Starting companies when you’re surrounded by books in a dorm room with little money is, at best, a long shot. Nonetheless, many companies’ success stories may be linked back to their college days. Campuses are experiencing a boom in business initiatives and operations thanks to rapid technology development. Young brains are captivated by the entrepreneur’s vision, which inspires them to accept the challenge and get through the challenges.
The most well-known social hub in the world has a storied beginning. Facebook has started off as a private social network for Harvard undergraduates in dorm rooms. It wasn’t even close to being the Facebook we know today back then. It wasn’t until all users 13 and older were allowed on the platform that it really took off. Facebook is the best example of a collegiate project turned corporate behemoth in existence today and one of the top firms on the Internet.
Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash
WordPress
Freshmen in college Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little founded WordPress, the most well-known content management system in the world, in 2003. They had no idea that their publishing platform would eventually power 20% of the internet and generate 41.7 million new posts each month. The fact that WP is open-source software, which enables users to access it without paying, is arguably its most remarkable feature.
Yahoo!
When Yahoo first launched in 1994, it was only a list of two students’ favorite websites that they had put together for their fellow classmates. The phrase “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” was actually used. The two buddies understood this idea had commercial potential once the visits began to mount. Despite learning that “yahoo” was already a trademark, they continued to make internet history by simply adding an exclamation point.
Thinkswap
Adam Fasullo, a student who chose to pursue a double degree in business and information technology, created this enterprise. Although sitting on two chairs had its benefits, he found that notes and old tasks were frequently swapped without his knowledge. That’s why he came up with the novel idea of Thinkswap. A thriving community of Australian students who upload, download, and share resources in this vast document library has developed from one individual student library.
Onion
Two janitors at the University of Wisconsin were unable to imagine their future success when they began making free paper in their residence. Tim Keck obtained the cash from his mother, and Chris Johnson, his business partner, undoubtedly looked into similar sources of funding. It didn’t come to that since the Onion’s sales to the colleagues skyrocketed, it expanded throughout the Midwest, and it eventually gained popularity as a cherished satirical journal.
Reddit, one of the most popular entertainment and social networking message boards online, was founded at the University of Virginia. It is admired for both its distinctive, easy-to-use interface and broad selection of customization possibilities. Also, democracy is at work here: logged-in users can vote items up or down the list, joining a vibrant community of young people from around the world.
Insomnia Cookies
When it comes to increasing their focus and motivation, night owl college students frequently use inventive approaches. Seth Berkowitz discovered that appeasing his nighttime sweet appetite works. As a result, he started baking cookies and selling them in modest quantities to other pupils. As the demand increased, he developed new recipes and started providing off-campus deliveries, laying the groundwork for a successful business.
A brand-new world of possibilities
Young business leaders have come a long way from their humble beginnings. They succeeded to move up the career ladder by making use of the vast network of resources they had at their disposal. It signals a bold new dawn that an estimated one-third of business incubators are located at colleges. It is important to remember that many of these success tales and companies were stimulated by the digital revolution and the expansion possibilities offered by the internet.
