Totes Magotes, a student-run start-up company, wants to make high-quality totes accessible for rent to people moving in the Salt Lake Valley. Five students at the U formed the company in February and are planning to launch their business soon.
Michael Dailey, founder of Totes Magotes, was initially inspired by a documentary about green companies. One company in particular focused on the use of totes as a green alternative to cardboard boxes. He said shortly after seeing the film he used totes from his dad’s business to move and through the process became convinced other people should be using them as well.
Dailey acquired four partners, each with different skills. He said without loans or assistance they managed to pool together $5,000, which mainly went toward the purchase of totes.
“Quality being a big concern of ours, we decided to go with a company based out of California,” said Totes Magotes partner Sina Madahamiri, a senior in accounting. “So the cost is a little higher, but the quality is a lot higher.”
The totes are designed to stack neatly and are water tight. The partners are confident that customers will see the value in using these as opposed to cardboard boxes that require assembly, the purchase of tape and lack space efficiency. For people living in the Salt Lake Valley, delivery, pickup and the rental of totes to move an average apartment is about $50 total.
There is already a handful of companies in the country providing similar services. The company is marketing two specific aspects of its service that partners believe define the brand — environmental friendliness and convenience.
“I think moving can be a very happy time and can be a stressful time for people as well,” Madahamiri said. “Closing on a house or moving to an apartment or getting out of one place at the end of the month so you can get into another place … I think just not having that logistical piece to worry about is just one less thing on the customer’s mind.”
With the vast majority of the company’s capital invested in totes, the company has a small budget, which has limited its advertising ability to mainly social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and Twitter.
“We’re trying to blow up social media and get our name out there,” Madahamiri said.
Totes Magotes has also utilized a few other low-cost advertising options. They have partnered with a couple of real estate agents and Parade of Homes, and they are striving to gain publicity through word of mouth. For now, the five stakeholders are the only employees of Totes Magotes. Until otherwise agreed upon, the stakeholders of Totes Magotes have decided that 100 percent of their profits will go back into the company.