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Technology certainly makes it easier to test new ideas. Two young entrepreneurs know it for sure.

BookSnag
http://booksnag.com/
 
DePauw University student Ryan Tinker has a ways to go before he earns his college degree, but he’s already a cog in America’s entrepreneurial machine.

The 20-year-old sophomore from Overland Park collaborated with fellow DePauw student Zach Koch to start BookSnag.com in January 2006. With a $500 investment in computer equipment, the two created a Web site to help students at the small liberal arts school in Greencastle, Ind., save money buying and selling used textbooks.

The book service has made waves on campus. The company attracted more than 300 customers a year ago, but this winter more than 800 DePauw students tapped into BookSnag at the beginning of the semester to exchange more than 700 books.

BookSnag’s idea is simple: Provide a local alternative to the campus bookstore for exchanging textbooks. Students can use BookSnag for free. Sellers name a price for old textbooks and list the offer. Buyers can search by title for the books they need and either purchase at the asking price or make a counteroffer.

If a book is not available, the site directs users to Amazon.com as an alternative. Tinker and his partner earn revenue from Amazon on referrals.

“The best business ideas come out of necessity, just as BookSnag did,” said Tinker, an economics major who graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

The DePauw duo are among a growing number of young entrepreneurs running a business. According to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, 188,000 self-employed people were under the age of 21 in 2005, compared with about 142,000 in 2000.

Moreover, there is a growing movement to bring entrepreneurism into the classroom. In the early 1980s, two- and four-year colleges and universities offered 253 courses on entrepreneurship, according to Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Today, more than 1,900 courses are being taught, the foundation said. During this time, student enrollment in these courses has grown from 16,000 to about 200,000.

From colleges to elementary schools, this startup spirit will be on display nationwide from Feb. 24 to March 3 during EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, a new event created by Kauffman. Students will create products or put a new twist on existing ones, build prototypes and generate business plans. (Check out www.entrepreneurshipweekusa.com.)

Tinker began to develop his business talents in grade school, thanks partly to Junior Achievement activities. Entrepreneurship also runs in his family.

One of the business lessons Tinker has learned is that teachable moments can come from dealing with adversity. “The only way to experience failures is to experiment,” he said. “Try out new things, push the limits, make decisions on your best guess.”

Technology certainly makes it easier to test new ideas. BookSnag is now selling T-shirts for $10 and is considering other merchandise.

His advice to young entrepreneurs:

•Always carry a small notebook. “Write down to-do lists, ideas and drawings. At the end of every day, take 15 minutes to review what you wrote down. If you think you want to continue thinking about an idea or project, write that on the next page or make time for it the next day.”

•Take opportunities when they’re presented to you. “They always lead to more opportunities, some bad and some good,” Tinker said.

What’s next for Tinker after college?

Perhaps working for companies and running his own business. Said Tinker: “I think I could bypass quite a few problems by learning small-business tactics and techniques from successful companies Why should I experience all the failures myself if I can learn how the successful avoid them?”

Sounds like a smart business plan to me.

Filed under: Success stories - online biz