College Entrepreneurship/HMOs

[Shredder]

its sounds intriguing. was anyone an entrepreneur at any time, especially college?

also, throughout my years ive heard a lot about HMOs. i dont really know what they are except that people are polarized about them. is there any way for me to get involved in one and make some cash? not to mention helping and whatnot, of course..

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[SanDiegoSOD]

A social entreprenuer, I guess. Definitely not a financial one. Regardless, it is fun to start your own organizations to "improve" society, although it is a ton of work if you want to do it right.

 

[Shredder]

theres plenty of opportunity to earn profit from a college business. some people do it in high school even. they tend to be small and simple operations but they make money nonetheless and provide invaluable experience, a lot more real world experience than what typical college clubs offer. theres something different when a bottom line is involved. very different.

im into the HMO idea though, i need to see if there are any roles for an undergrad to fill. it might be especially beneficial for an aspiring md/mba.

 

[CanuckRazorback]

theres plenty of opportunity to earn profit from a college business. some people do it in high school even. they tend to be small and simple operations but they make money nonetheless and provide invaluable experience, a lot more real world experience than what typical college clubs offer. theres something different when a bottom line is involved. very different.

You are absolutely right. We have a student-run business at my school that had sales of 120K last year. They sell diploma frames (www.sake.org). The students involved in this business definitely set themselves apart from other their classmates. It's nice because they get college credits and resume-building experience at the same time.

 

[Shredder]

You are absolutely right. We have a student-run business at my school that had sales of 120K last year. They sell diploma frames (www.sake.org). The students involved in this business definitely set themselves apart from other their classmates. It's nice because they get college credits and resume-building experience at the same time.

120k, thats serious money for a student run business. often i shy away from less glamorous businesses like diploma frames in favor of neat things like pharma and biotech, but sadly thats not an option as a mere undergrad. or is there some way? i need to start brainstorming, the hardest part is getting the smashing idea to start up a business. any suggestions on how to start? would you say its best to get involved in something youre familiar with, or rather to be a pure entrepreneur and capitalize on market opportunities as they present themselves?

so those guys get credit and resume experience...and the school takes away the money? haww, it cant be, too much lost incentive. im sure those guys were way ahead of their classmates in skills. oh i just checked that website, from the looks of it they should invest some money into redesigning it and making it a little more polished and pleasing to the eye. at least its there though.

 

[DrBowtie]

Our B-school has something like that. It sells T-shirts, that are the official gameday shirt of the student section, so like everyone has one. I'm not sure about their earnings but at 15$ a piece, I would venture to say they are doing pretty well.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

would you say its best to get involved in something youre familiar with, or rather to be a pure entrepreneur and capitalize on market opportunities as they present themselves?

Either way, you need to do things you know about. Without knowledge and experience in your business, then you're gambling.

Here are the businesses that I've started, small and large. It's fun.

College

1) Marine Cove: Saltwater aquarium setup and maintenance, which spun off into a temporary ornamental pond construction business for my younger brother.

Medical School

1) Premed consultation service where I edited personal statements for applicants and guided them through the process. This was my first dabbling of a purely internet business.

2) A&J Electronics- this was an internet retail operation where we sold retail goods via eBay and a Yahoo! store. This started from my frustations that I couldn't find Pokemon cards locally for my nephews. I spent 8 hours searching and finally paid twice the retail price at a mall specialty store. I went to eBay, and found the same cards for the same price WITH S&H ($4.95 for each deck). My time as a grad student was worth $10/hour. I wasted $80 hours of my time and spent twice as much on a retail product. I found a way to order directly from Wizards of the Coast. I ordered 200-300 decks of cards at the retail price of $10/each. I took these decks and sold 5-10 daily on eBay. Each auction started at 1 penny, but I sold each deck for $15-$40 each. It took me less than one month to move my initial inventory. I sold Pokemon cards for 3-4 months until the craze was gone. Then I took my profits and purchased overstock electronics from major manufacturers like IBM, Sony, Canon, etc... I sold these items in a Yahoo! store and on eBay auctions. I worked 2-3 hours daily before I went to lab during my PhD. I sent invoices to my mom 3000 miles away. We built the business to ~$400,000-$500,000 sales yearly with a profit margin of about 10%. Margins for electronics are slim, and as more sellers started to compete, I folded the business after 3 years when I started ophthalmology residency, but we were in the black for all three years. I also helped several friends start their own electronic retail business. A&J Electronics taught me a lot about e-commerce, how to run a business, and marketing. It also taught me dozens of other business models as I studied other businesses on eBay. This was an invaluable experience.

Residency

1) Started my first corporation. MedRounds Publications, Inc. You can follow our progress on our website: www.medrounds.org

We are publisher of academic materials for students, physicians, and patients. I have some big plans for this company, and many people are excited.

My advice is that if you have ideas, then write them down. Come up with a business plan. Determine your test market. Form the company then recruit investment capital. If you have your own money saved up, then you don't need to look at investors to help you with funding your young company. I recommend that you read the books in this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=194496

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Kiyosaki

and

Own Your Own Corporation by Sutton

Each of us have a great idea that can make millions of dollars. However, many of us have boundaries and external forces that prevent us from even trying. How often do you hear others say, "that's dumb", "it's already been done", "it's too late", or "you can't do that"? My advice is to not listen to the Chicken Littles who may surround you.

Some of these boundaries, on the other hand, exist in ourselves. You'll hear people say, "I had that idea too. IF only I had done it, then I'd make a million..." In the same breath, the individual continues to sit on the couch and watch TV.

 

[Shredder]

Either way, you need to do things you know about. Without knowledge and experience in your business, then you're gambling.

Here are the businesses that I've started, small and large. It's fun.

College

1) Marine Cove: Saltwater aquarium setup and maintenance, which spun off into a temporary ornamental pond construction business for my younger brother.

Medical School

1) Premed consultation service where I edited personal statements for applicants and guided them through the process. This was my first dabbling of a purely internet business.

2) A&J Electronics- this was an internet retail operation where we sold retail goods via eBay and a Yahoo! store. This started from my frustations that I couldn't find Pokemon cards locally for my nephews. I spent 8 hours searching and finally paid twice the retail price at a mall specialty store. I went to eBay, and found the same cards for the same price WITH S&H ($4.95 for each deck). My time as a grad student was worth $10/hour. I wasted $80 hours of my time and spent twice as much on a retail product. I found a way to order directly from Wizards of the Coast. I ordered 200-300 decks of cards at the retail price of $10/each. I took these decks and sold 5-10 daily on eBay. Each auction started at 1 penny, but I sold each deck for $15-$40 each. It took me less than one month to move my initial inventory. I sold Pokemon cards for 3-4 months until the craze was gone. Then I took my profits and purchased overstock electronics from major manufacturers like IBM, Sony, Canon, etc... I sold these items in a Yahoo! store and on eBay auctions. I worked 2-3 hours daily before I went to lab during my PhD. I sent invoices to my mom 3000 miles away. We built the business to ~$400,000-$500,000 sales yearly with a profit margin of about 10%. Margins for electronics are slim, and as more sellers started to compete, I folded the business after 3 years when I started ophthalmology residency, but we were in the black for all three years. I also helped several friends start their own electronic retail business. A&J Electronics taught me a lot about e-commerce, how to run a business, and marketing. It also taught me dozens of other business models as I studied other businesses on eBay. This was an invaluable experience.

Residency

1) Started my first corporation. MedRounds Publications, Inc. You can follow our progress on our website: www.medrounds.org

We are publisher of academic materials for students, physicians, and patients. I have some big plans for this company, and many people are excited.

My advice is that if you have ideas, then write them down. Come up with a business plan. Determine your test market. Form the company then recruit investment capital. If you have your own money saved up, then you don't need to look at investors to help you with funding your young company. I recommend that you read the books in this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=194496

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Kiyosaki

and

Own Your Own Corporation by Sutton

Each of us have a great idea that can make millions of dollars. However, many of us have boundaries and external forces that prevent us from even trying. How often do you hear others say, "that's dumb", "it's already been done", "it's too late", or "you can't do that"? My advice is to not listen to the Chicken Littles who may surround you.

Some of these boundaries, on the other hand, exist in ourselves. You'll hear people say, "I had that idea too. IF only I had done it, then I'd make a million..." In the same breath, the individual continues to sit on the couch and watch TV.

what an impressive business list! medicine, research, business, sounds like a handful. I did read Rich Dad Poor Dad quite a while ago when the Rich Dad series was young. It's probably largely responsible for why I think about things like this in the first place. There are Chicken Littles all over the place, and the couch potatoes. That's just how people are, it's easier. the passive income sounds appealing, and the financial freedom, not to mention that in the end you are fulfilling needs and in a way "helping people", to borrow a typical premed phrase.

i like medicine and research, but its going to be a long time before i can viably enter business there, so ill have to start thinking smaller and something more accessible to college students. writing down ideas sounds good, ill begin compiling a list. as for ebay, im well versed in it and sell things nicely, but they take a significant portion of your profits away. the tradeoff is that its much easier to start than a totally independent business.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

the financial freedom, not to mention that in the end you are fulfilling needs and in a way "helping people", to borrow a typical premed phrase.

I agree. There are many ways to "help people". I discovered throughout my training that I could serve society both as a physician and entrepreneur. As a physician, I can heal patients one at a time. As a researcher, I can discover one thing at a time. However, as an entrepreneur, if I can make millions or even billions, then I can heal millions of patients through funding of medical clinics and I will be able to fund thousands of researchers to find solutions to thousands of problems. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to create more pies for people when we live in a time of scarcity in academia and medicine. Less than 15% of scientists receive a NIH R01 grant for their research. Even after receiving one, if the grant does not get renewed, then the investigator may lose his/her lab.

as for ebay, im well versed in it and sell things nicely, but they take a significant portion of your profits away. the tradeoff is that its much easier to start than a totally independent business.

eBay is a good way to market. It's cheap advertisement for your company and brand name. List your company website in your ad to give yourself exposure.

Another alternative to selling and marketing is on www.Craigslist.org. You can post your ads for FREE here.

 

[DrBowtie]

While driving down the road, I got an idea. With all of the highway renovation/expansion there are millions of those orange barrels along the sides of the roads. Any idea about how much those get rented from or cost to make? Seems like it would be hard to get the government bid but if you got it, money would roll in.

 

[hardy]

theres plenty of opportunity to earn profit from a college business. some people do it in high school even. they tend to be small and simple operations but they make money nonetheless and provide invaluable experience, a lot more real world experience than what typical college clubs offer. theres something different when a bottom line is involved. very different.

I started a business (LLC) back in high school. IT security was the big thing then so that's what I did. We had extremely well known clients (banks, insurances, airlines) and made quite a bit of money. I was offered a $200k job by two different banks after high school but decided to stay with my business and continue my medical school plans. I took a year off to work and then went to college, after the second year in college business slowed down a bit because of my school and research commitments. However, my company has now a CEO (MBA graduate) and a CRO (former professor in risk management), as well as a handful of employees. We are currently working on a specialty software for which we are raising a substantial amount of venture capital. We will see if I have time to continue this during med school. I certainely hope you are right and this will looked upon favorabely by adcoms...

I am really interested in entering the biotech business one day. I already have an idea for a product which I will write out and patent sometime later this year, we will see what comes of it.

 

[Shredder]

I started a business (LLC) back in high school. IT security was the big thing then so that's what I did. We had extremely well known clients (banks, insurances, airlines) and made quite a bit of money. I was offered a $200k job by two different banks after high school but decided to stay with my business and continue my medical school plans. I took a year off to work and then went to college, after the second year in college business slowed down a bit because of my school and research commitments. However, my company has now a CEO (MBA graduate) and a CRO (former professor in risk management), as well as a handful of employees. We are currently working on a specialty software for which we are raising a substantial amount of venture capital. We will see if I have time to continue this during med school. I certainely hope you are right and this will looked upon favorabely by adcoms...

I am really interested in entering the biotech business one day. I already have an idea for a product which I will write out and patent sometime later this year, we will see what comes of it.

thats fantastic, if only i hadnt been so oblivious to the possibilities in business when i was a little younger. like many i had been caught up in focusing single mindedly on math and science. but im still only 20. it would be really silly for adcoms to see this as anything but superb, its much more meaningful and difficult than serving as president of this or that club or ladling soup in a kitchen. good luck to you, i think things like this warrant admission to the best schools. then again, b schools and med schools have their different criteria.

i had an idea today to start a maid service on my college campus, and im going to look into it. you guys are giving me hope and really making me want to get something off the ground, good deal.

those orange barrels huh, good eye. its a real skill being able to perceive opportunities like that, something only entrepreneurs do. i never even thought about that, something like halliburton eh? let me know, i want the Austin market! i used to be turned off by not so glamorous niches like this, but man an opportunity is an opportunity

 

[DrBowtie]

I'll give you all of texas. My allergies went crazy on my tour of UTA and my visit to Houston left me soaking wet. You can have the whole state just ship me some steaks every once in awhile.

 

[hopefulneuro]

I really like you guys' initiative. This is a great thread!!

I had a few product ideas, but they were patented already. I was thinking of a clipboard that attaches to the small desks in college auditoriums to allow for a book and papers to be fully spread out, and possibly with a cup holder. Also I thought of basically the same thing for the bathtub so people could eat or read while taking a bath, but someone already got to it!

Shredder- you may want to look into cleaning up for frats. I made a few bucks with a maid-type service after parties. The pledges were forced to clean the whole semester and would shell out cash for someone else to do it. We basically could push the fees upto the ceiling.

Also catering services open after midnight are popular for college.

Umm, t-shirts with stupid phrases are good. You just have to stay ahead of the game and always be alert.

I wish I had the comp skills some of you guys have. I just hate programming. C++ turned me off. I have a friend who just won a Gates-Cambridge to study computer science, so maybe you should hook up. He lacks business sense, but is a freakin genius with technology.

I'm still not sure medicine is the best route. You sure? I have been devoting a lot of time to reading the bios of the richest people and it seems that there is no safe way. We just have to risk it. Damn, I can't decide between business or medicine. Help!

 

[hardy]

While driving down the road, I got an idea. With all of the highway renovation/expansion there are millions of those orange barrels along the sides of the roads. Any idea about how much those get rented from or cost to make? Seems like it would be hard to get the government bid but if you got it, money would roll in.

There are already established companies renting those to the government. Without the right contacts its impossible to enter this business and even with it would be damn hard.

The only way you can make money as a young entrepreneur without the right contacts is with a novel idea. What I have learnt over the years is that contacts are the most important and valuable thing in business - and in life.

 

[hardy]

I'm still not sure medicine is the best route. You sure? I have been devoting a lot of time to reading the bios of the richest people and it seems that there is no safe way. We just have to risk it. Damn, I can't decide between business or medicine. Help!

No... if you just want to make money medicine is definitely not the best route. Getting an MBA an teaming up with somebody who has an idea would be the best thing to do. However, if you like medicine then it is a good way to go.
Personally, I am not after the money anymore... the reason why I like business is because you can establish something all by yourself!

 

[Law2Doc]

The only way you can make money as a young entrepreneur without the right contacts is with a novel idea.

I agree that contacts are helpful, especially if you want to do something entrenched like government contracting, although there are certainly legal bid processes the government must abide by (and they by law may need to give special consideration to adequately bonded lower bids, minority owned businesses and the like).
But I think that young entrepreneurs can do well with hardly "novel" ideas -- in some cases sticking to the basics works. While in college I knew people who made a decent living on the side doing very basic businesses like creating and running limo services, interior house painting, lawn care and the like. If there is a need and you market it well, even the most basic of services can be a money maker.

 

[hardy]

But I think that young entrepreneurs can do well with hardly "novel" ideas -- in some cases sticking to the basics works. While in college I knew people who made a decent living on the side doing very basic businesses like creating and running limo services, interior house painting, lawn care and the like. If there is a need and you market it well, even the most basic of services can be a money maker.

Of course you can make a decent living. I guess I should have specified that making money means having the company grow with the goal of an IPO. If you just want to make some money beside school there are plenty of opportunities.

Regarding the government bids, I can tell you from personal experience that contacts are still beneficial since they can partially influence or circumvent the bidding system (which is perfectly legal under certain circumstances).

 

[Shredder]

I really like you guys' initiative. This is a great thread!!

I had a few product ideas, but they were patented already. I was thinking of a clipboard that attaches to the small desks in college auditoriums to allow for a book and papers to be fully spread out, and possibly with a cup holder. Also I thought of basically the same thing for the bathtub so people could eat or read while taking a bath, but someone already got to it!

Shredder- you may want to look into cleaning up for frats. I made a few bucks with a maid-type service after parties. The pledges were forced to clean the whole semester and would shell out cash for someone else to do it. We basically could push the fees upto the ceiling.

Also catering services open after midnight are popular for college.

Umm, t-shirts with stupid phrases are good. You just have to stay ahead of the game and always be alert.

I wish I had the comp skills some of you guys have. I just hate programming. C++ turned me off. I have a friend who just won a Gates-Cambridge to study computer science, so maybe you should hook up. He lacks business sense, but is a freakin genius with technology.

I'm still not sure medicine is the best route. You sure? I have been devoting a lot of time to reading the bios of the richest people and it seems that there is no safe way. We just have to risk it. Damn, I can't decide between business or medicine. Help!

products eh, if you want i could send you this book over AIM in audio format
How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Everything You Need To Know To Turn a Simple Idea into a Million Dollar Payday
its short, an hour max, i just recently listened to it, it was informative. eating while taking a bath, gross! yeah there are a lot of patents out there...if nobody is doing anything with them you could consider licensing them and marketing them. but thats more of something we would be doing later, maybe as MBAs with high positions and power. MBA is great, license the discoveries researchers spend years to make, and make millions from them. i like to think i could do it for medical discoveries one day--i have to rationalize the MD somehow!

ive thought of making t shirts with molecules on them, biological or organic. i figured i could get some nerdy business out of that, but i havent taken it up, not sure how much market there is. those frat pledges did cross my mind, im going to talk to a business prof here with entrepreneurial experience to see what needs to be done.

comp skills huh, no worries there, look at what steve jobs did with his buddy steve wozyniak. jobs had no comp knowledge, made his partner do all of that while he did the hotshot stuff. i think web design is a convenient and valuable skill to have, but if you dont have it then what can you do, its too much of a commitment to learn right now. youll just have to shell out some thousands for pros to design a site for you.

rich ppl bios, i read too! i liked 2nd coming of steve jobs, trump how to get rich. im looking into getting richard branson: losing my virginity. any good ones youve read? im also wishy washy about pursuing medicine, but ive already taken the mcat and distributed recs, and hired this consultant to help. but in the end i thought about it and realized--there are people who would kill to be in our positions as highly qualified premeds, and it might be foolish to throw that away. we need jobs after all, and i think id rather be around med students for a few years before b school than average joes making 50k a year contently. either way b school is several years away, so if a combined md mba takes 5 yrs thats just great. remember, for every big shot businessman, there are tons who fell flat on their faces and are struggling to feed themselves now.

medicines definitely a good job though--job security, pay, freedom of location. we dont necessarily even have to do residencies, nobody forces you to. there are some docs on the forbes 400, gives me hope. docs do have a prestige that other ppl dont, rich or not. ppl look up to them and trust them, like ancient medicine men. and saving lives, healing, and getting to see cool things that others dont get to see, those are perks too. a short answer to why im going med right now is this: because i can, and not everyone can say that. that wont go over well with adcoms though ha. theres a reason parents push their kids to enter medicine, law, engineering, and accounting for example. theyre good dependable jobs, unlike the inherent gamble of business. and entrepreneurship isnt really a job until you hit a home run, which may take a while, but you still need to live until that happens.

 

[Shredder]

Of course you can make a decent living. I guess I should have specified that making money means having the company grow with the goal of an IPO. If you just want to make some money beside school there are plenty of opportunities.

Regarding the government bids, I can tell you from personal experience that contacts are still beneficial since they can partially influence or circumvent the bidding system (which is perfectly legal under certain circumstances).

IPO...that would be some crowning achievement. imagine waking up each morning and checking your own ticker symbol, wow.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

But I think that young entrepreneurs can do well with hardly "novel" ideas -- in some cases sticking to the basics works.

I agree completely with the above.

For instance, Ray Kroc didn't invent the burger. He purchased the name from the McDonalds' brothers, packaged the concept, and sold it to millions of people.

Another example, NetFlix didn't invent movie rentals. They brought it to a new level to 3 million subscribers who pay them over $600M in fees yearly. Blockbuster is dead in the water at the moment.

Let's also look at Google. Brin and Page didn't invent search engines. They actually entered the market when search engines were around for some time. They provided a superior product and now makes over $3 billion yearly.

 

[hardy]

For instance, Ray Kroc didn't invent the burger. He purchased the name from the McDonalds' brothers, packaged the concept, and sold it to millions of people.

Another example, NetFlix didn't invent movie rentals. They brought it to a new level to 3 million subscribers who pay them over $600M in fees yearly. Blockbuster is dead in the water at the moment.

Let's also look at Google. Brin and Page didn't invent search engines. They actually entered the market when search engines were around for some time. They provided a superior product and now makes over $3 billion yearly.

Ray Kroc and the Netflix people both had the contacts! You can easily enter an established market if you have the right contacts (and capital in some cases).

Google is different since they actually did have a novel idea (pageranking and modular servers). A novel idea does not mean something completely new in a new market. It just means that you have something that can substantially differentiate you from the competition.

 

[Law2Doc]

A novel idea does not mean something completely new in a new market. It just means that you have something that can substantially differentiate you from the competition.

To some extent you can differentiate yourself with good marketing and branding, competitive pricing, and the like. Sure, contacts always help, but the world is full of successes who started with none.

 

[Shredder]

Ray Kroc and the Netflix people both had the contacts! You can easily enter an established market if you have the right contacts (and capital in some cases).

Google is different since they actually did have a novel idea (pageranking and modular servers). A novel idea does not mean something completely new in a new market. It just means that you have something that can substantially differentiate you from the competition.

Google stock is over $250 now and theres speculation that it will rise more. i must say, those guys deserve every penny, they have really revolutionized the internet. i remember back in the days when i sometimes had burning questions and had to forget about them because there wasnt a way to find answers, or finding them was too cumbersome. now i can jump on google and instantly find many answers. the maps feature is neat too, where you can see everything from the satellite pictures. theres no telling what google will do next.

i think webmd is a medical analog of google. thats a great example of combining medical and business acumen to provide a great service.

 

[GreekIsleSunset]

No... if you just want to make money medicine is definitely not the best route. Getting an MBA an teaming up with somebody who has an idea would be the best thing to do. However, if you like medicine then it is a good way to go.
Personally, I am not after the money anymore... the reason why I like business is because you can establish something all by yourself!

I am definitely all about the money. The only reason I am considering medicine is because I really like challenges and feel that devoting one's life simply to selfish motives is not good. Plus I am nervous about the time before I make millions. I still want to be living well!

Everyone's ideas are great. I think Biotech is the best way to go. There are so many opportunities out there. Maybe med school will inspire us to say, "Gee, I think this could be done more efficiently with such and such a tool or method." Who knows. I agree with Shredder that making lots of money can be a way of helping people.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is good. I must say that when I first read it I was really excited. The concepts seemed so liberating, and the thought of making money while doing something totally different is exciting. My fav. books on simple financial stuff is Richest Man in Babylon and Think and Grow Rich. Two classics.

Maybe we all should organize something right now. We're in different parts of the country so we can have independence in our area but have the benefits of a group. If anyone is interested just PM me.

 

[CanuckRazorback]

120k, thats serious money for a student run business. often i shy away from less glamorous businesses like diploma frames in favor of neat things like pharma and biotech, but sadly thats not an option as a mere undergrad. or is there some way? i need to start brainstorming, the hardest part is getting the smashing idea to start up a business. any suggestions on how to start? would you say its best to get involved in something youre familiar with, or rather to be a pure entrepreneur and capitalize on market opportunities as they present themselves?

so those guys get credit and resume experience...and the school takes away the money? haww, it cant be, too much lost incentive. im sure those guys were way ahead of their classmates in skills. oh i just checked that website, from the looks of it they should invest some money into redesigning it and making it a little more polished and pleasing to the eye. at least its there though.

Actually, the students involved with SAKE do have an incentive. They use the profits to fund their yearly trip. This year, they are going to China. They are in China right now actually. I was a GA for that class and everyone was raving about the website. I don't know what they were excited about because I don't think it's that great or user-friendly for that matter.

Gosh, there are tons of opportunity to get involved with higher tech businesses in undergrad. Our engineering and physics department has tons of potential businesses in need of guidance. You should check with your school's Innovation Incubator if you have one (UT has to have one I would think) or the physics/engineering depts. UT hosts MOOT CORP, the largest and most lucrative entrepreneurial venture competition. There has got to be someone at UT who can tell you how to get involved.

I would say that having some knowledge of what you are getting into would help a great deal. The best way to start a business: identify a need and find a solution keeping in mind that people will actually want to pay for the product or service. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. I am starting a business with my dad this summer. There is a need for an athletic recruiting service in Canada and I know a lot about that. My dad has tons of connections in Canada, I have tons of connections in the US, so that will make our life a lot easier. I will still be a lot of work. That is something I kind of overlooked the first time around.

Good luck with your entrepreneurial endeavor! It is really rewarding!

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Our B-school has something like that. It sells T-shirts, that are the official gameday shirt of the student section, so like everyone has one. I'm not sure about their earnings but at 15$ a piece, I would venture to say they are doing pretty well.

I'm sure they do. They probably make at least 10$/shirt.

 

[CanuckRazorback]

thats fantastic, if only i hadnt been so oblivious to the possibilities in business when i was a little younger. like many i had been caught up in focusing single mindedly on math and science. but im still only 20. it would be really silly for adcoms to see this as anything but superb, its much more meaningful and difficult than serving as president of this or that club or ladling soup in a kitchen. good luck to you, i think things like this warrant admission to the best schools. then again, b schools and med schools have their different criteria.

i had an idea today to start a maid service on my college campus, and im going to look into it. you guys are giving me hope and really making me want to get something off the ground, good deal.

those orange barrels huh, good eye. its a real skill being able to perceive opportunities like that, something only entrepreneurs do. i never even thought about that, something like halliburton eh? let me know, i want the Austin market! i used to be turned off by not so glamorous niches like this, but man an opportunity is an opportunity

Maid service, great idea! Think about adding a laundry service to it. I swear, the day I will finally own my own washer/dryer, I will have arrived in this world! Everyone hates doing laundry and most people in the dorms have to pay to use the W/D anyway. Students might be willing to pay a premium for not having to deal with it at all.

 

[CanuckRazorback]

ive thought of making t shirts with molecules on them, biological or organic. i figured i could get some nerdy business out of that, but i havent taken it up, not sure how much market there is.

OMG, LMAO!

This is a great thread.

By the way, they do sell stuffed viruses, molecules, etc. Some people on the pre-allo forum think they are pretty cute

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Me again...

If you're into bio/tech, check out www.sbirworld.com. The US governmental agencies are always looking for proposal submission. The SBIR program is a great way to fund your business through grants. Of course, they look for very specific solutions to their problems, but if you score with the government - especially DOD, you're set!

 

[DrBowtie]

Back to my idea about the orange barrels. Recent data came out stating 26% of metropolitan roads are in "poor" condition. I should really look into it before the repair boom.

 

[Shredder]

Back to my idea about the orange barrels. Recent data came out stating 26% of metropolitan roads are in "poor" condition. I should really look into it before the repair boom.

ha...beware of public vs private sectors, like the genome race. repair boom haha im skeptical, economics dictates that public services are always abused and needing repairs and renovations, but there are limited tax dollars with which to do so. so theyre in poor condition and unless you become a politician or philanthropist i suspect they will remain in poor condition. not sure though, i dont want to be discouraging. its just that i dont have a lot of faith in or support for the public sector, too inefficient.

elsewhere on this forum i had a thread about starting a new med school. can that be done, by holding an IPO/VC to finance the first graduating class who will get free tuition and in return pay back a portion of their incomes to the school for say the next 10 years after graduation? its like the school offering loans but taxing them by income level, as an incentive for the school to turn out higher quality grads. feasible? it would certainly be something new. i like the idea of having school stocks on the exchanges, that would really force the schools to be accountable for their decisions and compete with each other.