The journey from student to entrepreneur was a natural, yet unplanned one for Alessandra Camargo, a current senior majoring in business management with a minor in marketing. In high school, she participated in business competitions for fun, and upon arriving at UVU, noticed a similar opportunity being offered called SkillsUSA. She was eager to become involved and competed in the entrepreneurship category. Alessandra described the experience at SkillsUSA like a shark tank pitch. Her team had to come up with a business idea and plan, and pitch it to a panel of judges. That initial idea has evolved into her current company, Bidmycrib.

The idea arose from a desire to help students who often find themselves having to sell their leases mid-contract—which can be extremely difficult. Many complexes are moving to 12-month contracts without other options, but the life of a student requires versatility. Moving home between semesters, getting married, switching roommates, or getting a new job are all common occurrences. The responsibility to find a replacement renter rests entirely on the student moving out, and apartment complexes often have a reputation of being uncooperative.

Bidmycrib was created as an online solution to this problem. It provides a platform for students to buy and sell their leases. The idea was a hit at SkillsUSA, and Alessandra decided to get help from her brother and business partner, Nick Camargo, to bring the idea to life. They have differing personalities, which Alessandra has said can make working together interesting, but also fun and beneficial when their differences are able to be utilized. They launched the Bidmycrib website about a month ago, and it’s already gained about 100 users.

Balancing business and school is tricky, but because it’s a web-based company, Alessandra describes the experience as convenient and flexible. She and Nick typically spend free time and weekends working on Bidmycrib, while still working other jobs and going to school fulltime. Together, Alessandra and Nick hope to take Bidmycrib nationwide and become the Zillow of student housing. “Right now, there is just nothing out there dedicated to students or to partial leases,” Alessandra explained.

“If you have a dream, if you have an idea, just take that leap. It can be really scary, because I think everyone thinks ‘oh, what if I fail?’ but I’d rather put everything into this and have it fail than look back in the future and say ‘what if I had done that?’ You just gotta do it.”

Make sure to give Bidmycrib a try, and recommend it to your friends! And if you have your own business and need resources, or if you have an idea and need help getting started, make an appointment with the Entrepreneurship Institute.