothly so far, noting that all the deliveries have occurred on time.
Klaber joined with Kevin Dickson '07, Chris Bennett '07 and Matt Bornstein '07 to create the business, which has been a long time in the making.
Dickson came up with the concept of delivering food and other goods to students. The idea, he said, developed out of frustration with the overpricing at many area convenience stores and over the difficulty of lugging groceries back to his dorm on cold days. "(The business) is a service I thought a lot of students could benefit from," Dickson said.
To operate its enterprise on campus, the group had to comply with University policies on student-run businesses. According to the Student Activities Office Web site, the University's tax-exempt status "can be jeopardized when individuals in the campus community operate a business enterprise on University premises." Dickson said one of the first things the group did was meet with SAO administrators to discuss how to comply with University policy.
Phil O'Hara, assistant director of student activities, met with the group. Though he supported the idea, he said he wanted to make sure that it conformed to University policy. "You want to find a way to do it within the guidelines," O'Hara said.
Student enterprises have been shut down in the past for violating University policy. Earlier this fall, University administrators halted the sale of Ethernet cables made by members of Tech House. According to Richard Bova, director of residential life, Tech House's sale was cut short because it had not registered its enterprise with Brown Student Agencies.
Obligating enterprises to register with BSA is a matter of protecting students, Bova said. He said if a student bought a product from an unregistered enterprise, he or she would have no recourse against that enterprise if the product were faulty.
Enterprises are restricted from using Brown's Ethernet network system, which is considered a University facility. The owners of DormSnacks.com operate their site outside the Brown network.
Another stipulation that DormSnacks.com had to contend with is that students who act as "commercial agents" cannot use Brown's facilities, including residence halls, for the purpose of doing business. So, to circumvent this regulation, instead of delivering goods directly to students' doors, the company asks people to pick up their deliveries outside of their residence halls.
Currently, the group is looking to expand to offer delivery services to the RISD campus, which Klaber called "a really good niche" for the business.
Klaber hopes there is staying power for the business. "Ideally, it would be great if it continues on past graduation," he said.
Starting the business required an enormous investment of time for all the founders of the company. Dickson estimated that all of the undergraduates have put several hundred hours of work into the business. He believes the end result will be worth it and said that he would do it again if given the choice.
