Kevin Freeman | Lariat photographer
Kevin Freeman | Lariat photographer
By Brooks Whitehurst
Lariat Reporter
Campus Bike
At college campuses across the nation, thousands of bikes get discarded each year due to abandonment and disrepair.
“Getting across campus is a problem,” said Jonathan Permetti, CEO of Campus Bike. “We think that bike sharing can meet what we think is a desperate student need.”
The need is the ability to get across campus quickly without having to worry about maintaining or losing your bike, said Permetti and T.J. Gawalis, COO of Campus Bike.
Students can purchase a membership to Campus Bike and after registering themselves with the company’s app, the lock on any one of the bikes will unlock with their smartphone. Currently, Campus Bike is in the process of running a student pilot program with around 10 bikes, all which have the same combination lock and code and about 20 people.
The team said so far, they’ve had 100 percent approval.
“The premise is for it to be as cheap as possible,” Gawalis said. “It’s unlockable through a smartphone. On the back of the bike a cable comes out and you just lock it up.”
Campus Bike hopes to pitch the idea to Baylor in the spring and aims to have bikes all over campus by fall 2015 at no cost to Baylor.
The team said they hope students will get behind the idea because of the convenience it offers.
For more information on Campus Bike, email Jonathan@campusbike.org.
Dapper Bear
With visions of plaid, Waco senior and entrepreneur Jackson Wren is forging new ground in the Baylor apparel market.
“We create high-end, classy Baylor Apparel,” said Wren, who is the chief executive officer of Dapper Bear Clothiers. “Our main goal is to tangibly give back to Baylor by helping to create a buzz about what is going on here.”
Dapper Bear is the developer and sole licensed retailer of what is known as “official Baylor plaid.”
The product was developed with first lady Alice Starr during the company’s startup with Accelerated Ventures, which began fall 2013.
“By far, I learned more building this business than through any other part of being at Baylor,” Wren said.
Over the course of Accelerated Ventures, Dapper Bear was very successful, Wren said.
“The Baylor Angel Network provided the initial $5,000 to start the company for 10 percent equity in the company,” Wren said. “By the middle of February we had turned a profit and grew by two to three times as much by the end of May.”
Dapper Bear Clothiers has products in Roots Boutique, the Baylor Bookstore, the McLane Stadium shop, Zooty’s in Salado, and their online store, dapperbearclothiers.com.
“Baylor has helped develop us and our business in so many ways,” Wren said. “In five years I would hope that Dapper Bear is a staple clothing company at Baylor.”
Sic’em Delivery
For Baylor alumni and co-founders of Sic’em Delivery, Jake Dahms and Tyler Bull, what started out as a temporary means to make money after college two years ago has now become a full fledged business.
Re-emerging in August as Baylor and Waco’s self proclaimed “delivery service for everything,” after a summer-long break, Sic’em Delivery is back on the scene hoping to make life for students and Wacoans easier, one delivery at a time.
“We knew we couldn’t go out and get full-fledged careers,” Dahms said. “We needed a way to make a little money before training, and we had this delivery idea.”
Sic’em Delivery takes orders seven days a week for food and other goods through their website, text, and phone call, with a 30-45 minute guarantee on delivery time.
Hours are 7 a.m.-1 a.m. on Sun.- Wed. and 7 a.m.- 3 a.m. on Thurs.-Sat.
Prices for delivery start at $3 for partnered restaurants, and $5 for non-partnered restaurants, with a $1 fee depending on the distance of the restaurant.
Dahms and Bull said Sic’em delivery is the only company in the area that tries to deliver just about everything. Bull said that in addition to the food they regularly deliver, they’ve also delivered groceries, gas, dry cleaning and even bikes.
“It’s growing faster than I thought it would, without even really advertising too,” Dahms said.
To place an order visit sicemdelivery.com.
