Most students at UT are struggling to decide on a major and eventual career. One student, however, has gone above and beyond the average pupil and successfully launched a business of his own.
Nathan Buchanan, a second year MBA student concentrating in entrepreneurship and innovation, caught the business bug the summer before starting his undergraduate career at UT.
“My friend and I started a successful driveway-sealing business, and it was at that point that I knew I didn’t want to spend my life working for someone else,” Buchanan said. “Also, I am a competitive person and I love the challenge of building a business.”
His determination helped guide him to pursue his undergraduate degree in business administration and entrepreneurship. Buchanan gained inspiration from his undergraduate housing woes and started his own business, called Credit Virgin, LLC.
“I didn’t do anything to build my credit while I was in undergraduate, and I suffered the consequences,” Buchanan said. “In my particular situation it made it harder for me to rent an apartment.”
Credit Virgin, LLC, is an online platform that assists students in building good credit while they’re in college.
“After I had trouble renting an apartment, I set out to learn about building credit. I was surprised to find that no good online resource existed,” Buchanan said. “The two main options that were available to me was to either buy a book or read blogs whose obvious goal was to sell me a credit card and not educate me on building credit. Because of my entrepreneurial background, I saw this problem as an opportunity, and set out to create a business (centered) around solving this problem.”
Buchanan’s business is comprised of three main sections. The first segment consists of online tutorials that teach students the basics of building good credit. These tutorials are meant to be educational but also entertaining.
“The second segment is a “smart” credit card comparison that helps students find the perfect credit card to start building credit,” Buchanan said. “The credit card comparison is tailored to their unique situation. Students can use this tool with confidence knowing we are tailoring our recommendations to their specific situation, and we are an unbiased source with their best interests in mind.”
The third and final section of the platform will be complete with tools that help monitor the students’ spending and show them how spending affects his or her credit score. This portion of the platform will not be available Nov. 7 for the launch.
It is still in the development phase.
“Credit Virgin’s goal is to use this online platform to empower students with the tools they need to build good credit while in college, and to raise awareness of the importance of a credit score in life after college,” Buchanan said.
Balancing a full-time class schedule and organizing his business, Buchanan said CreditVirgin.com will launch on Nov. 7.
“Credit Virgin was created to help teach college students about building credit and to raise awareness about the importance of exiting college with a good credit score,” Buchanan said. “Credit Virgin empowers students to take control of their credit score before it is too late.”
Buchanan advised any fellow students interested in entrepreneurship to start now.
“College is a great time to test a business idea. I wasted way too much time trying to come up with the perfect business idea,” he said. “Ideas are a dime a dozen, entrepreueurial success is all about execution. Also, the MBA Entrepreneur Fellowship Program is a great option for students who want to start a business and pursue their MBA.”
Those interested in finding out more about the MBA Entrepreneur Fellowship Program can find more information at http://bus.utk.edu/cba/news_articles/2010/entrepreneur.html
