This fall, three University of Oregon business students have created UniYard, a site that allows students to buy and sell unwanted items, as well as find roommates, community events and housing.
Co-founder and UO business marketing student Cedric Roberge said the site’s name is a combination of “university” and “yard sale.”
He said the idea stemmed from an assignment in an entrepreneurship class where he learned that students commonly struggled with finding housing and roommates.
“Students kept saying they wish there was something where you could easily sublease your apartment, get someone to take it over for summer… and also finding roommates,” Roberge said.
The marketplace aspect of the site was intended to as a way for students to sell unwanted goods and make extra money.
Arlo Snodgrass, a business finance student and UniYard co-founder, said seeing a friend struggle with storing her belongings during the summer only to end up throwing them away was part of the inspiration behind the site’s marketplace.
“If she would’ve been able to make some money, just being able to post (the items) when she was leaving, it would have helped her a lot,” Snodgrass said.
Roberge said there are plans to promote the project on other college campuses across the country, including pop-up events and speaking in classes.
“Our goal is next week to get up to Oregon State, and then go to Washington and kind of repeat our process over and over to reach other universities,” Roberge said.
He said there are already a couple hundred UO students currently using the site.
Roberge said he primarily used artificial intelligence to help him build the site, although the process was challenging.
“It took about three weeks of researching how AI can help build (a website) for you without you having to know how to code,” Roberge said.
Snodgrass said another challenge was making sure the website was secure and that users could not post inappropriate content or have their personal information stolen.
Snodgrass and Roberge also said a short-term goal is creating a UniYard mobile app. Roberge said owning a business has always been his goal, but he has shifted his focus toward helping others as well.
“If I’m helping other people, but also doing something for me, then it’s going to work better. The more users we’re gonna have, the more successful we can be,” Roberge said.
