~Post by Chelsea Castle, OSU student and intern at Written Impact

It is no secret that the DEC exists to provide resources and a creative atmosphere for entrepreneurs. But for Dormzy CEO, Chris Sammons, the DEC meant all of that and much more.

“That’s really how we got our start,” Sammons said. “Being in that work environment and being around people with that same drive and motivation and entrepreneurial spirit was awesome.”

The time Dormzy spent working in the DEC was crucial to their beginning days of development. It created opportunities and connections that have all contributed to Dormzy’s success today.

While Dormzy operated out of the DEC for just under two months, their time there led to press and eventual investors. These two components significantly helped escalate Dormzy into an expanding business.

This idea that derived from a college student’s frustration with shopping for groceries and personal items has now blossomed into a nationwide service. Dormzy service is great for college students, their parents, young professionals, senior citizens and other businesses.

They have delivered to almost every state and may be shipping to over 200 colleges across the nation. Sammons admits that there have been a lot of challenges and surprises along the way.

Sammons shared that in the beginning, as with any startup, you make some mistakes early on, and that is okay. “You make a lot of mistakes and it’s just how quickly you can learn from them,” he said. They first encountered difficulty with product lists, especially with it came to products relating to gender, as well as some warehouse management system challenges that have been addressed.

Sammons and his team are enjoying the surprise of rapid growth. He shared that they expected higher numbers of orders in the beginning, but experienced steady growth and realized they were right on track. And now they are operating stronger than ever.

Dormzy’s expansion is now bringing them back to Dublin for a bigger warehouse facility. Sammons is looking forward to getting back to the area of town where he started with other entrepreneurs. “I’m excited to get back to Dublin and to have the opportunity to work with others like myself there,” he said.