How one broke college student, a pickup truck, and a failed YouTube stick-shift tutorial became a nationwide college moving company.
In 2017, College Movers founder Collin Flynn was a strapped-for-cash student at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hoping for a little extra pocket money, he started a single-man moving operation — helping anyone who needed furniture moved for an affordable price.
There were some rough patches early on. Like the time Collin rented a moving truck and tried to learn how to drive a stick shift from a YouTube video on the way to the job. But despite the learning curve, his customer base grew. Friends from school started helping out on bigger jobs, and before long it was official: College Movers launched in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — complete with its first real team of college student movers.
As time passed, the business kept growing. When students graduated, they took the College Movers model with them. Branches opened across the country — from Iowa to the Carolinas, from Florida to the Mountain West. Every location was locally owned and operated by motivated college students and recent graduates who understood what it meant to work hard and earn their way.
The model was simple and it worked: customers rent the truck, College Movers provides the labor. No inflated full-service packages. No hidden fees. Just hardworking college students showing up on time and getting the job done right.
Meanwhile, out in Rexburg, Idaho, Ethan Vastbinder — a student at BYU-Idaho — had independently built his own college student moving company. Same concept, same values, same name: College Movers. Two founders, two states, one identical idea.
When Collin and Ethan discovered they were essentially running the same business under the same name, the decision was easy. Instead of competing, they decided to join forces. Together, they combined their markets, their teams, and their shared vision for what a college moving company could be — and began expanding College Movers into the national brand it is today.
That spirit of collaboration — students helping students, entrepreneurs supporting entrepreneurs — is at the core of everything College Movers does.
Today, College Movers operates in 38+ university markets across the United States. Every crew member is a background-checked, vetted college student or recent graduate earning money to support themselves while pursuing a degree or paying off student loans.
Our commitment is simple: give customers an affordable, honest, professional moving experience — and give college students a flexible, rewarding way to earn real income. No hidden fees. No inflated quotes. Just flat-rate labor pricing and crews who show up ready to work.
We're proud of how far College Movers has come from one student with a pickup truck in Cedar Rapids. Whether you need college moving services, help on student move-in day, or turn services for your property, we're just getting started.
Background-checked student movers in 38+ college markets. Flat-rate pricing. No hidden fees.