In 1957, rising tuition fees at Harvard University spurred some entrepreneurial students to set up the world’s first campus company: Harvard Student Agencies, Inc. HSA evolved to meet almost all on-campus needs – from laundry to publications to logistics! Today, HSA has become the world’s largest campus company, with a turnover of $ 6 million, over 500 employees and eight highly-successful agencies.
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| Vermicomposting unit at Indira School of Business, Pune |
Relatively risk-free, low on investment and with a ready market, usually in its own campus, campus companies are startups attached to institutes, founded and run by students.
In India, however, the concept of a ‘Campus Company’ was unheard of until five years ago. But today, catalyzed by the National Entrepreneurship Network, a non-profit organisation that inspires, educates and supports India’s new and future entrepreneurs. Campus companies have become a rage among the 400-strong student-run Entrepreneurship Cells across the network. More and more students are exploring campus companies as a means to practice their skills and knowledge and get real-world experience in entrepreneurship.
The companies begin small – a stationery shop, a vermicompost, a café or a website – but, as Karthikeyan M of PSG Tech’s campus company, ‘Thirsty’, a juice shop, puts it: “The learnings are immense”.
“Our E-Cell conducted several skill-building workshops and entrepreneurship talks on campus, and this made us eager to gather practical exposure. Thirsty tested us on our communication, marketing, management and team building skills. Most importantly, it taught us common sense,” Karthikeyan adds.
Students experience the finer details of venture building, from preparing the business plan to fund raising to succession planning, often with the support and guidance of faculty and management. For example, for raising fund, students are either sell equity shares on campus, or get their institute management to provide seedfund, or raise money from their E Cell programs.
| Campus companies Vs Student venture |
| A campus company is a company attached to the institute. Students launch and run the company, gather hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and upon graduation, hand over the reins of the business to the next batch of students through a structured succession plan. The Harvard Student Agencies is an example of a successful campus company. A ‘student venture’ is attached to an individual. The venture is launched by the individual or a group of individuals when they are still in campus. The individual can decide whether to carry forward the venture or shut it down upon graduation. Facebook is an example of a successful student company. |
Running a company on campus also provides students an opportunity to leverage talent from across multiple streams, including marketing, finance, technology and more. “We have representation from Finance, Operations and Marketing, which enables us to provide better and more comprehensive solutions to our clients,” says Kiran Sundaram of ‘WEKalp’, a campus company focused on providing business consultancy services at LN Welingkar Institute of Management, Development and Research. Incidentally, Kiran runs his own student venture ‘Myriad’ and often falls back on the WEKalp team to solve his own startup’s problems.
Campus companies are also a safe playground for students looking to test business ideas in its infancy, as in the case of Symbiosis Institute of Computer Science and Research student Priti Hariharan. She used her campus company ‘U Town’ to test her prize-winning business idea of a merchandising store, and discovered some surprising twists along the way. There were vendor issues, payment delays and finicky customers. “I now realize that entrepreneurship was only an abstract till I actually got my hands dirty with U Town,” she says.
There are other gains too. The newly-launched website startup at COEP, Pune, has opened up several job opportunities for its students. "There are openings for website management, documentation, data mining, alumni networking, marketing and research," reveals NEN E Leader Puja Sundar of COEP. At Bishop Cotton Women’s College in Bangalore, Nooh Saba Ansari finds her ‘job’ at her institute’s ‘E Store’ giving a new direction to her career. “I come from a conservative family where women don’t work. But today, I feel empowered to create my own job and become economically independent,” she says.
“I am witnessing a transformation among students who have worked for Myriad, our campus company,” says Sr. Albina, Principal of Mount Carmel College. “Earlier, entrepreneurship for them existed only in theory. Today their experiences have made them mature, creative and ready to take on the world as serious entrepreneurs,” she adds.
| Campus Companies: |
| • Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College, Bangalore E Store, formed 2009 Gives talented students a platform to sell their produce – from paper bags to jewelry to even pickles. The store recorded a turnover of Rs 15,000 last year. • College of Engineering, Pune Empressario.org, formed 2010 Website that matches students to scholarship programs, based on the eligibility criteria, and sends out mailer updates. Also showcases college information and news. • Durgapur Society of Management Science, Durgapur Creamz, formed 2008 Has tied up with leading bakeries in town to sell cakes, pastries, patties and other bakery items on campus. The E Cell now plans to expand beyond the campus to open branches in other locations. • Institute of Business Management and Research, Bangalore Chatterbox Café , formed 2010 A snacks bar that offers food on the go. USPs include combo offers, a variable product menu and special packages for parties. Daily sales touched the Rs 2,000 mark in August. • Indira School of Business Studies, Pune Vermicomposting Unit, formed 2010 Collects waste from four canteens and a popular restaurant in the neighbourhood, and converts it into valuable manure. Six nurseries have signed up as customers for the manure, which is priced at Rs 40 per kg. • Jyoti Nivas College, Bangalore: Green Store, formed 2009 Sells notebooks, greeting cards, stationery and jewelry on campus. For two weeks in a month, it puts up a stall in a neighbouring shopping mall. Conducts workshops on block printing, candle and soap making, aqua culture and bag making to sustain supply of products. • LN Welingkar Institute of Management, Development and Research, Bangalore WEKalp, formed 2010 Provides management consulting services to small and medium scale companies. Till date, it has worked with eight companies, including logistics company Meru Cabs and mystery shopping startup Red Quanta. • Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune Hostel Kits, formed 2010 MIT E Cell runs multiple campus companies. Hostel Kits offer essentials like mattress, pillows, bedsheets, bucket, mug and soap case to outstation students. In addition, the E Cell also runs a food stall and sells old books. • Mount Carmel College, Bangalore Myriad, formed 2008 Deals with three independent products: chalks that are brand named Scribbles, a book binding company called Extent and newly-launched candle manufacturing unit. It has 62 employees and 525 shareholders. * PSG Institute of Technology, Coimbatore Thirsty, formed 2008 Sells fresh juices, ice creams and kulfi. With daily sales hovering around 150 cups, Thirsty has made a profit of Rs 90,000 in 22 months. Another campus company, Journey, was launched recently to facilitate booking of air, bus and train tickets. • SRN Adarsh College, Bangalore Alchemy Book Shoppe, formed 2010 Collects old text books from senior students and sells them at 50% discount, or rents them out to first-year students. Alchemy E Shoppe is a campus-based stationery-cum-food store. • St Philomena’s College, Mysore Zenith Stationery Shop, formed 2009 Sells stationery items on campus. With the college located in the outskirts, and the closest stationery shop 4 kms away, Zenith has been a crowded store from Day 1. • Symbiosis Institute of Computer Science and Research, Pune U Town, formed 2009 Merchandising company that sells sweatshirts, cups, caps and other paraphernalia on campus. U Town posted a turnover of Rs 18,000 last year. • Velammal Engineering College, Chennai Ad Roll, formed 2009 Rents out digital advertisement boards to educational institutes on a weekly basis. Ad Roll is being used for publicizing technical events, coaching classes and department news among VEC students. |
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