THE VIBE. Nowhere else but in college will you be surrounded by so many like-minded, like-aged people with whom to start your future business. There is a constant buzz about college campuses. You'll always find a kindred spirit or three with whom to share your ideas (or contribute a few of their own.) Back in the dot-com era, one couldn't walk down a hall at Harvard without hearing some new radical venture plan. Things have obviously toned down since that time, but the general ethos still remains.
The best places to find potential partners are among business or technology majors, but there's always the successful company started by a shrewd English major. If you have an idea, and can find people you can both trust and rely upon to contribute to it, grab them quickly, and get moving. It's amazing how much a group can add to your idea's momentum. Our venture began from idle discussions in a computer-theory class. Within a year, a group of two became a group of three, and we were soon renting an apartment to accommodate five for a summer of intense coding.
It's important to remember, however, that the entrepreneurial energy of your campus is not strictly limited to the freshman quad. Your university's graduate schools, and the campuses around you, are fertile grounds for both personal enrichment and valuable business partnerships. By the time I graduated, I had taken classes at nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and the Harvard Business School. Each offered something I couldn't obtain in my normal undergraduate curriculum.
At MIT, I was able to study military science and make valuable contacts with professors in that field. At the Design School, I studied the 3D art applications I would need to make a more polished product. And Harvard Business School offered me the chance to work with a world-class research professor on our company's business plan. At each campus I met students with similar interests, similar ideas, and similar motivations. Remember, then, that the entrepreneurial value of your time on campus grows exponentially with every new campus at which you spend that time!
THE MESSAGE. There are, unquestionably, obstacles to launching a venture while still at school. As I alluded to before, your class syllabus will inevitably conflict with your business trip to, say, New York. You won't possibly comprehend the importance of an arcane theory class required by your major. And you'll have to work against a system that, at times, would rather see you contribute to the ivory tower than your investors' stock portfolios.
But, that said, I have advised countless undergrads to pursue their entrepreneurial vision while on campus. The ability to get professional advice, the immediate access to valuable contacts, and the massive pool of talent are never greater than they are during those four years. There is, no doubt, an interesting game to be played as a student-cum-entrepreneur. But, if you do know how to play the game, and capitalize on the advantages, the gains to be had for you and your business are tremendously rewarding.
Asi Lang, 23, co-founded Windward Mark Interactive, LLC, as a senior at Harvard University with four classmates in 2003. Lang currently serves as president and chief executive officer. The company develops software that substantially enhances the quality and realism of military simulators and computer games. WMI is located in Waltham, Mass., and expects its patented technology to be ready for market in the first quarter of 2005. Lang earned a B.A. degree cum laude from Harvard in 2003, majoring in computer science with a focus in graphics. A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from Viewpoint High School in 1999, where he was named valedictorian of his class.
Entrepreneur's Byline comes to BusinessWeek Online readers courtesy of
EntreWorld.org, a resource for entrepreneurs that is sponsored by the nonprofit Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Printer-Friendly Version
