Waking up at the crack of dawn and staying up into the late hours of the night, BYU student entrepreneurs take on a college experience unlike any other.
Stephen Kastner is a student entrepreneur who founded Zippsie, a company that sells baby clothing with hidden zippers that make diaper changes easier. The idea was spurred by one of Kastner’s professors, and he now runs the business with his wife. He said BYU has helped him have a personalized and applicable learning experience.
“Before I started this business, I just took classes to learn general things… I just saw school as like a check that I had to get it checked off my life list,” Kastner said.
Now, school has been the catalyst for Kastner’s business. Connecting with professors and having access to valuable information have been a few things that have helped him build his company.
“I’d say the only reason I’m building the business is because of school, and the only reason it’s growing is because of school,” Kastner said.
Kastner said he used to think BYU was very strict, but after connecting with program directors and other professors, he noted that they allow students to be self-driven and build their own curriculum.
Jeff Brown, program director of the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, runs BYU entrepreneurship programs like Seed and Launchpad, which he said help students create relationships they can rely on in the future.
“Business is all about relationships,” Brown said.
Brown believes what sets student entrepreneurs apart from other students is their problem-solving skills and the applicability of their classes.
“A lot of their classes they’re applying right in their day-to-day because they are in their career right now,” he said.
Brown also said student entrepreneurs maximize their time and work hard — using all hours of the day because “their business never sleeps.”
Another student entrepreneur, Cameron Woolstenhulme, is the co-founder of ReVroom, a company that eases the process of buying and selling rebuilt cars. He said being a student entrepreneur can be overwhelming.
“The best word I could use to describe it is drowning,” Woolstenhulme said.
However, he explained that the Rollins Center and other entrepreneurship programs have been like a life vest that keeps him afloat, making it one of the best places for him to start a business.
Woolstenhulme also said he believes it’s in BYU’s best interest to supply resources so that innovations can be created, making entrepreneurship a win-win situation for both the university and students.
“I’d rather build with people who have my back and want to see me succeed than out in the cold trying to make things work with whatever resources I can scrape together myself,” Woolstenhulme said.
While some entrepreneurs drop out of college after starting a profitable business, Woolstenhulme said he would rather have a degree to fall back on in case success wears off. Brown reflected a similar sentiment.
“There’s just so many things that can happen in a business where all of a sudden, you were doing great, you were flying high, and then now you’re brought to your knees, and now your livelihood is out the window,” Brown said.
Although Brown supports students doing what they feel is best, he encourages them to seriously consider completing their degree so they're prepared.