Cam Doody
Cam Doody, co-founder of Bellhops, told the Chattanooga Civitans at the Friday meeting how the company evolved from a seasonal business he and Stephen Vlahos created to move students into dorms at Auburn University. It is now a moving company based in Chattanooga that is operating in 85 cities in 39 states across the U.S.
Mr. Doody said he always had wanted to start a business, and after two jobs that were not fulfilling, he and a friend from school began meeting. They remembered how chaotic moving was at Auburn, and the huge number of available students. They each put up $600 to create a website offering help for students moving into dorms, using students to do the work. The service included having two college students waiting at the curb to move items or to do anything else needed such as rearranging furniture. They got a booth during orientation and sold the service for $100. In the first three days, they facilitated moving 700 students without having the benefit of technology – providing the manual labor was all arranged with clipboards and walkie-talkies, he said, and was a nightmare.
Following the initial experience, unsolicited emails came from parents saying what a good experience the move had been. He said there are inherent qualities about a college workforce which is trying to be perceived as valuable to adults. It also gave students a way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. After that first successful event, Stephen quit his full-time job to devote more time to the emerging business. That was in 2011.
The business experienced another good year in 2012 and expanded services to people moving into houses and apartments, not exclusively college students. By then, technology available with the use of smart phones was being utilized to arrange the logistics of a move, making it easier for everyone. That is when their business took off, he said. The two founders came to the Lamp Post Group in Chattanooga at the end of 2012 for advice on technological information. At that meeting, an offer was made to provide the company with money in return for moving to Chattanooga. “Timing was just good, and we got lucky,” said Mr. Doody. He added that Lamp Post’s mission is to make Chattanooga the best city to live in, and that everybody now at Bellhops shares the mission to make the city incredible. People are now moving to Chattanooga from across the country.
Bellhops is a service company to the core, he said. The company provides a new option for moving. Before, the choices were renting a truck and asking friends to help which is how 40 percent of people handle a move. Traditionally, the other method was to hire local movers. Technology allows the company to operate without multiple brick and mortar buildings or a hierarchy of managers, said Mr. Doody. The entire business is run from offices at Warehouse Row with a team of 91 employees and 30-40 people working part time. This helps the company offer a different price bracket for a move. He said traditional, professional movers prefer a small number of large moves. Bellhops is looking for a large number of small moves.
The expansion of service is continuing by having trucks available in some cities in addition to just labor. “2016 will be the year of the truck,” said Mr. Doody, but it will not be available everywhere yet. Another new focus will be on the larger mainstream market as opposed to a concentration with college moves.
The demographic of their focus customer is ages 18-34 because they move more than others, moving in and out of dorms, to new cities for jobs, and in and out of apartments. The company also services people with “lift and shift” moves in-house. Advertising is done mostly by “organic traffic,” in which people find you, without the company paying for it. The majority is from word-of-mouth, he said, and from search engine optimization, or being high on the Google search page.
The company is no longer owned solely by Mr. Doody and Mr. Vlahos, since money was raised in venture funding. The Lamp Post Group originally invested $600,000 in 2012 and since millions were raised from the Silicon Valley and New York investors.
The company now has a mix of worker classifications, said Mr. Doody. Drivers are considered part-time employees and lift workers are classified as independent contractors. The company carries workers comp insurance on all contractors, in case of accidents.
On Friday, the Chattanooga Civitans presented a check for $2,500 to Julie Taylor, chief development officer of the Erlanger Health Foundation, for the new Children’s Hospital. In thanks, she noted that since 1997, the Chattanooga Civitans have given over $150,000 to Erlanger.