Earlier this month, the Brock School of Business announced its 2024-25 Samford Startup Cohort. From Christian apparel to college bed lofts, each student will have the opportunity to learn more about marketing strategies, entrepreneurship and gain access to mentors.
One cohort member, Alex Dickey, a junior accounting major, is changing the dorm storage game and providing Samford students with an easier solution for packing up for the summer. After witnessing several challenges students faced — particularly moving and storing summer belongings, especially for out-of-state students — he created DormVault, a storage program for Samford students.
“The catalyst for DormVault came to me when I saw the thousands of parents and students on campus during move-in weekend, along with the traffic and headaches that arose from the process,” Dickey said.
Dickey was inspired to join the cohort because of the diversity of student-led businesses around campus. He was thrilled to see the passion that drove fellow entrepreneurs to start their businesses and experience the program alongside him.
Dickey hopes to impact Birmingham at large with DormVault. Not only does he hope to alleviate the pressure on students and their families, but he also aims to create jobs for high school and college students.
“I have worked for a moving company before, but my reason for choosing the moving and storage industry was to fulfill a specific need here at Samford University, as there aren’t any other moving or storage companies that specifically serve the Samford student body,” Dickey said.
The Samford Startup program helps to enable those with a business mindset who are hoping to grow their businesses. This year marks its 10th anniversary, and it will soon be accepting applications for Spring 2025.
As for building a business from the ground up, Dickey has a few words of advice:
“Just start. Remember, it won’t be perfect from the get-go. A person who learns from their failures will always progress further than someone who never begins due to fear of what could go wrong.”
You can check out DormVault by visiting their website at dormvaultstorage.com.
Staff Writer
