Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour
by Diego Rico
March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24
The national tour event, Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, came and was a success for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at UTEP. The event, which brought young and successful entrepreneurs from around the U.S., took place at the Magoffin Auditorium where students from the College of Business, Liberal Arts, and Engineering, among others, were able to listen and take advice from those who have already traveled the tough and uncertain road of entrepreneurship.
Two keynote speakers made the event an exciting lecture filled with both humor and wisdom. Rahim Fazal began his career like many other American teenagers, finding a job at a burger place. But working in the freezer of the local McDonald’s was not his idea of a dream job. Rahim created a start-up and was able to sell it, becoming one of the youngest “dot-com millionaires.”
Eric Corl, a 23 year old, also found success as a young entrepreneur who began with a humble bank account amount and was able to work with a team of three to grow to a $6 million valued company. His newest company, Idea Buyer, is an internet business which focuses on making intellectual property more available for those interested in developing and extending an idea for which they need business or financial help, mostly using purchasing and licensing agreements.
“The event was a great learning experience,” said Job Navarette, a College of Business student, the feeling was shared among those who attended; a further indicator that the local C.E.O. chapter at UTEP held a successful event, due in part to the local funding provided by the Kauffman Campus Initiative. An event which had a variety of age groups within its audience, from older and more experienced businessmen and women to young students thinking about creating their own company, was able to inspire and encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship, an independent mentality which shines across the university through its students.
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