Advice From a College Entrepreneur

For some, a school’s value ends with its ranking or the quality of its professors. For students pursuing entrepreneurship, a school’s value extends far beyond the classroom.

My last blog, 5 Entrepreneurial Ventures for High Schoolers, lists tips for pre-college innovators hoping to make their ideas a reality. It shares tips on how to start a business with few available resources.

College is a different story.

Though every school is different, each has a plethora of resources to support its students. In short, your school wants you to succeed. It’s up to you to find out how to make those resources work for you.

College: Perfect for exploring different interests

In my three years at Boston University, I’ve learned that, though the classes provide lots of hands-on experience, the real fun begins when you apply that experience to your endeavors outside the classroom. For me, that means making and appearing in short films, directing, producing, and acting in extracurricular theatre productions, and, this upcoming year, watching my own sitcom pilot onstage. None of this would have been possible without the incredible community at BU — and that community's willingness to consistently support each other’s endeavors.

However, my creativity ends there. While I’ve definitely watched my fair share of Shark Tank, I wouldn’t call myself an entrepreneur — and I have no interest in business school. I wanted to gain more perspective on how BU supports students determined to develop their ideas into real-world solutions. 

I recently sat down with fellow Boston University senior Kai Farr, a Media Science and Gender Studies student who has recently begun to explore entrepreneurship. Though still in the early stages of development, his product would create a much more equitable space in the menstrual product market. 

Note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve always been a self-starter. Could you talk briefly about your independent creative projects and how having that outlet impacted you?

I have always lived by the saying, “If you don’t do this, who will?” From a young age, I always took the lead in group projects, brainstorming inventions, or creating scripts and songs in my head. Basically, every afternoon as a kid, I spent either building new worlds with LEGO or writing stories about stories I wanted to live. 

My creativity definitely took off when I got a camcorder for Christmas when I was about 10. From there, I filmed a new short film about every other day. The plot didn’t matter; I just wanted to tell all the stories I could. Storytelling and creativity have always been great outlets for me to escape the stress of my daily life.

What was your dream career as a child? Did you ever see yourself as an entrepreneur?

I switched my career goals constantly, everything from astronaut to fireman to lawyer. I think the one that stuck out in my mind the most was my intense desire to be a “cat pirate.” I have no clue what the qualifications for that would entail or why I thought I would succeed in that field, but it just shows that I always had the mindset of “if I want to be something, I’m going to be it.” Entrepreneurship never really crossed my mind, I just knew whatever I ended up doing, I wanted it to involve creativity.

When, where, and how did you come up with your idea?

I came up with my idea in a class called “Media Business and Entrepreneurship” at Boston University. I had taken the class kind of on a whim, but it seemed like a unique way to learn about the business side of media. I came up with the idea in a matter of minutes as we were asked to address a problem that we see in the world. 

In another class, Media Health Campaigns, I had just learned about the intense period poverty epidemic and the lack of diversity in menstrual product marketing. So, I thought, “This is a huge problem that no one seems to be addressing on the business side of things.” I took that and ran with it.

Where are you in the process of developing this idea, and how has Boston University supported you in your endeavor?

Boston University has been incredible in helping me move forward with this project. They have this amazing program called the BUild Lab, which supports and funds entrepreneurial ventures. I’m hoping to really ramp up the process beginning this fall semester, and the BUild Lab will help me with this by providing me with an advisor and access to funding and networking. 

They’ve already connected me with multiple relevant people in the menstrual product market. I’m super excited to see where this project goes and to really get things rolling in the coming months.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs considering which college to attend? Is there anything you wish you would’ve known when you were making your choice?

My main advice is to really be passionate about whatever endeavor you decide to pursue. Being an entrepreneur is not easy. It takes grit and patience and resilience, but if you’re passionate about what you’re working towards, you’ll never get sick of the process.

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For a list of colleges with robust entrepreneurship programs, browse this selection by The Princeton Review.

To read about business and entrepreneurship summer programs that can support you before college — and help you learn about your dream school’s resources ahead of time — check out TeenLife’s selection of business and entrepreneurship summer programs.