Many students dream of one day launching their own startups. But some, with the help of social media and Internet technology, are doing just that right now. Here's a look at seven Carroll School students involved in launching five companies.
The companies are in various stages of development, ranging from one that has already generated nearly $300,000 in sales to another that鈥檚 putting finishing touches on a website. Three of the startups鈥擠arkroom.Tech, BusWays, and VenU鈥攚on top prizes last fall at the 2016 Elevator Pitch Competition sponsored by the聽聽at the Carroll School.聽Darkroom.Tech and BusWays were also the winners of the聽.
Three of the management students graduated in May; there are also two pairs of rising sophomores and juniors from the Carroll School. All of them have nurtured innovative businesses鈥攂efore walking the commencement stage.
Darkroom.Tech
Theo Chapman '17
聽is a web-based platform that enables any photographer to create and sell high-quality prints with no cost or risk. It鈥檚 designed in a way that lets people sell prints without paying money up front. Serving as co-founder with Chapman is Anders Bill, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences 鈥17.
Chapman says right now, photographers looking to sell their prints have two options that often don鈥檛 work unless they鈥檙e already well established and reaping income from their photography.
鈥淓ither you buy a ton of your own prints in bulk and then you sit on an inventory and you don鈥檛 know if they鈥檙e going to sell or not, or you can subscribe to these things called print-on-demand services,鈥 said Chapman, who is from Minnesota and studied marketing and entrepreneurship at the Carroll School. 鈥淏asically they can鈥檛 sell prints without putting up money first.鈥
In the聽聽model, photographers post their shots at that site and announce how much they鈥檇 like to charge for prints and how many they want to sell.聽聽makes the prints only if it receives sufficient orders and then shares the revenue with the photographer. The company also packs and ships the orders.
With funding from the聽, a summer accelerator program created for students by Boston College alumni, Chapman and Bill are now working full time on their startup.聽
1950 Collective
Angela Jin '17
Launched by Jin and a friend from her home state of Texas,聽聽has far more than a plan for future sales. It is already a successful merchandise company that has generated $280,000 in sales in less than two years.
The venture began by marketing T-shirts to fans of the pop group One Direction and has expanded to other products geared toward those who follow other artists. 鈥淭oday, we carry fandom gear, social justice and feminist apparel, skincare, swimwear, accessories, and more,鈥 Jin, whose concentration was marketing with a minor in women鈥檚 and gender studies, recently told聽BC News.
聽gets its name from the number of miles that separate Jin at Boston College and co-founder Nishiki Maredia at the University of Texas at Austin. The company has drawn national attention with聽聽such as聽Seventeen听补苍诲听Glamour.
But Jin is quick to say she doesn鈥檛 want to 鈥渙ver-glamorize鈥 what she鈥檚 doing.
鈥淚 think a lot of people think it鈥檚 all about press and fun and running around to New York and all that, and it鈥檚 really not. It鈥檚 me sitting in my room in CoRo packing 100 orders a night and I want to freaking cry. And it鈥檚 me in O鈥橬eill coding a random website,鈥 she said, referring to the College Road dorms. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that glamorous.鈥
With a social justice bent, the co-founders direct a portion of the profits to causes such as those aiding Syrian refugees and residents of Flint, Michigan, still reeling from the city鈥檚 water crisis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly important to us to integrate corporate social responsibility into our mission, simply because it鈥檚 our passion,鈥 Jin said.
She is now in Los Angeles building a career in the music industry but plans to keep growing聽聽as she did on the Heights.
BusWays
Pedro Almeida 鈥20 and Fernando Nazario 鈥20
聽is on a mission to revolutionize school transportation systems. Launched by Almeida and Nazario, who are roommates from Brazil and rising sophomores, the company is geared to both parents and schools.
For parents, it鈥檚 an app that lets them track the location of their children on a live map. Every child has a Bluetooth keychain attached to their backpacks and every bus has a small beacon that costs $15 and allows parents to receive notifications when their child gets on and off the bus.
For schools, it鈥檚 a platform that allows them to see who鈥檚 on the bus and gives them data that makes it possible to anticipate how many buses they鈥檒l need on a given day. The business model involves charging the schools $3 a month per child. BusWays is already in use at the International School of Panama.
Almeida says it was personal experience that gave him the idea for the company. 鈥淢y mom would call me all the time asking if my brothers were on the bus with me, where the bus was.鈥 Later on he began asking himself, How can we fix this issue?
Like many other student entrepreneurs at Boston College, Almeida gives much credit to the faculty and staff of the聽. 鈥淚 bounce ideas off them. They鈥檙e my mentors here,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really thankful for them.鈥
VenU
Dan Marino 鈥19 and Ben Li 鈥19
Pop singers and other performers have a pretty good idea of who鈥檚 buying the tickets to see them, but finding out who鈥檚 actually showing up for the concerts and events is another question. That鈥檚 where VenU steps in, with an app that links up artists with their most active followers.
鈥淚f you have 40,000 seats available and 20,000 transactions, that鈥檚 20,000 unaccounted-for tickets, because you can buy more than one ticket. You could buy five, you could buy ten, you could buy two,鈥 said Marino, whose management concentrations are information systems and finance with a minor in computer science. 鈥淵ou could get sick and give your ticket to a friend. You could be a scalper and sell it off.鈥
The app is a social media platform that lets artists know who鈥檚 showing up. It also focuses the social media outreach by bringing people together on the basis of activity, not interest鈥攖here鈥檚 a difference, according to the founders of VenU.
鈥淎ll social media today is based on interest,鈥 Marino, a Massachusetts native, explained. 鈥淵ou have concentrated groups of fans, like Justin Bieber鈥檚 90 million [Twitter] followers. They鈥檙e brought together by interest, but who are the ones going beyond interest, who are actually showing activity, showing up, spending time and money, being really valuable to the artists?鈥
With information of that sort, artists as well as sports teams can communicate with and further engage their most loyal fans. They could offer different recognitions and awards鈥攕eat upgrades, backstage passes, merchandise, and other perks. Through the app, fans check in at events and artists can ask them what songs they鈥檇 like to hear.
During spring break this year, Marino and Li traveled to China, where they obtained seed funding for VenU. Li is a Californian originally from China and majoring in accounting and finance. The app is set to go live this summer.
Atlantic Addiction
Kayla O鈥機onnor 鈥17
聽is a clothing brand for people who love the coast. Inspired by the Life is Good business model, O鈥機onnor is starting off with T-shirts and sweatshirts and planning to branch out to other apparel.
鈥淚 originally started with wanting聽聽to be my first boat name,鈥 said O鈥機onnor, who is from the coastal town of Hampton, New Hampshire. 鈥淭hen I was kind of thinking about what qualities I wanted to embody with basically the name when I started to think about logos and stuff. In聽, there鈥檚 actually four elements. They鈥檙e alchemy symbols. It鈥檚 air, earth, salt, and water.鈥
O鈥機onnor studied marketing and finance and played on Boston College鈥檚 women鈥檚 lacrosse team. She is now putting final touches on the聽聽website and nurturing a network that includes surf and other coastal shops between Maine and Florida.
鈥淚 want to make it really personal, and I want to take the time to meet people and build connections on my own,鈥 said O鈥機onnor, who is bringing samples of her products directly to shops. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be my way of investing鈥攊nvesting in samples and just making connections with people face-to-face.鈥
-Reporting by Emma Thompson, Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences '17, for the Carroll School of Management's
-Photo of VenU by Christopher Soldt; all other photography provided by student entrepreneurs.