ASU student entrepreneurs are breaking the conventional thinking that to start a successful venture means you don’t have time for earning a degree at the same time.
As the growing demand for problem solvers in the world continues to rise, a new breed of entrepreneur is emerging; students who juggle the time for heavy course work with the burdens of launching startups and new businesses at the same time.
"we'll be developing the Crown Scholarship program into not only a monetary benefit to a student's academic career, but also one that brings contacts, mentorship and awesome experiences,"
For three ASU students and recent recipients of the Crown Innovator Scholarship, which selects innovative and entrepreneurial students and assists them with $2,000 put toward tuition, their stories shed light on how being a student and an entrepreneur can be done and done well.
Tyler Metcalf, president of Entrepreneurs@ASU, says the scholarship came about after working with Eric Crown, a 1984 ASU graduate who went on to co-found the Tempe-based business, Insight Enterprises. Metcalf and his club worked together with Crown to develop the scholarship opportunity.
"He went for it, and over the next few years we'll be developing the Crown Scholarship program into not only a monetary benefit to a student's academic career, but also one that brings contacts, mentorship and awesome experiences," Metcalf said.
For Christen Forrester, a graduate student at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, choosing between going to school and starting a business was not a decision of one or the other.
Instead of opting to wait for more time after graduation she decided to combine her education with her business, creating a collaborative overlap that has worked out well.
Forrester’s venture, called FAV bags, involves the creation of re-usable fruit and vegetable bags that can be produced by women in developing communities.
Forrester suggested that student entrepreneurs find a way to incorporate their ventures into their areas of study, as she has, mixing her work on FAV into her thesis.
“Being a full-time graduate student…has left me with minimal time to spend developing the business, (but) because it relates so well to my area of study, incorporating my project into my thesis had enabled me to kill two birds with one stone,” she says.
Incorporating her business ideas with her academics has also kept her on track and motivated, Forrester says.
“The financial assistance I have received in the form of scholarships from ASU…has been invaluable in freeing me up from having to seek sources of additional income to support myself while in school,” she says, adding that there are many philanthropic organizations looking for students to support and sponsor.
“I have found that ASU has a great support system for student entrepreneurs. I’m proof that money is available if you’re willing to work hard and be passionate about what you’re doing.”Student entrepreneur Jeff Kunowski, a senior pursuing a degree in the Integrative Studies program, is a recipient of three scholarships, including the Crown Scholarship, and credits the resources at ASU as being important to his early success.
“I have found that ASU has a great support system for student entrepreneurs,” he says. “I’m proof that money is available if you’re willing to work hard and be passionate about what you’re doing.”
Kunowski points out that there is no limit to how many scholarships a student can receive, a key for aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking for funding or financial assistance while in college.
“Any scholarship money you receive after your tuition is paid for can be considered money in your pocket,” he says. “Or in the case of a student entrepreneur, money to use toward your startup.”
In Kunowski’s case, scholarships have helped him free up the funding to launch Illumin8 Outdoor Media in 2010, a company focused on development and commercialization of illuminated signage projects. He was able to secure initial funding for his startup through ASU.
For David Metoyer, an undergraduate in the W.P. Carey School of Business, his continued work with GlobalResolve, a social entrepreneurship program focused on creating sustainable technologies for developing countries, the desire to look toward scholarships was instilled in part by faculty he worked with on projects.
“Scholarships can allow entrepreneurs to invest more of their own time into a venture,” Metoyer says, adding that finding funding can really be the difference maker.
ASU currently offers 158 different scholarships to students, including the Crown Innovator Scholarship and the Factors Southwest Entrepreneurial Scholarship. Check out the complete list of scholarships or personalize a search to match opportunities relevant to your academic level here. For more information on scholarships check out FinAid, fastweb, Scholarship Help and CollegeBoard.
