The Baby
Warbucks
Convene
Young entrepreneurs
gather in Los Angeles
to establish contacts
Mark David McKee, bigwig of « cus
tomized Bermuda-shorts biz that
grottoes $2 million annually, meet
Jennifer Cherney. real-estate whiz who has
just closed $100 million in deals. Steve
Schaffer, computer-products magnate who
expects to ring up $1.2 million in sales this
year, say howdy to Kim Merritt, who hopes
her Kim’s Khocolute, Inc., will make a bun
dle. Do you all have business cards? Of
course, you ull have business cards Can you
say, "entrepreneur"'' Ofcourse, you cunsay
entrepreneur You’re all here in Universal
City, Calif., for the third international
conference of the Association of Collegiate
Entrepreneurs and Young Entrepreneurs
Organization (ACE/YEO).
They came They saw. They networked
More than 200 emerging capitalists con
verged on Los Angeles to meet budding
millionaires and establish contacts with
the well-heeled, under-30 set. During their
two days together, they met for power
breakfust, power lunch and power dinner,
not to mention power drinks They pitched
ideas in the corridors, and their wares from
booths. From his display, Steve Schaffer,
vice president of MacProducts in Austin,
Texas, told people how his company under
cuts the University of Texas's stores when
selling supplies to Macintosh computer us
ers. "University-owned stores are bureau
cratic," Schaffer explained. "They have to
make a certain percentage of profit on their
sules .. They can't compete as we can "
FlMst and but': Entrepreneurial spirit
runs free in the economy, und no age group
is immune The ACE/YEO estimates that
the top 100 firms run by entrepreneurs
under 30 gross an average of more than $21
million a year, and this economic clout has
not gone unnoticed During the ACE/YEO
conference, Ios Angeles Mayor Tom Brad
ley declared an "Entrepreneur Day," and
said, "What we see in this room represents
the finest and best in our society .” And in a
welcoming telegram Ronald Reagan en
thused/'If we ever doubted thut the United
PHOTOS BY ART STRKIBKR
T»*» came, they saw, they networked: Pushing Bermuda shorts to budding capitalists
States is a land of opportunity, the last two
years have erased that doubt."
But the Baby Warbucks in Los Angeles
were more awed by a message from the
godfather of young entrepreneurs—Steve
Jobs The cofounder of Apple cautioned the
assembly not to get carried away by greed.
Observing wryly that he would have been
too scruffy for this gray-suit-and-rep-tie
crowd when he was starting out. Jobs
preached: "Passion must drive entrepre
neurs, not a longing for wealth. You must
convince others to invest in your vision.
When I think of entrepreneurs—which, in
deed, 1 cannot even spell—this is what I
think of.” The group was also uddressed by
Brett Davis, 26, whose real-estate firm in
Dallas grossed $790 million last year "So
ciety shies away from risk," he warned.
"We’re incapable of catching our second
wind becuuse we're af raid to run the risk of
losing our breath!"
Russell Simmons heard all this, but also
maintained his own agenda. "Networking
is the name of the game,” said Simmons,
president of ACE at Ohio State and presi
dent of Oasis Spas, which sells spas in
Columbus. "To be an entrepreneur,” Sim
mons asserted, "you can do one of two
things: break into a new industry—and
that's very difficult—or offer a service
that's already available and do it better.”
Twootherconferees, Bill Medley and Micha
Anderson, agreed that service opportuni
ties could be most lucrative. University of
Kentucky Student Agencies, which the two
operate, runs a full-service copy center, a
photocenter and a discount-coupon service,
entirely staffed by students. Last year their
agencies grossed $ 150,000.
Selling advice: For those who wanted to
experience the thrill of success without
risking the agony of failure, Venture maga
zine offered Business Simulator. This corn
outer software "nuts vnu in thn
So swoot: Kim Merritt (left) of Kim s Khocolate
seat of the president of a new
company and lets you try to run
it,” says programmer Mark
Goldstein. And for those who
wanted more serious prepara
tion for the world of venture
capitalism, there were repre
sentatives from graduate busi
ness schools. "USC is the
Harvard of entrepreneurial
programs,” said Brigid Brahe,
an M B A. candidate at USC
who pitched her school, even
though she was there to
network on her own behalf:
"You learn how to keep a
business going, how to make
a business plan, how to run a
business." On the increasingly
crowded fast track for college
entrepreneurs, why shouldn't
colleges themselves join the
competition?
Ron Givens with Karen
Goi.dbkkg i/i Loe Angeles