Media Credit: Dean Sagun The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown on Colorado Street first opened in 1997 and was an original Austin entrepreneur project.

They're already here, whether you know about them or not. That tent in front of the Littlefield Fountain; that movie theater downtown; they belong to them. The aluminum supports that hold up pipes on commercial buildings and the music you listen to at Emo's on Fridays were created by them. Who are they? Entrepreneurs.

According to Newsweek, 65 percent of students aged 14 to 21 are interested in starting their own business. Entrepreneurial students wanting to open their own business generally face obstacles such as age discrimination, lack of funding, lack of time and a lack of experience. These factors are enough to hinder most students from opening their own business, but for some, the entrepreneurial spirit prevails.


Entrepreneurial satisfaction

Rather than crossing the Drag to buy and sell books from the University Co-op bookstore, many students seek other ways to get textbooks. Kunal Das, a finance senior, took it a step further when he decided to give the book business a shot.

"I started Grade-A-Books with UT alumni Lemuel Anaejionun to help students speed up the process of buying their student books and, especially, to save them some money."

Grade-A-Books set up shop in front of the University Catholic Center, directly across the Littlefield Fountain. To stretch his dollar further, Das borrowed RecSports equipment for his booth and computer equipment from friends. The convenience of his location helped him attract students who wanted to sell back their books last fall and buy books this spring.

"We used a lot of grass-roots marketing methods: word of mouth, flyers and physically announcing our business inside classrooms," Das said.

As a finance major, Das focused primarily on business books. "We talked to professors, inquired at the Co-op and checked online schedules to see which books would be used the following semester," Das said.

For many business students, the booth was closer and offered cheaper prices than the Co-op.

"My team at Grade-A-Books did a great job, and we ended up selling our entire inventory during the first week of school," Das said.

While there may be plenty of student entrepreneurs around campus, not all of them are as visible as Das and his Grade-A-Books tent.

Erik Hassfurther, an engineering senior, is only 20 years old, but he controls 60 percent of the stainless steel pipe support business in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. He's the founder of the Dallas-based manufacturing company Adjustable Pipe Supports, a manufacturing company he began shortly after he graduated from high school and while he was working with his father in 2002.

While on the job, Hassfurther noticed a need for custom-designed, stainless steel pipe supports, which sit atop most commercial buildings. He fashioned his own crude version, then subcontracted the fabrication of the pipe supports to a metal shop. He established his business over the summer by selling his product to construction contractors.

"Once I had to leave for college, I had subcontracted all aspects of the business, so I could run it from Austin," Hassfurther said. "When it comes to running my business from Austin, the phone and computer are my life."

Hassfurther noted that without the convenience of e-mail and the Internet, running his business remotely from Austin would be practically impossible. Through the use of convenient technology, Hassfurther can get pipe supports from his supplier to a contractor within hours, he said.

Both Das and Hassfurther expressed their enjoyment of what they do and the financial rewards their businesses bring them.

"I've worked several jobs with great pay, but nothing is more satisfying to me than making my own money through my own hard work," Das said.


Business-based bassist

Bands members are generally not thought of as entrepreneurs, but taking a closer look at a start-up band gives a different impression.

"I spend over 30 hours a week just contacting club owners, calling venues and [doing] general PR work," said David Weschsler, a bassist for the band Five Dollar Friend. "Most people don't realize that startup bands are very business-based. Yeah, we do shows and have fun, but behind it all, there is still a business aspect."

Weschsler noted that if your band does not bring in the crowds that make money for venue owners, they will "fire" you just as if you performed poorly at a job.

"People don't realize we are really entrepreneurs; we just sell a slightly different product: entertainment and our music."

Five Dollar Friend consists of five full-time students at various universities who take the time to travel and play gigs all around Texas.

"Being in this band requires more work and more hours than a regular job demands of you. There is also a lot more risk in your personal life and future by being in a band rather than holding down a steady job," Weschsler said.


Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit

Texas Entrepreneurs is a relatively new UT organization, but it has already caught the eye of community business leaders. This undergraduate organization aims to foster the entrepreneurial spirit by teaching its members real-world business skills. Texas Entrepreneurs has already sponsored several CEOs of multi-million dollar companies to speak to the organization, as well as prominent UT professors and local Austin businessmen such as Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League.

"Tim League came to speak to us and was very impressed with our organization, and wanted to further work with us," said Sean Salahshour, vice president of Internal Affairs for Texas Entrepreneurs and finance senior at UT. "He pitched us an idea for an 'Alamo Apprentice,' where competing Texas Entrepreneurs members will actually get to run the Alamo Drafthouse."

Like the popular TV show starring Donald Trump, teams will compete and go through firings and even face punishments for poor performance. This unique event would give Texas Entrepreneurs members real life experience with running a highly recognized and established business right here in Austin.

Salahshour believes you can only learn so much entrepreneurship in a classroom and that the real experience comes from either being immersed in a business or creating your own.

"We are honored to provide our members with hard-to-come-by business opportunities like this, and it will be great fun working with Tim League," Salahshour said.


Drafting an opportunity

League started his first theater in Bakersfield, Calif., with only mild success.

"We did some research and found that Austin was the perfect environment for our business. Austin has a college environment, it's a film savvy town, and it is a smart town," League said.

League moved his business concept of dinner and a movie to Austin, where it has thrived due to a steady audience of college students and underground film enthusiasts. Although the concept of mixing meals and movies was not new, League successfully differentiated his business with air guitar competitions, "Videoke," "Halo 2" tournaments and other activities not typically associated with movie theaters.

Choosing the entrepreneurial path worked well for League but not without years of hardship.

"It was a struggle to pay the bills for at least four years before I started earning a decent sum of money," League said. "I love the entrepreneurial spirit, and I enjoy being in the company of people who want to move in that direction. That's why Texas Entrepreneurs intrigues me."

League was on his way to deliver a speech for Texas Entrepreneurs when he came up with the idea for "Alamo Apprentice."

"I am completely hooked on 'The Apprentice,' and I thought the concept would work well at Alamo Drafthouse," League said. "I wish that when I was in college, I had the same type of direction in entrepreneuring that Texas Entrepreneurs provides its members."

With the advent of the Internet, cheaper communications methods and a world of free information, students with a desire to start their own business have many of the tools they need at their fingertips. The challenge is great, but the rewards are greater. There are many people with ideas for great business, but the few individuals who can partner ideas with the necessary determination will reap the monetary rewards in addition to the satisfaction of hard work.

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