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The hunks are primed for some more junk.
The College Hunks Hauling Junk, that is. The Tampa-based firm, which has 35 franchise locations nationwide, expanded its internal support systems as a precursor to what co-founder Omar Soliman hopes will be a speedy growth spurt.
For starters, the company recently invested at least $1 million in a new software system.
College Hunks Hauling Junk, with about $3 million in annual revenues, also recently merged with 1-800-Junk-USA, a waste management and recycling firm. Soliman and College Hunks co-founder Nick Friedman sit on the board of 1-800-Junk-USA and have run parts of both companies in the past. The merger, says Soliman, means 1-800-Junk-USA will now officially be the parent company of College Hunks.
“It's an expansion of our services,” Soliman tells Coffee Talk. Friedman, in a release, says the merger should help College Hunks expand both its franchise base and its contacts with potential corporate business clients.
The merger also addresses how clients can reach College Hunks for service, which Soliman says has been a thorny problem. “The most annoying thing about the trash business,” he says, “is to get someone on the phone.”
College Hunks executives hope 1-800-Junk-USA will rectify that problem.
The businesses will still operate separately, but will form some joint marketing campaigns. The merger also includes a capital investment, in addition to the software. Soliman says he has already raised about $3 million, and he seeks at least another $2 million.
Soliman and Friedman founded College Hunks in Washington, D.C. in 2005, with a niche in providing clean-cut, young employees to haul junk from homes and businesses. They moved the firm to Tampa in 2008. (See Review, Sept. 17, 2010.)
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