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College Fashionista’s Founder: Here’s How Students Can Be Entrepreneurs

Amy Levin Klein achieved that rare entrepreneurial feat: she founded her business from her dorm room, and turned it into a multi-million-dollar company.

In 2009, as a style-obsessed student at Indiana University, Amy created the street-style-meets-internship program College Fashionista. Today, it’s grown into a global community of 20,000 members with, between them, some 30.8 million social followers.

These Gen Z content creators are able to earn academic credit for their posts, as well as taking advantage of networking and mentorship opportunities. 

If you happen to be in New York for an internship, you can still make it to the last couple days of the CF Clubhouse, the brand’s “IRL” co-working and networking hub for college students. Check it out here.  

If you’re unable to make it — or if you’re just seeking some advice on turning a school-year side hustle into a career — Amy shared her top five tips for college entrepreneurs with Bumble.

  • Start. We all have a lot of creative ideas but it takes courage to actually put your idea into motion. The hardest part of starting a business is starting.
  • It takes time to grow a strong brand and you need to have patience throughout the process. It’s important to have realistic expectations and to create short term goals that will motivate you throughout your journey.
  • Create an unofficial advisory board of people who have skills or experience in areas you are weak in. It’s useful to have people you can quickly call on to guide you through challenging times and help you critically think about your business.   
  • Be flexible. You might start your business with one mission and that mission might change. It’s okay to pivot in a new direction and as a leader you need to encourage and support flexibility within your organization.
  • Your team is your top priority. Make sure to set clear expectations and have effective communication so everyone is on the same page. You want people on your team who believe in your vision and are excited to grow with you.