NewHavenBIZ

28 n e w h a v e n B I Z | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Jasinski suggested that Burbank put together a proposal and present it at the Connecticut State Business Plan Competition, which was just two days away. Burbank's proposal ended up winning the contest. He created a 40-foot expandable trailer and his mobile barbershop hit the road, ready and able to provide haircuts at just about any location within reasonable driving distance. Burbank sold the truck in September. "While I was focused on college students and people in the business communities, [the new owner] is going to be focusing on younger kids," he says. But he's already onto his next venture. And why not? He's started a rent-payment service called My Bungalow that focuses on millennials living in residential rental properties together. "e entrepreneurship life is just something I can't get away from," Burbank says. "I've been working on this, growing it and hoping to some- day turn it into the next Venmo — the next thing that everybody has to have. I want it to be that there's no way to pay your rent without this." No More Rent Checks My Bungalow replaces rent checks. "We recognize that a lot of young millenni- als are not using checks for any reason other than to pay rent," Burbank explains. "What I'm doing is developing a mobile application for individuals to use direct draw from their bank for their portion of the rent and our payment will go as a check to the landlords. We'll add features such as ways to recognize and split utilities or groceries — just making it easier for people to split their bills when they're living in small groups." e bulk of the company's revenues will be generated from upselling premium features offered to landlords. He's hoping to have the app up and running in the new year, but first must surmount a couple of hurdles. "With holding people's money like this, it has to go through escrow and there a lot of government regulations that concern this," Burbank explains. "But we're hoping to get it up and running by 2019 and really hit the ground hard for the June/July [time frame], since we've got another whole round of new young millennials moving into homes with leases starting on July 1." My Bungalow will start locally in Connecti- cut, fulfilling state regulatory requirements here first, and then will move on state by state to new customers across the country. Since regulations and registration requirements vary widely by state, Burbank is looking to partner soon with a banking company to leverage its expertise in working within a strict financial regulatory environment. "We're pretty sale-focused in that we're looking to build a client base by having a level of service that is just unmatched and at some point, partnering with a bank and PayPal to allow them to take it to the next level and grow the service beyond what we are able to do once we start to build a client base," Burbank explains. In the meantime, he works on cars part-time to keep himself occupied as his new business grows — as does the time required of him to manage that growth. "I find it relaxing when I need to get away for a bit," he says. n F O C U S : H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N Find Talent. Train Talent. Grow Your Workforce. Customized Toolbox for Your Business • On-The-Job Training: You Hire. You Train. We Pay. Wage reimbursements of 50-75% • Recruitment: Let us host a hiring event & bring candidates to you • Screening: Jobseekers undergo an assessment and job readiness process • Enhance skills and grow your workforce with matching grants These programs are funded in whole, or in part by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration. Workforce Alliance is an equal opportunity employer/program, and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Contact Business Services Coordinator Wanda Lary at (203) 867-4030 x 254 or wlary@workforcealliance.biz www.workforcealliance.biz/business-services Continued from previous page

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