For most students joining college, this is a moment to enjoy some freedom while also gaining some skills. This is a phase of a life characterized by boldness and a daring spirit. If you have that nagging dream to solve a problem in society, this is the best place to build on it. You have lots of time to research and consult. Some students channel their energies into actualizing their ideas into viable business projects.
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, this post looks at some successful companies built by college students for inspiration.
Facebook numbers tell an incredible story; 2.85 billion monthly active users (MAUs), 1.84 billion daily users, 59% of social media users are on Facebook, and 200 million businesses use Facebook tools. 17 years since its launch, Facebook is arguably one of the most recognized brands and it’s hard to believe this grew from an idea in a college dorm.
Mark Zuckerberg and his friends created Facemash while at Harvard University as an online community. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, if you want to grow your food delivery, janitor cart supply business, online cab, or any other business, Facebook is among the best platforms to market yourself.
FedEx
In 1971, 28-year-old Yale University student, Frederick W. Smith had an idea about overnight shipping to solve a glaring gap in the logistics industry. Smith wanted to actualize an idea he had described in his economics class. He used his inheritance and lost a lot of money at the beginning. Today, this is one of the most recognizable brands across the globe.
WordPress
To say WordPress is an impressive content management system (CMS) would be an understatement. This is one of the most popular CMSs and it’s hard to believe it was an idea by college students. Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little teamed with Michel Valdrigh to create an alternative to b2/cafelog, a blogging platform that had stopped operating. Today, most of the websites use WP CMS.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin were PhD students when they started Google in 1996. Today, almost every internet user uses this search engine to find information. In 2020, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, became the 3rd IT company to surpass the 1 trillion market valuation.
Microsoft
When Bill Gates and Paul Allen met in middle and high school, it was obvious the two geniuses would amount to greatness. And this finally came when the two quit college and focused on programming. In 1981, their dream actualized as MS-DOS licensed to IBM. This metamorphosed into one of the most exciting IT companies in the world.
Time Magazine
Many people read the Time Magazine, but most don’t know this was a venture started by two college students. Briton Hadden and Henry Luce worked as the managing editor and chair of the Yale Daily News. In 1923, they bet on a weekly magazine, which was a new idea then. It grew to become one of the most circulated news magazines.
If you have an idea you feel could blossom into a successful business, use your time in college to nurture it. These successful businesses should inspire you never to keep working on the project.
As long as you are young, you are more motivated and optimistic, able to take risks. It is unlikely that all of these successful founders would have decided to go down this road if they were over 40.
Good point, and I definitely think there is some truth to it. Peoples risk tolerance definitely changes with age, but there is nothing to stop you from starting a business at an older age, and it may even help having additional work/industry related experiences relative to the business you are starting. Thanks for commenting!