After local repair shops wanted to charge him $120 to fix his cracked iPhone screen, business freshman Anthony Matthews decided to take matters into his own hands.

Using online research, Matthews taught himself how to repair his phone screen. In the fall of 2012, Matthews posted his finished product on social media and soon after, started his iPhone repair service.

“After posting my self-repair on Instagram, there was a mass amount of interest among my friends,” Matthews said. “It started out as a side job but eventually grew into a business during the summer of 2014 due to high demand.”
 

Jesús Nazario | Daily Texan Staff

Since launching his business, “iGoRepair,” Matthews has repaired iPhone and iPad screens, batteries and buttons and has repaired 637 devices. Matthews has relocated his service from his hometown in Abilene to Austin, running the business out of his dorm in Jester. To differentiate himself from other services, Matthews meets with customers to repair devices in person anywhere on campus in 30 minutes or less.

“People love not having to go across town for their needs,” Matthews said. “I can meet up with you on your time, on campus, with you physically watching me do the repair. That attracts a lot of customers.”

Matthews credits his decision to enroll at UT entirely to “iGoRepair.”

“After running my business for most of high school, I changed my mind from majoring in forensic science at Texas Tech to majoring in business at UT,” Matthews said. “It was a domino effect. It’s cool to think that I’m here today all because I cracked my iPhone in 2012.”

Social media plays a key role in driving “iGoRepair” forward, Matthews said.

“A lot of people were talking about him on Facebook, so I saw his business on my newsfeed through friends,” civil engineering freshman Jenny Liu said. “He’s very easily approachable online and very inexpensive.”

Biology freshman Abby Mohr said she feels the best feature of “iGoRepair” is its convenience.

“The best part was that he came to the lobby of my dorm, so it was like I had the shop right downstairs,” Mohr said. “He was very nice and professional. It’s a really cool service.”

Matthews said connecting with his peers is the most rewarding part of doing business.

“I love my business because I get to share stories, make friends and meet new people,” Matthews said. “It really has changed me as a person.”