The Dobie Center, a dorm complex at the University of Texas at Austin, is 27 stories tall and boasts a cafeteria, a movie theater, and a pool. Twenty-five years ago, a young resident of the tower decided to make and sell low-cost PCs from stock components. Michael Dell scrounged up $1,000 and turned his room into a mini assembly line, and the rest is history. In the years since Dell launched the world’s best-known college start-up, more students have followed his lead. Below, you will meet 16 of them. As these profiles (written by campus journalists) reveal, an enterprising kid like Michael Dell is no longer the exception to the rule.
Among the stories, we voted for two great ideas, which will probably resonate with you as well :
- Justin Cannon, Chris Varenhorst, and Scot Frank have created software that helps foreign-language students refine their pronunciation skills
- Last fall, Berkeley junior Jessica Mah came up with the idea for InternshipIN – a website to help eager students and start-up companies find each other.
Click here to read the learn more about these stories.