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Big money on campus

While many college students have grades and spring break plans on their minds, a resident has a little more to worry about: primarily the success of his business.

Brian Berk

Kevin Colleran, 20, a soon-to-be junior at Babson College in Babson Park, Mass., was honored by Ernst & Young as an honorary young Entrepreneur of the Year in June. Colleran is founder/Co-CEO of BlabberForce Enterprises, Inc., a 6-month-old, privately owned marketing company that facilitates advertising at on- and off-campus events paid for by sponsors.

And that's just today's part-time job. Previously, he spearheaded Starting Page!, LiveService.com, Cyber Marketing Solutions and PhotoMasterpieces. He squeezes in time to be CNN's college expert, and he writes articles for Playboy Online and Collegiate Monthly Magazine. He has won numerous awards including College Television Network and Duck Head clothing's coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Babson's Student Business Initiative Award. Last summer he shadowed billionaire John Malone of Liberty Media fame. At 17, he was one of the youngest people to work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. He has been featured in the book "How to be a Teenage Millionaire."

And this comes from someone who never took a business course until college. But success hasn't changed Colleran. Being an entrepreneur is hard work. Many ideas never come to fruition, he said. "Once you get an idea, you write it down and let it sit," he deadpanned. "You look at it and talk to many people. You can't jump on your first instincts."

Creating a successful company is not just based on an idea. It takes, patience and research, he said. "You have to realize there are a lot of people smarter than you," said Colleran. "Most of them have come up with your idea before. You have to figure out why their idea didn't work."

Colleran's success has led to peace of mind. Instead of asking for individual investors or venture capitalists to fund a start-up, he capitalizes on profits from prior success. "You take bad news easier," he said. "You don't have to worry about losing money someone was using for their kids' college money."

While the economy continues to swoon, BlabberForce has prospered. Although some companies have cut back advertising budgets, BlabberForce has tapped into a demographic of 15 million people willing to spend money, the entrepreneur said. "Families spend a lot of money to send their kids to college," he said. "These kids come from a strong background. Students are responsible for $105 billion in discretionary spending."

Colleran plans to obtain a bachelor's degree from Babson. Then, he will entertain job offers.

"When I work full-time, I want to do what most interest me," he said. "Eventually, I'll probably end up with my own company."

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