Student Profiles

Student: Janey Hair '11

Business: Rosey Pink Cosmetics

"I feel as if I’m taken seriously at Champlain," says Champlain first-year student, Janey Hair, co-founder of Rosey Pink, a brand of affordable, high-quality cosmetics for tweens and teens that Janey sells online. "BYOBiz is the reason I chose Champlain," the Business major from Tampa, Fla. continues. "I had a business to bring and I knew that I would need guidance, and that’s what BYOBiz offers its members.

"All the kids in BYOBiz are really into it, and really supportive of each other," she says. "It’s not just a club. People are actually running their businesses. Bob Bloch (BYOBiz director) is a great guide for us and is always e-mailing us about opportunities to meet with entrepreneurs. "I recently attended the Leaders’ Circle dinner and delivered a speech on building my company. I sat at the president’s table and got to meet business people from the area who are connected to Champlain."

With a full complement of classes, a business to run and college life to enjoy, it’s an understatement to say that Janey is busy. And she is "ramping up her business. "It gives me more drive, being here," she says. "I have more ideas now and more resources," including classes in E- Business and Business in a Global Environment. This is Rosey Pink’s third year in business. Janey wants it to be a big one. "I’m looking to post a profit."

Student: Russell Martin ’09 and James Lennon ‘09

Business: IMAG3

The ideas for IMAG3 come spilling from Russell Martin and James Lennon faster than it’s possible to record them. “IMGE3 is about building a three-level network to support those with a creative passion for all forms of riding,” says Russell, a junior Graphic Design & Digital Media major from Sanford, Maine. “We take riding, add hip-hop and thread them together through a line of sweatshirts and tees.” Russell incorporated his own ideas from design classes to start and generate the original ideas for the company.

The two have been friends since their first year at Champlain. “One day we were just hanging out and talking about business and clothing,” recalls James, a junior Business major from Seacliff, NY. “One thing led to another and we decided to team up and join the BYOBiz program and see what it could offer.”
“We’ve since learned about the possibilities in the business world, strategies from retailers and successful entrepreneurs that are really helpful,” Russell says. “If not for BYOBiz, we wouldn’t have this kind of access.

“BYOBiz goes hand-in-hand with the curriculum here,” James agrees. “I go into my Advanced Accounting course or Business Strategic Management and I can use IMAG3 as the basis for my work.

“Bob Bloch (BYOBiz director) is really down to earth. He’ll tell you his honest opinion. He makes me think of the bigger picture.”

“We’ve learned how much there really is to the BYOBiz Program,” James says. “We’re sitting down with business owners and hearing about what they did, what worked for them, what they overcame and how they solved problems."

Students: Keegan Flynn ’09 (left) and Ian Frisch ’10

Business: Co-owners and co-founders of Short Bus Ice Cream

"BYOBiz has created opportunities for us through professional mentoring, public awareness of our business, planning for the future, and entrepreneurial motivation. The program has turned our proverbial baby-steps as entrepreneurs into an opportunity to sprint into the world of privately owned businesses."

Student: Jason Nikel ’07

Business: Third Shift Apparel

“Resources” is how Jason Nikel answers the question on how Champlain’s BYOBiz program helps him with his business, Third Shift Apparel, a line of urban style hoodies, hats and tees made for men and women.

“I’m able to meet with program directors and profs,” Jason says. “They’re knowledgeable people and they refer me to others who can also help me. I get exposure in the community, too. Just getting the name out there helps. Then, if someone hears my name later, they’ll say, ‘Hey, I know that guy!’”

	At a BYOBiz press conference, student entrepreneur Jason Nikel fields a question as Vt. Governor Jim Douglas looks on.

Jason began his business in 2004. “I started designing my own tee-shirts because I wasn’t happy with the clothing selection I saw in retail,” he says. “As a Multimedia and Graphic Design major, I could design my own logos and put them on tee-shirts. I started with iron-on transfers and wore them around. My friends liked my designs, so they placed their orders and they’d pay me cost. But iron-on took too long, so once I went with Third Shift Apparel, I started having them screen printed.

“In making Third Shift, I needed a back story,” Jason relates. “When I first started, I had other names, but no story. The ultimate late-night lifestyle became that story. ‘It’s not a brand, it’s a life style,’ is Third Shift Apparel’s slogan. It’s about the late-night college lifestyle as a whole, whether you’re up to 3 a.m. writing a paper or out with friends partying and having fun. It’s a lot easier for people to relate to a lifestyle than to a brand because there’s more of a story to someone’s life. Third Shift has that story.”

Balancing his own college lifestyle and running his business “hasn’t been the easiest thing,” Jason readily admits. “What I try to do as a design major is to base my work as much as possible on my business. From making a concept Web site to writing term papers, I use Third Shift as a model and kill two birds with one stone. If I can’t do both, I either put my business or my studies on the back burner until I catch up. But, ultimately, the BYOBiz program and my studies run hand in hand. I can’t have one without the other. Besides, juggling them both now and knowing that I can balance both will help me deal with future challenges.”

Jason’s future also includes two goals he hopes to achieve by the holiday season: a line of women’s apparel and a Web site, thirdshiftclothing.com. He currently displays his work at www.myspace.com/thirdshiftclothing. Jason also plans to stay close to the BYOBiz program and Champlain College.

“I’m willing to help out any way I can,” says the Shelburne, Vermont, native, who plans to keep his business local. “Even though I’ll graduate in May, I’ll come back to Champlain part-time and do more business-oriented classes. I’m not a business major, so I’m sure those classes will help me. The thing is, you don’t have to be a business major to be in the BYOBiz program. Having an array of students who aren’t business majors definitely helps the diversity of entrepreneurs in the program.

“In the future, I’m sure I can use a Champlain College intern or come in to speak to future BYOBiz classes. I want to stay a part of the program.”

Major: Multimedia & Graphic Design
Hometown: Shelburne, VT
Extracurriculars: Running a business
Internship: 802 Action Sports (’07)
Advice to Champlain prospects: “Champlain is a great school; you only get what you put into it.”

Student: Ben Kaufman

Business: Mophie
Web: www.mophie.com

When Ben Kaufman arrived at Champlain College in the fall of 2005, he had already established his iPod peripheral accessory company, Mophie, and was looking to build on his successes. Champlain proved to be the perfect place. As a charter member of the BYOBiz program, Ben leveraged contacts he made at Champlain to secure $2 million in venture capital through Fresh Tracks and Village Ventures. Now, two short years later, Champlain’s BYOBiz celebrates Ben’s successes, including most recently the sale of Mophie to mStation of San Diego for an undisclosed amount.

Entrepreneur magazine profiled Ben in an article (“Alma Matters”) in its November 2006 edition. “With high energy and a strong entrepreneurial drive, Kaufman was looking for a college program that would meet his needs -- and Champlain’s policy that students can take coursework in their major immediately rather than waiting until their junior year was a big attraction for him. “I knew if I went to a traditional college, I would get bored pretty quickly,” says Kaufman. “[At Champlain,] you start your major on the first day of your first semester. I [immediately] studied international business, marketing and accounting.” And he could apply all the coursework to his existing business.

With the sale of Mophie, Ben has moved on to his next big idea, the Illuminator, a social networking site for Product development and problem solving. Ben is on leave from Champlain to pursue his dream. All of us in BYOBiz Program wish him well.

Students: Peter Bruhn ’06 & Peter Jewett ’07

Business: Go Trading Post
Web: www.gotradingpost.com

Champlain e-Business Management major Peter Jewett had his “Eureka!” moment when he sold a pair of his roommate’s skis for $200 and made $25 in commission. He asked his friend, Business major Peter Bruhn, if he’d like to join him in an online venture that today is known as GoTradingPost.com. From an 11x19’ office in Burlington they rented in 2004, the two began their eBay auction business, acting as brokers for an astounding variety of items. They quickly outgrew their location, and now occupy a 24,000 square foot warehouse. “We immersed ourselves,” Jewett said. “With guerilla marketing and a lot of persistence, we were able to ramp up our business and now we’re running at full pace.”

It would seem so. GoTradingPost.com’s annual sales in 2005 were $80,000; first quarter sales alone in 2006 were $83,000.

At Champlain College, Bruhn and Jewett can apply their schoolwork to their growing enterprise outside of the classroom. Their professors offer advice and encourage the students to use their business as the focus in required class projects. “All the business courses have helped me,” Jewett says. “I know exactly what the professors are talking about because I’m doing it right now -- it’s a hands-on experience.”

Student: Meagan Brown ’06

Business: MGB Designs

Meagan Brown never dreamed she’d run a Web design business out of her dorm room. But her Champlain journey has been a quick study in entrepreneurship. How did she swing it? She did it by taking full advantage of Champlain’s Upside-Down Curriculum. You don’t wait until your junior year to take classes in your major -- you jump right in freshman year. This let Meagan explore her Web Site Development major. She quickly learned front- and back-end coding and absorbed her Business and Marketing classes. Before she knew it, her professors were funneling freelance gigs her way. Thus began MGB Designs.
 
“Any Champlain student could start their own business based on their Champlain education,” she says. “The school encourages it. They call it BYOBiz.” With classes so grounded in the real world, it’s no coincidence so many Champlain students are struck by the entrepreneurial bug. They’re just seizing upon their practical, market-driven Champlain education. Meagan found her niche in Web design. You might find yours in forensics, e-gaming, or professional writing. As for Meagan: “Champlain has transformed me. I’ve found my career. I’m more confident. More professional. And much smarter.”

Major: Web Site Development and Management
Hometown: Coventry, VT
Extracurriculars: Intramurals Coordinator and Residential Advisor
Fitness activities: Pilates, kickboxing, yoga and cardio dance
Internship: “I’ve done two, Just Results Mediation and VNA Hospice”
Mentor: Professor Sarah Pettitt, “She’s always sending me new clients.”
Advice to Champlain prospects: “If you want to go somewhere in your life, this is the school for you."