When Caitlyn Szymanski, Lindsay Williams, and Rebecca Krause decided to study in Africa last summer, they found the motivation they needed to start their own business at home.
After studying abroad in South Africa for six weeks, the three college students decided to do some independent traveling and volunteer work at an orphanage in Tanzania. For transportation, the three would ride around in dala dala taxis; large vans that fit up to eight passengers in the back. When they returned home in late August to start their final college semester, they were still thinking of ways to support the orphanage in Tanzania. That's when it hit them.
"We would always joke about how we needed one of these back home," Szymanski said of the large taxi vans they rode in Tanzania. "So when we got back, we were trying to figure out a way to get money back to the kids, and we realized that we could do the Dala Dala."
Szymanski, a senior studying business and economics, and Williams, a fellow senior studying education and recreational management, then called their friend Rebecca at the University of Michigan whom they had met through the program in Africa and proposed their plan.
"We had a lot of stuff we had to do", Szymanski said. "It took us about three months of solid work to get it off the ground and running."
Along with registering their company as a corporation, the owners said they had to go through many types of licensing procedures in order to be considered a taxi. Once that was accomplished, they had to register with the city, as well as pay for insurance before starting their route in the middle of the spring.
"It's been great. Our first six weeks, we broke even, which is something that a lot of businesses can't say in their first six weeks," Szymanski said.
Along with rides from the Gateway at Tempe to Mill and back, they also offer service to the Salt River and back for a set price of five dollars round trip. One dollar of every ride, or 20 percent of their profits, goes to support the orphanage they volunteered at in Tanzania.
"That's the difference between (the Dala Dala) and another cab that you'd take," said Richard Giuffrida, a recent ASU graduate who frequently uses the Dala Dala service. "The money that you give to Dala Dala is going to support a really good cause."
The best part about doing the service for the young women who own and operate the cabs themselves is that they say it doesn't feel like work.
"We really enjoy ourselves," said one of the owners. "We're out there and we're laughing and we're having a good time with everyone."
However, it's not all fun and games for the young entrepreneurs. There are a lot of sacrifices that had to be made. Along with large monetary sacrifices for each of the owners individually, they are all sacrificing every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night to work. In the end, it seems that the work is paying off.
They plan on adding a route that goes between Mill Ave. and Old town Scottsdale, as well as buying another bus and start using their buses as advertising platforms for other companies.
