Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

H2Bro Open Despite Glitch

Student-run beverage delivery service H2Bro has floundered this semester after a technical mistake on their website said it was closed for business.

Though H20Bro manager Will Roth (MSB ’14) corrected the mislabeled site this week, he said that the company needs to increase on-campus awareness.

“The site definitely didn’t help us through the fact that it said that, and so I think we could probably do a better job as to getting our name out there,” he said.

Along with fellow manager Noble Carpenter (COL ’14), Roth plans to continue to increase H2Bro’s clientele this year. Currently, the company averages about 40 customers each week, an increase from the original 10 customers each week when the company was founded in 2009.

Founders, Andrew Pence (SFS ’12), Brian Kim (COL ’12), Peter Hadjipateras (COL ’12) and Bowen Williams (SFS ’12), developed the idea during their freshman year, but current H2Bro managers are looking to expand the company’s presence on campus. However, its original founders graduated last May, leaving the delivery service in a transitional period.

Efforts to expand H2Bro’s scope to other parts of the District, including The George Washington University, were unsuccessful last year.

“At first it went well, then the school got aggressive with [the company],” Roth said. “They were a little skeptical of an outsider just coming in and delivering water to the dorm.”

But Roth noted the benefits of H2Bro’s student leadership at Georgetown.

“We’re students, we have access to the dorm and we can bring it right to your door,” he said. “The few people we’ve talked to have said, ‘Thanks guys — you’re providing a service to the school.’ Parents love it.”

Outside of H2Bro’s loyal base of customers, many students have either not heard of the service or never thought to use it.

“It was a great concept,” Carla Frank (COL ’13) said. “I never used it. It occurred to me, but I don’t know why I didn’t.”

Roth and Carpenter hope to increase H2Bro’s presence on campus this semester through advertising.

“We really want to start being more aggressive with our advertising, and that will be Facebook, that will be tabling [and] that will be flyering,” Roth said.

Despite numerous setbacks, Roth and Carpenter are still committed to their business.

“We invested a lot of time in this company our first two years, so it means more to us,” Carpenter said.

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