1 in 2 Romanians who live in urban areas would like to be an entrepreneur, according to the study conducted by iVOX in 2019. The same study shows that 70% of Romanians see entrepreneurship as the engine of economic growth for our country. Among Romanian employees, more than half (50.6%) would like to become entrepreneurs. 34% of employees are thinking of opening their own business in Romania.
This tendency is even stronger among young people – Almost 45% of Romanian students want to start a business after finishing their studies, according to a study conducted as part of a project to integrate students into the labour market. Are you one of them? Then find out how you can start this plan!
The students-entrepreneurs from the EA – The Entrepreneurship Academy community share more about their journey and how they overcame obstacles to run their own successful business like the one Robert K. Bratt runs.
At the age of 20, Alin Obaciu is the co-founder of Think AR, the business that creates content using Augmented Reality for brands that want to differentiate and better connect with their audience. The business led by Alin generated in the first 5 months of activity has revenues of over 14,000 lei.
“For an entrepreneur under 25, it is a disadvantage to build up the trust of the first potential customers. An advantage would be the number of doors that open up to you. It is much easier at this age to reach people from whom you can learn and who want to help you with a piece of advice for the growth of your business. The feedback of the people who test our applications motivates me to continue to create innovative experiences even in the most difficult moments”, reveals Alin.
Iulia Petrescu is 23 years old and is the co-founder of Ez Stick, a business whose product is an accessory that allows you to temporarily glue your phone to any surface. The business was founded in July 2019 and has already gained over 150 customers and businesses that bought their products.
“As an entrepreneur under 25, you learn from a young age how to become as adaptable as possible in stressful situations, and you must be willing to learn new things continuously. A disadvantage would be the lack of credibility of the society in a young entrepreneur. People were often sceptical that I would have the ability to run a company at such a young age.”
The dream and vision of the new generation of entrepreneurs – added value in the community, through entrepreneurship
“My dream is to add value to our society in one way or another through the businesses I will run. I could get hired at any time, but it would be the easy way out.”, says Iulia.
“Fustite cu luminițe” is the business started by Oana Corcodel and Ana Pitic. Their business makes unique handmade skirts, for those who want to choose a piece of clothing with personality and who can bring anyone in the spotlight. Ana and Oana took part of the “Imperiul Leillor” show, obtaining financing of 45,000 thousand euros from investors. So far, their business has had more than 45 customers and revenues of over 1,500 euros.
“Fustițe cu luminițe is a business about girls, teenagers and women, about the boldness that each one of us has in our hearts, about the desire to express ourselves and to capture the eyes of those around us, about getting WOW! reactions. ”
“When we started “Fustițe cu luminițe” last summer, I would have never thought that we would get here. It is a project in which we put a lot of soul and in which we have been working enormously for so long, and taking part in Imperiul Leilor show was an extremely important step for us. At EA – The Entrepreneurship Academy we learned how to pitch so as to convince those in front of us to believe in our idea as much as we do! ”
The faculty in Romania where students become entrepreneurs with a vision since the first year
Romania is positioned as a model in the business field, our country having the only entrepreneurship faculty in South Eastern Europe. Alin, Iulia, Ana and Oana are students of EA – The Entrepreneurship Academy, where the main mission of the faculty is to create brave and creative entrepreneurs, who bring their ideas to life right during college. The faculty manages to do this by implementing an educational model successfully tested for 20 years in Finland, the Netherlands and over 20 other countries, where constant challenges motivate students, but which also offers a vast network of experts, a community of young people with passion and a results-based education system.
In addition to individual learning (academic) objectives, students also have financial and personal development objectives that they set as a team in team coaching sessions. Thus, the 4 years of study are structured in two directions: the standard part of a bachelor’s program in business administration that includes courses in Economics, Finance, Accounting, Management, Strategy, Marketing, Sales, lectured by entrepreneurs, specialists and people business and the practical part, where the theory is effectively put into practice, by creating real businesses, which will be managed by the students at EA – The Entrepreneurship Academy.
The message of entrepreneurs under 25 to the next generations
What do students-entrepreneurs want to address to future generations, who are not sure if they want to take the risks of entrepreneurship?
“To always build around their passions, because only this way they will be able to give maximum efficiency even in the most difficult periods”, Alin tells us from his experience.
“The more mistakes you make and the more unsuccessful businesses you have, the more information you accumulate, which increases your chances that the next business will actually work. No matter how cliché it may sound, don’t give up and keep working! ”, Iulia proudly tells us from her experience.
More about the business stories of students-entrepreneurs can be found in our vlogs!
