Camron Glover, a sophomore business major, is the owner of Collegiate Bed Loft Company. His company was inspired by homemade bed lofts that were discarded by parents and students while moving out of dorms.

Sixteen years ago, a University of Alabama dad was moving his daughter out of her dorm when he saw the overwhelming number of homemade lofts being thrown in the dumpster. This sparked an idea to create a loft system that would be reusable for many years with improved safety and a completely hands off experience for the consumer. Over the years, the company has grown to many different products and universities and supported over 20,000 students. In 2024, we served over 1,500 students and families across six universities.

For me, instead of a place to gain funds or capital, Samford Startup is an opportunity to be surrounded by a group of likeminded individuals whose entrepreneurial mindsets will bring fresh and exciting ideas to our established but growing business. Additionally, I believe my experience running a profitable 16-year-old business will add a unique perspective to the other participants that are in the startup phase of their businesses.

Upon acquiring the business, our biggest challenge was both learning how to efficiently operate the business and run it at the same time. This business is a highly seasonable business with 100 percent of sales coming within a four-month period. We acquired the business one month before peak season began. As college students running the business, we had to learn how to market, operate, and run the business within a very short period. Although not easy, we were able to overcome these challenges by overwhelming support by both family and friends.

During our second year of operations, we were able to grow the business over 30 percent year-over-year by increasing our marketing effort and adding new products. To continue this steep growth, we plan to increase the campuses we serve, the services we provide, and the products we offer.

As a business we say that we don’t just loft beds, but we set stages. This includes a stage for college students to have both a source of income and be surrounded by a community of guys who encourage one another and gather every morning to pray over the students we are serving that day. Additionally, we are setting the stage for community within in a dorm room by increasing livable space by up to 40 percent. Lastly, we seek to ease the stress of a move in day for families by taking the heavy lifting out of their hands and having our products installed before they even arrive.

Each year, as a partner with Samford’s Residence Life, we serve close to 400 students within the Samford community to improve their on-campus housing experience and are excited to see that number continue to grow. Additionally, we contribute five percent of all Samford sales back to Samford Residence Life.

Although, I have not yet been able to be fully immersed in the program, I have already seen the impact of this community. I would encourage other student entrepreneurs to join this community for the friendships and partnerships that are only available through a program such as this.