Some SU students juggle clients, launch startups — all while taking classes
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Charley Cole always wanted to start a business. Throughout her life, she had many different ideas, but nothing ever came to fruition — that was, until this summer.
The Syracuse University senior and her friends were caught up in the viral Lola Blanket trend — supposedly the softest and most plush blanket on the market. But with a price tag of around $325, Cole saw an issue.
“I want one of those, but that’s crazy,” Cole’s friends said about the Lola Blanket price.
“Give me a minute,” Cole responded.
In June, Cole officially launched her own blanket brand, Core Memory. Within one week of starting her business, Cole said she received around 250 orders for her custom blankets.
Cole isn’t the only SU student running a business in between classes. From an app that gathers local fashion brands in one place to a power washing company, SU students have turned their startup ideas into reality. These students aren’t waiting until post graduation to start a company. Their entrepreneurial journeys have already begun.
At first, Core Memory was a side hustle catered to Cole’s friends. But word of the more affordable version of Lola Blankets got around. Since then, Cole said she’s made custom blankets for her sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, and for students at other schools like the University of Texas at Austin, Tulane University and the University of Florida. Cole also has clients like sleepaway camp suppliers, luxury hotels and different sporting events.
Charley Cole sits in the middle of her Core Memory blankets. Cole started Core Memory as an affordable alternative to Lola Blanket. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
“It all happened really quickly,” Cole said. “I was getting texts from random middle-aged women in the suburbs of New York asking if they could have 15 blankets. In my New York City apartment, you literally cannot walk. There were blankets everywhere.”
The moment Cole received orders from people beyond her social circle and businesses was when her passion project turned into a legitimate startup, transforming from made-to-order batches to stock inventory. Core Memory had grown so quickly that Cole had to find a warehouse in New Jersey to store orders.
Similarly, SU sophomore Imaad Maqsood turned his power washing side hustle into a legitimate business.
Maqsood’s startup, Upstate Pressure, focuses on providing residential and commercial power washing services. Based in central New York, Maqsood and two friends from high school started the company about two years ago to make some extra money.
Growing up in Silicon Valley, Maqsood has always been surrounded by different tech CEOs, executives and startup culture, that’s where he’s formed his go-getter attitude, he said.
“That’s what influenced me to develop my sense of entrepreneurship at a young age, and I carried it over when I came to Upstate four years ago,” Maqsood said.
Despite growing up in Silicon Valley, Maqsood never had any experience starting a business. When learning how to use his equipment, Maqsood relied on YouTube and TikTok, and he used artificial intelligence to write captions for his social media platforms. With over 60 clients, including places like Pitch Social, Maqsood has used door-to-door marketing and social media to expand his business.
Imaad Maqsood works on his laptop for his business, Upstate Pressure. Maqsood’s business provides residential and commercial power washing services around central New York. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
With AI quickly advancing, there’s never been a better time to start a business, Zachary Greenberg said. Greenberg, an SU sophomore and vice president of the Entrepreneurship Club, developed his own software, CyberDialect, which allows law firms to quickly draft documents using AI.
“It’s never been easier in the existence of humanity to make a business, to put yourself out there, to make a website, to make the sales thing, to learn the knowledge with AI,” Greenberg said.
This semester, Greenberg and Sawyer Tardie, an SU senior and the Entrepreneurship Club President, have conducted weekly workshops to teach how to start a business in the club. Weekly workshops consist of topics like sales and learning how to advance a business through AI, as well as hosting guest speakers.
In an Eddie Bauer vest, Naheem Cadiz poses by the LaunchPad inside Bird Library. Cadiz started his app, Coveted, to provide a platform that brings local fashion clothing brands in one space. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
Through the Entrepreneurship Club, Naheem Cadiz met fellow SU junior Ziek Diallo. When Cadiz noticed how local fashion brands lack a platform to showcase their catalogue, he decided to develop an all-encompassing app that brings fashion brands into one space, rather than relying on separate platforms. During winter break of his freshman year, Cadiz began working on his app project, Coveted. Today, Coveted is running a beta test before officially launching on app stores, with Cadiz overseeing the business and Diallo working social media.
Cole, Maqsood and Greenberg had to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship as they went, but Cadiz was fortunate enough to gain the skills he needed while working for other startups, he said. With that knowledge secured, all he needed was a team. Whether it’s going to a party or hanging out at SU’s LaunchPad in Bird Library, the relationships Cadiz formed allowed him to build his eight-person team, including Diallo.
While awaiting the results of Coveted’s beta test, Diallo has been attempting to raise awareness through content creation, which Diallo has four years of experience in. Though Diallo has accumulated over 26,000 followers on his personal Instagram and TikTok accounts, creating content for Coveted is different from the funny skits and commentary videos Diallo is used to making.
“You can get a bunch of views for a business, but if no one goes to it, then what’s the point?” Diallo said. “It’s learning how to do product placement and make it so the video is still enjoyable to watch, but it’s also sharable. That happens through repetition and trial and error.”
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Aside from workshops and guest speakers, Greenberg and Tardie also instilled 7 a.m. Wednesday meetings for the Entrepreneurship Club, where members participate in run clubs and coffee chats. For many college students, 7 a.m. meetings may seem unappealing, but to be an entrepreneur, Tardie said the grind is part of the game.
“The reason why we implemented that is because we want the kids to get to know each other more, and the people who are dedicated are going to wake up at 7 a.m. and just get out there and talk to people because it’s a great time,” Greenberg said.
With business founders working primarily for themselves, it can be hard to find a support system. That’s why having those social events are especially important in the Entrepreneurship Club.
“I think one of the hard parts of entrepreneurship is that it’s typically a lonely journey. That’s what we try to solve in our club,” Tardie said. “We’re not whipping out the pen and paper. You don’t need your laptop at our meeting. We literally have a run.”
SU junior Tommy Brown handles his business, Palmm, mostly on his own.
Starting out as a freelance videographer throughout middle and high school, Brown could be seen filming for his school’s athletics teams. In 2018, Brown officially felt it was time to turn his passion for videography into something meaningful.
It started out as simply reaching out to friends’ families for video work. However, once he began attending SU, Brown officially expanded his business. His goal? To one day hire employees at Palmm and take a step back.
“Since I know the A through Z for videography, AI and marketing, I can teach more people how to do that for me, and just scale and focus on getting more clients instead of doing the actual work myself,” Brown said.
Today, Palmm provides consultations, web development, marketing and media to service-based businesses for companies that focus on construction and HVAC.
Sawyer Tardie (left) and Zachary Greenberg pose in front of a chalkboard in the Entrepreneurship Club meeting space. Tardie and Greenberg are president and vice president of the club, who hold workshops and guest speakers for members. Courtesy of Mattingly Weisholtz
That grind especially pays off when running a business while balancing school. When she’s not working on her design studies major and public communications minor, Cole can be seen taking calls and holding meetings with the factories she works with in China. From waking up at 6 a.m. to coordinating delayed shipments, Cole said to be an entrepreneur is to be flexible with whatever unexpected circumstances arise.
For Tardie, who also has his own business, running social media and Meta ads for companies, he’s found that many student entrepreneurs often have an idea to start their own business, but they never end up actually working on it. Whether the work is too intimidating or they simply don’t have the drive to get started, Tardie has seen many good ideas go obsolete.
When it comes to starting a business as a full-time college student, Tardie’s advice is simple.
“There’s a lot of people like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna start a business.’ They don’t ever start a business. Just do it,” Tardie said. “You’re in college. You have so much free time. There’s no better time than now.”
