above: The College Corner is a curated marketplace for all things college.
Ali Dorfman came up with her idea for the College Corner after being amazed with the wedding website The Knot. The Knot is a global family of brands that provides best-in-class products, services and content to take celebration planning from inspiration to action.
“I was like, I know this is a crazy idea, but is there a Theknot.com for college? There’s so much to the college, from an advisor to essay coach, test prep, all the swag, the dorm decor and advice,” Dorfman said. “I thought, we should have that for college.”
And so the College Corner was created! The College Corner is the first curated online marketplace for all things college. As Dorfman likes to call it is “the one-stop shop for all things college.” It is a service vendor directory of coaches, tutors, guides to college towns, merch, dorm décor, summer programs, financial guides and more. Dorfman finds vendors from all over the country, starting locally, to be a resource to both students and parents going through the college process.
Dorfman is a former TV producer and from her background in storytelling she wants to learn about these businesses.
“There’s all these moms that started businesses during Covid selling candy boards or cookies. So we’re sharing their stories, collaborating with them, getting people to know about them,” she said.
Dorfman finds vendors from all over the country, and already has a database of 10,000 people ready to use the College Corner as their guide.
The website also has a shop section where it will take you to college merch shops, dorm decor, sweet treats and more.
“It’s like a curated Etsy. If you’re just looking for college things, instead of going to Etsy, on the College Corner, the customer knows that I’ve already done the work and curated the best of the best.” Dorfman said.
The new College Corner website is launching soon, so keep an eye out!