A Mother’s Love—a Bargain at $450 a Year, Plus Applicable Fees

Like any good mother, Mindy Horwitz helped Emma Feirstein move into her college dorm room, got her an internship and took her to lunch when she had a bad day. Horwitz, though, is no relation. She raised three boys of her own and was a social worker before launching a concierge service for college students living away from home. At $450 a year, plus delivery fees, Horwitz, 53 years old, performs some of the same duties students would expect from their own mother. A young client phoned Horwitz on a recent night in a panic. He needed a sport coat for early the next morning. Target was the only store open but nothing there fit his 6-foot-3 frame. With Horwitz’s help, the student walked into his presentation wearing a coat borrowed from one of her sons.
Similar services have sprung up near college campuses around the U.S.