After facing one of the toughest declines in entry-level job hiring in decades, many recent college graduates are choosing to launch their own businesses, rather than pursue more conventional summer jobs.
It’s not just a tough job market that’s driving the trend. Many 20-somethings are more comfortable with new technologies such as social networking that can spur success. They also approach entrepreneurship without the trepidation of previous generations.
“These young people have tools that are literally like breathing to them that previous generations didn’t have,” said James Klingler, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Villanova School of Business, quoted in an article published by Reuters. He was referring to the globalization of information and the rise of social media.
Examples abound of grads bootstrapping their way to successful start-ups. When Eric Heinbockel’s job prospects at Bear Stearns collapsed in the wake of the financial crisis, he launched a business that enables customers to build their own chocolate bars. With roughly $100,000 in seed capital from friends and family, Heinbockel built chocomize.com into a $1 million company. Jay Rodrigues created DormNoise, a company that develops interactive calendars for students, while still a full-time student at Wharton. He raised nearly $1 million in venture capital financing for the firm and now has three full-time employees.
MBAs are starting new businesses, along with graduates who possess practical skills such as information technology and graphic design.
Many experts say a venture capital job is one you enter after you’ve gained experience elsewhere. And there’s no better experience for becoming a venture capitalist that being on the front lines of a start-up business. So will this new wave of budding entrepreneurs lead to the next wave of VC firms? Let us know your opinion in the space below.
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