Student Entrepreneurs Take Care of Business

Then again, most students aren't entrepreneurs.

At UNC, however, there are several students who have taken the initiative to start one or more businesses while attending school.

The Carolina Entrepreneurship Club, sponsored by the Kenan-Flagler Business School's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Venturing, was started in fall 2001. This year's advisers, Todd Ballenger and Hunter Bost, have worked on making the club a more available resource.

"The club needed a little shot -- it really was a challenge," said Bost, a UNC graduate with a bachelor's in economics and a master's in accounting.

Both were asked by Jeff Reid, the director of the CETV, to advise the club.

"We hope that the CEC will expand and become a major club on campus," Reid said.

The resurgence of the club reflects the interest of many UNC students who are running their own businesses while going to school.

Junior Roy Kim works freelance as a Web designer. He is working on a Web site called

campusexchange.net where students can list and exchange textbooks.

Although Kim used to work 20 to 30 hours a week, he has now reduced that number to 10 to 20. "I have to focus on my studies. I'm studying for my MCATs," Kim said. Ultimately, I don't want to do this for the rest of my life."

He said he hopes his project will attract more contracts."It's all about networking. It's all about who you know and how you cater to them," he said.

In addition to making his own connections, freshman Ryan Allis also devotes time to helping other student- entrepreneur hopefuls. His company, Virante Inc., does software development and e-business consulting and was started the summer of 2000, when Allis was a junior in high school.

He also founded and serves as president of The Entrepreneurs Coalition, a nonprofit organization in Chapel Hill that encourages entrepreneurship and the building of an international network of young entrepreneurs.

"You need networking," Allis said. "You need to find someone who is doing what you want to do."

One of the resources Allis said he has found helpful is the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in Research Triangle Park.

But he said starting a business, even with resources, is difficult. "The biggest challenge is building relationships so that you can learn from others, so that you can grow," Allis said.

Tracy Stutz, director of conferences and initiatives at the CED, said the area's universities are great resources.

"We think a huge asset is that we have three universities in the area," Stutz said. "There are so many student entrepreneurs."

Junior Erik Severinghaus is involved in running two businesses. One, incorporated about a month ago, is called Aerea Consulting, a consulting company for small businesses, as well as potential and current homeowners.

He started the other, FastCAT Inc., over the summer with a friend. They designed a product that beams digital information directly to customers' Palm OS devices. "Nothing I've done in business (classes) has been as exciting as starting a business," Severinghaus said.

He said the CEC is a great resource for students interested in business.

"You meet a lot of people who have gone out there and started doing it -- it's something that I never realized," he said. "There's this whole group of people who are interested."

Senior Aaron Houghton is part of that group. He serves as the CEO of Preation Inc., a Web software and design company in Chapel Hill.

Houghton said he thinks the most difficult part of establishing a business is earning the trust of clients. "Establishing the initial reputation and revenue is the largest step," Houghton said.

And Reid said being a student entrepreneur requires not only business savvy but also time-management skills.

"It takes a special student to handle business and go to school," Reid said. "More and more students are interested in entrepreneurship. I think we should meet this demand."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.