The movie “Social Network” is based on the story of Mark Zuckerburg, who in 2003 wrote computer code with his roommate in their dorm at Harvard. The code led to what we now know as Facebook, the most popular social media site on the planet.
Ten years later, two freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University built a popular website and later turned it into an app targeting Millennials (age 18-34). Their story has a peculiar Zuckerburg feel to it with, perhaps, movie potential.
A Zuckerburg moment?
In 2013, Keenan Smith and Everette Slocum, built a website called Aggiesland in their Greensboro apartment to inform students where parties were taking place on and off campus.
They shared the website on their social media pages. News of the site spread and students began signing up.
“Soon after we discovered the potential in helping students find events on campus we enlisted a developer from A&T to convert our website into the mobile app,” said Smith.
The Aggiesland app (for iPhones) has more than 3,000 registered users. There is also an app for Android devices. The apps are free.
In 2014, Slocum and Smith pitched the app to an investors’ meeting in Greensboro and things really began taking off.
Apparently impressed with what they had done on their own, the investors became mentors to Slocum and Smith. It wasn’t the app that impressed them, said Smith, as much as it was the team he and Slocum had put together to get the app developed.
With an eye toward the future, Smith said the investors saw a team of successful and motivated developers and marketers that schools could hire to build apps for their campuses.
Learn more about Aggiesland from this recent TV interview.
Why do college students start businesses?
Students like Smith and Slocum are part of a growing trend. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Kauffman Foundation in 2010:
- 40% of the 5,077 young people surveyed (aged 8 to 24) indicated that they wanted to own their own business and be their own boss.
- 38% of those enrolled in college said they hoped to start their own business someday.
Other North Carolina A&T students have also started their own businesses on campus which cater to Millennials. See profiles below.
Turning passions in cash
Mario Daye is founder of Daye and Knight Productions, a video and photography company, which he started in 2012 as a student at North Carolina A&T State University. Photo: Courtesy of Mario DayeWhile attending high school in Durham, Mario Daye fell in love with the film editing and photography lessons. He practiced his crafts throughout high school.
The lessons and practice paid off. As a student at A&T, Daye began doing photo shoots and producing videos for students.
In 2012, he decided to turn his love into a business. Daye & Knight Productions caters mostly to students who want videos and photos for election campaigns, glamour shots and videos for Instagram accounts.
Daye charges no more than $100 for a student photo packages and higher rates for non-students.
Daye, who is also is in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, says he started his business because of his love for photography and videography and “because I didn’t want to work for anyone else.”
There’s money in beats
In 2012, love of hip hop, writing and the idea of having a business of their own after college provided the catalyst for Charlotte natives and long-time friends Jonathan McLean and Jeffrey Lockhart to start a blog called TheCleanslate704.com.
“We were writing about the way we dress,” said McLean. “It was more of our conversation to the people.”
He and Lockhart wrote about fashion, footwear and hip hop culture. They would go to concerts to interview hip hop celebrities and post the interviews on their site.
The blog got the attention of the top hip hop industry officials and it landed McLean and Lockhart internships at online hip hop or popular culture publications in New York City. As freshmen, McLean interned for two years at Complex and Lockhart at Respect and Mass Appeal.
“I was living off the energy. I was living off the energy with my best friend,” said McLean, referring to Lockhart whom he had known since age 10. “It (the experience) was way bigger than the money. It was the emotion of working in that office every day.”
Business startups face challenges
But starting a business is not easy. Some of the conflicts are external, some internal. McLean recalled that his parents were opposed to TheCleanslate704.com .
“It was too much too soon for a then 19-year old,” said McLean as he reflected on why his parents opposed the blog. “But where would I be without that blog?”
TheCleanslate704.com no longer exists in its current form. More on that later.
Daye had to learn to deal with clients who took advantage of him on photo shoots which lasted four hours with little or no pay.
Smith said one of the challenges for Aggiesland is “finding talented developers to help us scale our business and work on Aggiesland in a timely manner.”
Despite setbacks, none of the student business owners has given up on their dreams. In fact, they are making plans for their businesses after graduation. But do these business startups have a future beyond A&T? Experts say the answer is yes if they follow some advice.
- Rule#1: Go tech: The Millennials are the fastest-growing workforce and the most tech-savvy, according to the Pew Research Center. In a National Independent Business Federation article, John Turner, CEO of UsersThink, a digital feedback company in Pittsburgh, said, “A traditional business not looking towards tech is more likely to be doomed.”
- Rule#2: Take it slow with venture capital: In the same NIBF article, Bill Fish, owner of an online reputation management company said, “What I have seen over the last five years is that people are looking for venture capitalist money far too soon in the process,” he says. “It’s becoming a bit of an idea culture, and not an idea of finding a product or service that works and then profiting from it.”
Preparing for the future
Taking advantage of the growing popularity of mobile devices and their use among Millennials, Smith, and Slocum have launched this site (brownboxworks.com) to create more apps, thanks to the help of coders, business mentors, and investors who see potential in their business.
“The next step for Aggiesland would be to license the technology to other schools to offer them the same service,” said Smith, who will graduate in December. Slocum will graduate next year.
“For the brownboxworks we are working on projects to raise capital for the company so that we may work on our main project in 2016 called ESPI.”
ESPI is a variation on the word espy, which means to “catch sight of.” The proposed app “allows users to post content in particular areas around a city and other people that walk by collect it and (will) be able to view it,” said Smith.
Daye is expected to graduate in December of 2017 with a degree in journalism. He wants to take some business courses that will help him make better business decisions for his production company upon graduation.
McLean also plans to take more business courses before graduating in December of 2016 and to tweak TheCleanslate704.com. Some tweaking started last year. He and Lockhart got rid of the blog.
“It was time-consuming,” said McLean. “We got older, busier, school picked up. It had run its course.”
They built a new TheCleanslate704 website which focuses on selling T-shirts that McLean and Lockhart design and sell online or in person.
McLean said half of the business revenue comes from the website, the other half comes from person-to-person sales. “We just shipped a selection of T-shirts to a guy in Canada,” said McLean.
Earlier this month, TheCleanslate704 got a promotional boost after rapper Big Sean began wearing one of its T-shirts. Big Sean has recorded under Kanye West’s label GOOD Music, Def Jam and Roc Nation.
They could use the promotional help to offset the cost of producing more expensive T-shirts with a black background. “Designing and producing a T-shirt with a white background (like the one Big Sean is wearing) is a lot cheaper than producing one with a black background,” Lockhart said.
Immediate plans after graduation call for them to open a store, perhaps in Charlotte, and to add additional clothing items for sale.
McLean and Lockhart are confident about TheCleanslate704’s future.
“I’ll be honest with you. There are kids in this (journalism) department who don’t know what they are going to do when they get out. I know what I want to do,” said McLean.
Dr. Kim Smith 
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