Hoot's success and expansion paves way for more entrepreneurial endeavors at Rice
While the entrepreneurial spirit of Rice University may not be amongst the country's greateast — certainly not in comparison to Stanford's, whose students have contributed to little start-ups you may have heard of such as Google, Yahoo and Cisco — we are definitely making strides as a University towards fostering student entrepreneurship (See story, pg. 1).
Coffeehouse is Rice's longest standing student-run business, and its longevity is being rewarded by an upgraded location in the Ley Student Center. Coffeehouse's success paved the way for Rice's newest student business — the Hoot. The Hoot developed as a student-run solution to the lack of late-night food on campus. Since its inception a little over a year ago, the Hoot has achieved astounding success. Its selection, promotions, price points and marketing have resonated well with students, and as a result, has netted enough cash to warrant an expansion to a second location in South Servery.
The fact that the Hoot has responded to student needs and implemented such a successful business plan in only a year's time is noteworthy. Entrepreneurship should follow this model, and students should continue to seize initiatives to address student needs on campus. This university is a market, and it's refreshing to see students take advantage of this fact. As several contingents of students are on the verge of initiating smaller-scale operations, such as room-service, laundry service or Chipotle room delivery, it would be great to see administration back these and other new efforts going into the future with potential grants.
Once again, the Thresher congratulates Coffeehouse and the Hoot on their upcoming, well-deserved expansions and encourages all students to draw inspiration from their initiative and entrepreneurship.
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