Harrison Kim, a senior business major, has been making his own money since he was 14 years old.
Throughout his early teenage years, Kim spent his free time scooping ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Kim dreaded seeing a bill fall into the tip jar, which meant he was required to serenade the customer - but it didn't stop him from singing for that tip. Kim said his job wasn't ideal, but he would do whatever it took to support himself and his family.
Now at age 22, he's in the midst of developing CampusLOOTr, a website that allows students to buy and sell products in a virtual campus marketplace specified to their college or university.
He said growing up with a single mother and younger brother was far from easy.
He felt it was his role, as the oldest son, to step up and help financially support the family. In addition to working at Cold Stone, Kim earned money as an event organizer in his hometown of Queens, N.Y. Although his South Korean mother worked hard to support her family, she didn't speak much English. Kim stepped up to help pay the family bills.
Because of his situation, Kim felt forced to grow up faster than many of his peers. Kim said his difficult childhood experiences contributed to his business background, shaping him into the entrepreneur he is today.
"The job market is tough," Kim said. "I figured instead of sitting around playing video games, I would do something worthwhile and start a company."
Kim is bent on the idea that he is no different from any of his peers. His philosophy entails using resources and teamwork to take advantage of any opportunities present. Kim said if those opportunities aren't present, he creates them himself.
He takes pride in his perseverance through difficult situations but stresses the importance of teamwork in every aspect of his life.
It wasn't long after Kim began advertising his business idea that he attracted a group of equally experienced and driven team members - all of whom are UB students or alumni.
"Harry has a certain drive and passion about this," said Robert Iorizzo, a junior business major and one of Kim's CampusLOOTr partners. "It's truly contagious."
Although Iorizzo describes Kim as overly modest at times, Kim stressed he could not be where he is today without his team. Each team member brings something necessary to the table, according to Kim.
The UB Panasci Business Plan Competition is a contest designed to bring UB students from science, technology, business and other disciplines together to maximize their potential to create viable businesses in Western New York, according to the UB School of Management website.
Kim and his CampusLOOTr business partners competed but lost in the semifinal round in March.
Upon learning about the competition, Kim said he couldn't let something like that slip out of his grasp. He was inspired to take the next step, and he knew he couldn't do it alone. He started recruiting classmates.
"The team coming together was a coincidence," Kim said. "It was a strange coincidence."
All of the team members met and collaborated in just one year. Kim learned his classmate Iorizzo ran his own computer repair business in his hometown. Iorizzo has been self-employed since age 14.
Additional members Volker Einsfeld, a computer science Ph.D. student, Thorton Haag-Wolf, a computer science UB graduate and David Van Laeken, a junior computer science major, have also been working with computing and business for the duration of their lives. It didn't take long for the group to develop a working connection, according to Kim.
Kim is grateful that his team continues to work toward a common goal. He's proud to see where his idea has already been taken and the places it could potentially go.
"[Kim] is just a person," Iorizzo said. "He met some other people and made something happen."
The team won't give up. Although the team didn't make it past the semifinal round of the Panasci Competition, it will continue to do whatever it takes to make the idea happen, according to Kim.
In the future, Kim and his teammates plan to make CampusLOOTr more automated and easier for students to use. Kim said the possible monetary awards from future competitions could help make that happen faster.
Nick States, a senior media study major, said he likes the idea of CampusLOOTr because it's "unique."
"It's made by the students and for the students," States said.
Kim takes pride in the progress CampusLOOTr and his life, in general, have made. He has created and seized an opportunity at UB and collaborated with students to make his dream a reality.
"A lot of big things have started at colleges," Iorizzo said. "One could be starting here right now."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
