While most college students expect to just receive a degree from their university, five University of Washington students that are getting an Internet company
too.
The students recently acquired from the university “Web your Head”, the company they launched and are currently running as part of the school’s entrepreneurship program.
Web your Head teaches people, who have minimum computer experience, how to create Web pages in six hours.
Classes are held off-line at the Odegaard Undgergraduate Library computer labs on campus.
Seattle.internet.com recently caught up with CEO Anna Chu, CFO Nelson Adams, CTO Matt Boisen, VP of Marketing Chris Adams and COO Will Lavery – to find out more about their campus-based company.
Let’s begin with the name.
Turns out the name for the company came up while the students were at a Small Business Administration seminar.
“We wanted a name that would reflect what we do. Offering an interactive and fun approach to teaching web page creation, says Chu.
According to Boisen, the name’s inventor, he was trying to figure out a catchy name that would stick in
peoples HEAD and dealt with the WEB.
All of the team of five agree that their campus entrepreneurship program is a great opportunity to apply what they learn in class to the real world. And it seems like they are doing a pretty good job. Their company, so far, is turning in just profits.
Chu believes that the company has been successful because they have a good business idea and the right management team to drive its success. And they are becoming good trainers too. “The first run through of our
lesson plan with just our group was a little rough, but over time, Anna, Chris, and I have really excelled in our teaching skills, says Boisen.
According to Adams (Nelson Adams the CFO), the Web your Head team follows the local Internet industry very carefully. Although, they are witnessing a lot of companies going under,
Lavery is still optimistic. “I know it’s on a downslope right now, but I feel that things will turn
around for the businesses who actually have a good business plan”.
And what advice would these young entrepreneurs have to offer us in the real world?
“P+S=O,” say Chu. “Problem plus solution equals opportunity. That’s a tip Chu picked up from
Entrepreneurial Professor Shannon Hauser.
The Web your Head team is excited about the opportunities ahead. According to Adams (Chris Adams the VP of Marketing), at the current rate of expansion, it would be hard for any of them to turn down the opportunity to continue past graduation. “We have made plans for further expansion and are in the process of creating a business plan to follow that expansion”
In fact, seattle.internet.com has learned that there are plans for Web your Head to expand into additional cities and to add more class offerings.
