Tepper School Students Turn Thrifting into a Thriving Venture

Students from the Tepper School are redefining campus style, one curated thrift find at a time. Chibuike Dumebi-Kachikwu, a senior in the Undergraduate Business Administration program, teamed up with fellow students Paul Davis and Amy Guo to launch Thursday, a vintage and secondhand clothing startup that’s quickly making waves both online and across campus.

Originally sparked by an interest in unique fashion and a passion for sustainability, Thursday has evolved into a growing business with a loyal following. Thursday is a personalized thrift shopping platform that makes discovering secondhand fashion fun and effortless. Users can sync their Pinterest boards or take a style quiz to receive tailored clothing recommendations. New collections drop every Thursday, and users can swipe through AI-curated pieces for a seamless, stylish thrifting experience.

The company hosts pop-up thrift events right on Carnegie Mellon's campus, allowing students to shop sustainably and express their style at an affordable price. These events have quickly become staples of campus life, combining fashion with environmental consciousness in a fun, community-driven format.

The Thursday team’s entrepreneurial journey recently hit a major milestone when it was named one of the winners of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship’s McGinnis Venture Competition, an annual showcase of the most promising startups from Carnegie Mellon University students. The recognition validated their vision and opened doors to mentorship, funding, and further growth opportunities.

Dumebi-Kachikwu credits much of his development to his experience at Tepper School and the support from the Swartz Center.

“The Swartz Center has been incredible. It gave me a place to get honest feedback, improve my business model, and most importantly, build my confidence as a founder,” Dumebi-Kachikwu explained. “I’ve also learned so much about collaboration and effective leadership during my time at Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School.”

As Dumebi-Kachikwu prepares for life after graduation, he’s taking Thursday with him, not just as a business, but as a mission. Through fashion, he’s proving that sustainability, creativity, and entrepreneurship can go hand in hand.

“I plan to go full-time with Thursday Thrift after graduation,” he explained. “The momentum we’ve built on campus and the feedback we’ve received tells me this has the potential to scale beyond CMU.”

The Thursday team aims to scale the business to other college campuses, having already secured a partnership with the University of Southern California.