Trouble Finding a Compatible Roommate? College Entrepreneur Solves Problem

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization has been helping college entrepreneurs for nearly three decades. Their annual conference and competitions have produced many future successful entrepreneurs. The 2010 National Elevator Pitch Competition hosted by CEO yielded many winners, among those was Justin Mares (University of Pittsburgh) of Philadelphia, who received second place for his pitch. Mares won $2,000 and publicity to help his startup company RoommateFit. RoommateFit creates compatible roommate pairings based on personality traits, much like an eHarmony for roommates.

RoommateFit is in its first year of operation and has serviced several customers. Mares will soon be in front of actual Angel Investors to present his pitch for venture capital to help his business grow.

"I decided to compete in the competition because my professor of entrepreneurship suggested that I do so, and it ended up being a fantastic experience", said Mares about how he came to enter the competition. The competition happened only months ago, but he has been very busy since, "I have signed a new customer, incorporated, been asked to present in front of an angel group, and further developed the technology behind the matching algorithm"

A portion of the funds have been used to pay for the creation of a new logo. Using the crowdsourcing site 99designs, RoomateFit now has a trendy new logo. The funds have also been used to allow the company to incorporate, buy a domain name and create a basic website for the business.

Finding compatible college roommates can be a difficult challenge for many and can result in added stress. Finding a compatible person to share a living space with is important for your mental health as well as physical safety. Many articles have been published outlining problems that you can encounter with potential roommates and how to avoid them, but often even good friends can turn out to be bad fits when they are thrown into an apartment together.

During the 2010 National Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Conference held in Chicago, Mares was able to meet Sam Yagan, founder of OkCupid. Yagan provided guidance and advice that has helped Mares to grow his business. "This has been especially helpful, as we have similar businesses that target different audiences. I also met several other students who I am still in contact with and who provide a good network of young people interested in entrepreneurship."

Mares has advice for aspiring collegiate entrepreneurs ;"You can take as many classes as you want, read as many books as you want, and attend as many conferences as you want, but if you don't take action and take a few risks and implement what you have learned, that knowledge is just sitting there and not doing any good. Don't be afraid to reach out to people who can push you, and then go do something."