The site has only been live for three weeks, but the trio hopes to expand the idea into more similar sites for specific areas, like fashion, academia, and music. "It will give college students a media portal to showcase their designs," Lennon said, in the case of budding fashion designers, for example. "It's free media that they would otherwise never get."
The same principle could be extended to college students' bands that are currently flying under the radar, he said, or to undergraduates whose writings grapple with critical issues but who do not have the forum to be heard.
The students, who support their site through ad revenue, encouraged inter-university collaboration to get the most out of entrepreneurial skill and potential.
At a panel discussion following the awards' announcement, moderator Paul Jon McNealy, BC '90, explained that the judges looked for sound financial statements, market competition analyses, the possibility of live, tangible results, a well-conceived presentation, and a clear business model. Some, though not all, of the startups had progressed beyond the conceptual stage, though this was not a requirement to enter the competition.
Boynton said that the event allows student exposure to aspects of business they might not have normally considered. "The nature of entrepreneurship requires students to open up to possibilities they never thought of before," he said. "Many CSOM students come to BC with a very narrow track in mind, and they never see this side of the world of business."
Because startups pose so much risk - and often, failure - many students tend toward "safe" corporate America. "This competition offers a fresh vantage point on what the future might hold for them," Boynton said. "It's a look, a reflection on a possible change of direction, which is what BC should encourage.
"The competition is not success-driven; it's a dimension to formation in a different trajectory that includes some risk-taking and the chance of failure," he said.
Spring Break
