Known for its entrepreneurial minds and soda bar, the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the BYU Marriott School of Business extends past the main lobby and event space. Down the building’s hallways are studio offices—rooms to support growth and progress for student-owned businesses.
“Business can be stressful,” says Rollins Center program director Jeff Brown, “especially when you’re in a sea of people trying to solve hard problems with your business and have to block out distractions with your headphones.” So, the center has implemented studio offices designated for budding entrepreneurs. Beyond a quiet, closed-door room to work, the studios offer desks and chairs, whiteboards, and TVs and extension cords for presentations.
Unlike reserving a study room, studio offices are given to companies for the semester. When reviewing a company’s application, Brown considers factors like revenue generation and promise of growth. Ultimately, he says he wants to know that the space will be used.
“The difference for us was that we had a place we could focus,” says mechanical engineering student Sam Havili. From American Fork, Utah, Havili co-founded Altarain, a drone-powered, exterior building cleaning service. While in the beginning stages of their business, Havili says receiving a studio office in the Rollins Center helped propel their company forward.
That following summer, Havili and his business partner worked on their company more than 40 hours each week in the studios. “It was our spot where we could give 100% focus to our business and know that we won’t be interrupted,” he says.
Jonah Joines, the co-founder of JT SWPPP, also found a designated office to be helpful for his company, which helps organizations comply with pollution laws. Joines, a BYU Flex GE student from St. George, Utah, says he and his business partner previously worked from their house of eight people, who all have businesses of their own. “We were good at motivating each other to work, but we would also distract and mess around with each other.”
After being granted an office at the Rollins Center, Joines says they had a big enough space to gather and expand their team. Joines and his partner hired additional team members—including an accountant, operations manager, software engineer, and sales representatives. But he says it was more than the team that changed. “From the time we got our office in May until the following November, our business grew sevenfold.” Joines says.
Reflecting on his experiences with starting a business, Havili is grateful for the support he’s received through the Rollins Center. “Being a BYU student has been one of the greatest blessings for my business partner and me,” Havili says. “As soon as we told someone what we were trying to accomplish, people were willing to open all kinds of doors to help us.”