On Campus, a Small Business Boom
A new movement fueled by college-aged entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them is just beginning to take off. Read more
America’s coolest College Start-Ups 2012
Click the tiles to learn who this year's Coolest Start-ups are! And see which industries are represented with the color key below.
Advertising & Marketing
Consumer Products & Services
Education
Entertainment
Food & Beverage
Health
IT Services
Retail
Software
Coolest College Startups
Tomorrow's big business may be today's dorm room invention. From a personalized electric motor bike to pop-up medical clinics to the latest in QR code technology, the 2012 class of our annual college start-ups were founded on the mission to give back to the world’s communities, be on the cutting-edge of innovation, and have fun while doing it.
Skateboard Empire: Stoked Skateboards
A California high school student turned a $1,000 loan into a $1 million skateboarding business. Read more
Luxury Outhouse for Dogs: PetLawn
Two Chapman University sophomores are working to improve dog and owner relationships everywhere--with a simple patch of fake grass. Read more
Vote Now! America's Coolest College Start-Up
See each honoree give their best elevator pitch! Learn more about the founders. Bone up on the products and services. Click 'like' to vote your favorites to the featured spot! Read more
Taking on Tesla: Pulse Motors
Pulse Motors in Pittsburgh has built an electric vehicle that can drive 100 miles on just $0.25 of electricity. Read more
Recent Coolest College Startups Articles
Flake-Proof Your Next Event: trueRSVP
Fei Xiao and Anna Sergeeva, two undergrads at the University of Southern California, are building a tool to help event planners get better attendance. Read more
Serving Greens for Green: The Little Salad Shop
Two Yale students used their college weight gain as motivation to start a thriving, health food restaurant. Read more
Reel In Your Audience: Big Fish Presentations
Kenny Nguyen of Big Fish Presentations is ridding the world of humdrum slide shows, one client at a time. Read more
An Entertaining Way to Turn a Profit: Arizona Pro DJs
Will Curran turned his passion for entertaining and music into a successful one-stop shop business for teen events. Read more
A Gracious Host for Bloggers: A Small Orange
Douglas Hanna helps run a company with revenue in the millions and keeps your website online--when he’s not in class. Read more
Technology For Generation Next: Teens in Tech Labs
Why Microsoft is backing a technology incubator for teens, an idea that Daniel Brusilovsky came up with at 15 years old. Read more
Turns Shipping Containers into Med Clinics: G3Box
Through their young company, Gabrielle Palermo and her three co-founders are donating clinics to those in need. Read more
Making Gift-Giving a Cinch: BetterBoo
University of Tampa senior Nick Chmura is turning his personal quest to be a better gift-giver into a profitable business. Read more
Doing it for the Troops: Salute the Brave
Ryan Morris launched Salute the Brave, a clothing line designed to give back to the United States military members stationed overseas. Read more
Cracking the iPhone: iCracked
A college student stealing business from Apple? AJ Forsythe has built his business on fixing iPhone cheaper and more conveniently. Read more
One iTunes Sensation and Growing: 1st Round
After signing break-out rap artist Sammy Adams, this fledgling record label and entertainment firm is hoping for more wins. Read more
Social Change Through Social Media: Kip Solutions
By helping organizations trumpet the world's most pressing causes through social media, three college students give back exponentially. Read more
Innovating the Dress Shirt: Ministry of Supply
Several MIT students have engineered apparel that makes sweating through your dress shirt a thing of the past. Read more
Bum Rushing QR Code Competitors: Scan
Garrett Gee of Scan is disrupting the crowded QR codes market with innovative app designs and $1.7 million in seed funding. Read more
Living Life Unplugged: EarTop Technologies
Babson College students Ketan Rahangdale and Jaiyu Ni are using the latest designs and cutting-edge technologies to create wireless headphones and devices. Read more
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SLIDESHOWS
ARCHIVES
2011
Our third-annual report on the most innovative college start-ups in the country features a Northern Iowa hacker-turned-bookworm and a St. Louis sociology student with a website for tween girls—valued at $15 million.
2010
Our second-annual report on college start-ups, featuring students from Chapel Hill to Harvard Square, who are inventing the future (or at least a steady source of income for themselves) by launching companies in their spare time.
2009
In the years since Dell launched the world's best-known college start-up, more students have followed his lead. In our first report on college start-ups, these 16 enterprising kids will reveal that Michael Dell is no longer the exception to the rule.
