New York University seniors Katie Shea and Susie Levitt were interning at Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and Citigroup-Smith Barney (C) when their sore feet inspired them to start a $10,000 dorm-room company selling foldable flat shoes that come in their own tote bag.
A year later they have imported 70,000 pairs from China that retail for between $10 and $25. Women can don the slipper-like footwear to hike or drive to the office in comfort, then switch back to their high heels when they arrive at work.
Inspired by Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook as a sophomore at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., and stymied by the shortage of jobs in the recession, college students are launching businesses before they graduate. They're entering industries that previously required large investments, thanks to websites that offer help with manufacturing, inventory management, and accounting, says Dane Stangler, a project manager with the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City (Mo.) nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurship.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Startup Fever: College Students Have It Bad - BusinessWeek
Author: Max Raskin
