Student entrepreneur offers convenience, affordability to students

Keyes’ Film Flixs offers free membership benefits, monthly promotions and online. Connor Allen/UVUREVIEW

Dickies to Film Flixs

Danny Keyes first caught wind of his inherent entrepreneurial spirit upon returning to Utah from an LDS mission in Texas. Keyes lamented the lack of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit locations in Utah after having frequented the Texas-based chain throughout his mission. Upon realizing that the start-up capital required to franchise Dickey’s was more than the 28-year-old UVU junior could supply, Keyes set his sights on a more affordable business venture: supplying new-release movies.

Keyes, creator of the Film Flixs rental kiosk next to Scoops in the Sorensen Student Center, is an avid movie-watcher who spent several months talking on the phone with a “franchise coach” from the East coast who led him through the daunting process of starting a business. This coach pointed Keyes to DVD Now, a company that supplies kiosks to individuals seeking to change the tide of consumers whose main alternative to Netflix and Hulu is Redbox.

The kiosk, which has been in the SC building since December 2011 and cost Keyes approximately as much as “a new American sports car,” is his to supply as he likes. As such, Keyes visits local grocery stores and Walmarts every Tuesday to buy new DVD releases. He tries to have two to five copies of each brand new release in the kiosk to satisfy customer demand and offers Blu-ray in addition to PlayStation 3 and Xbox games.

Although some students may shy away from creating a new business on campus, Keyes said “the administration has been very supportive, especially Ken Mathews, senior director, Auxiliary Services & Sorensen Student Center.”

By Deven Leigh Ellis
Asst. Life Editor