HSA’s Monopoly Stifles Student Entrepreneurship

To the editors:



I appreciate the journalism of The Crimson in its article “DormAid Could Face HSA Lawsuit,” (news, Oct. 6), because most students would never find out the lengths to which Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) is willing to go to rout competition. To make things abundantly clear, there are no stolen business plans or breaches of contract. We had no reason to take anything from HSA, and, if anything, we were too charitable as we worked 60-hour weeks without overtime pay, I donated my vehicle to be used as a delivery truck without reimbursement, and we racked up hundreds of minutes on our cell phones and did not seek reimbursement.

I think the real story lies with the fact that HSA is practically a monopoly on campus and will do anything to protect that position. Why do you think they would be coming after DormAid so strongly? Do you really think grocery delivery is a patentable idea? (I think Peapod would beg to differ.) It is simply because we may be the first form of competition HSA has seen in ages as we expand our services into DormStep, a delivery service for laundry and groceries. I won’t elaborate on the nastiness of HSA and its lawyers, although I have letters to prove it, but behind the smoke and mirrors of crazy allegations like stolen business plans, breaches of contract, and “negligent fan purchasing” (that’s an allegation I think will be the funniest one ever levied against me) is an organization that fears competition. Talk to the founder of College Boxes, and ask him about his experience with trying to start his business here at Harvard. Find out what happened to FillYourFridge; figure out how the Administrative Board even got involved in this dispute between employer and employee. That’s an article I really think will be revealing.

Do you think HSA’s prices and hold on almost all new business activities on campus are a product of excellence or a product of regulation? Compare the advertising regulations faced by DormAid to those faced by HSA. They get carte blanche, while we can’t hire a Harvard student to flyer inside the Yard unless he or she is hired by none other than HSA.

The allegations DormAid has faced are a distraction, and in order to put them to rest I will gladly answer to any outstanding allegations or concerns HSA or the student body has. For readers who have doubts, please call me or e-mail me, and ask me tough questions about these allegations. Readers of The Crimson, and the student body at large, ask yourself the economic question: “Who is the real loser from this crony capitalism?” I think you may quickly realize it’s you.



MICHAEL E. KOPKO ’07

October 11, 2005



The writer is a founder and current executive of DormAid.