Have you ever thought of launching a business while still in college? From Facebook to WordPress to Yahoo and Reddit, all of them have their origins in college. All of its CEO's were venturesome students who were courageous and confident of their business model from the very beginning of their venture. However, all of them saw humble beginnings before attaining greatness. Many of these success stories were greatly triggered by the amalgamation of digital revolution and growth opportunities that the ever-expanding internet still offers.
Business opportunities at Colleges
Most students are having a very common opinion that as students they are in no state to commencing a business, say a startup. They are influenced by a myth that the college is the place for educational purposes. Some might also step back because they think they are financially poor or amateur whereas most of the successful entrepreneurs have experienced the same at the initial phase of their life. What students forget is that they can have a number of advantages while being in a college if they have an idea that could be turned into a business.
Colleges, especially a business college, enjoy the privilege of being a rendezvous where you can have access to experts.
When your world of ideas is in sync with your college connections
You may have a bunch of ideas that could be worth translating into a business. The only thing that needs to be done is to make it alive through a smart and practical implementation. College life offers a golden opportunity for all the aspiring entrepreneurs to test out their talents.
Colleges, especially a business college, enjoy the privilege of being a rendezvous where you can have access to experts. Even if they don't claim to be experts of their subjects, they might have already proved it through their survival in their own field, say teaching or counseling. They are the ones who work every day on students' problems and help in finding innovative solutions. These economics or business mentors are power-packed with theories that have been proven practical many a times. And, students can get easy access to their valuable professional insights on business. Most professors are glad to share their experiences, knowledge and valuable advice for free while other professional mentors or CEOs might be out of reach or charge money for the same.
Everyone, except your teacher, asks as to what you are offering in return, isn't it? Then nowadays, most of the professors want to be a part of the private sector and other novel experiences & ideas. Most of them whom I met are interested in writing a research-paper and publishing it. They are very interested in the involvement with the creative students. Hence, an idea can be thoroughly tested with their assistance.
You also get to know a lot of other students who possess certain talents and traits, to rope them into your business venture. This collaboration with teachers and peers broadens your network and connections.
Other campus resources, risks, and rewards
Universities and Colleges give access to one of the fastest internet connections, along with a serene area suitable for creative processes. Besides, you can get access to free meeting rooms, books from libraries and much more. If you compare risks with rewards, rewards will always outnumber the risks. But that doesn't convey that you should be more casual in your approach towards launching your venture. You need not forget that after college the risk will be larger than what your present assumption is. College offers you enough time to start at least one venture a year, to find whether the idea would work or not. Who knows, your idea can witness earth-shattering success! Or in other cases, you'd learn to cope with losses or even get a new breakthrough idea from the old one.
Practical application of education
College is all about classes and lessons taught. You can apply whatever has been taught to your business venture. It provides a better initial acceleration to your business. Taking the reins over your career trajectory can be nerve-wracking compared to just graduating and taking on a plush desk job. But if you want real control over your life's direction, a startup unarguably serves as one of the best avenues to do just that. You just need to be ready to take on more responsibilities.
In case, your startup or venture fails, it will still be added to your experience. When you commence your own business, it gives the impression that you are brave, smart, talented and are not afraid of taking a risk. These traits even attract the attention of any successful corporation. Hence, even if you taste failure there are more chances of making a potentially lucrative career if you take the lessons from your failure in the right spirits.
It's high-time to tread on the path of one of the most well-known and successful entrepreneurs who started their business while attending college, whether it be Mark Zuckerberg, Daniel Ha, or Michael Dell.
Rohit Manglik, Founder and CEO
Rohit Manglik is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. He completed B.Tech in Information Technology from National Institute of Technology Karnataka. Later, he worked with renowned companies like Oracle, Morgan Stanley, The D. E. Shaw group which was the key reasons for developing entrepreneur abilities. With the mind-set to innovate the education sector, Rohit founded EduGorilla Community which provides career related solutions.
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