About seven student-run businesses were on the second floor of the student center on Wednesday to promote their respective products and services at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization entrepreneurship expo.

The businesses all ranged from clothing lines and weather accessories to custom greeting cards and spray tanning services. While the turnout for the event was small, everyone there seemed eager to share their products with other students.

Cubson Clothing, a skateboarding clothing company started by Paul Jacobson, junior entrepreneurship major, and Jake Campbell, sophomore pre-business management major, has been spreading its name around Northeast Ohio, selling its clothing in many skate shops.

“You can find our products in Northfield, Macedonia, Parma Heights, Lakewood, Cleveland and Canton,” Jacobson said.

Another student-run clothing line called Dreams To Reality was promoting its merchandise at the expo. Zack Bayer, co-owner and junior entrepreneurship major, expressed the meaning behind his line.

“Our whole message that we want to do is promote the idea of following and chasing your dreams to kids and young adults who the message will most likely stick with for a long time,” Bayer said. “Hopefully (we’ll) touch one kid one day that’ll really go out and pursue his dreams and do it, hopefully because of the message we’re sending to him.”

The clothing line, which is about one year old, has nine designs thus far. The company currently has tank tops and T-shirts for sale and is hoping to make a sweatshirt for the fall season. The company also has plans to expand to hats, bags, sweatpants and necklaces.

#KWCEO

Another business promoted at the expo was called This is an Orange. Run by Natalie Groom, a senior music performance major, the business makes personalized greeting cards by using different household items, such as bottle caps and magazine clippings. She also sells bottle cap earrings.

Groom said that the appeal in her greeting cards is that they can be used as personal gifts to people because of the items used to make them, which showcase a personal interest they can relate to.

“I think it’d be cool to give somebody a gift card in a card like this that says, ‘I thought about what you liked, and here’s something that shows that,’” Groom said. “Most of the people I’ve given cards to have never thrown them away.”

Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, the group that put the event together, is an organization for people who are interested in learning more about entrepreneurship. The organization holds meetings where guest entrepreneurs answer questions and share their stories about how they started their businesses.

Groom, a member of the organization, said they put the event together because of the lack of resources on campus to promote student businesses and merchandise. They decided to fill that void by having the entrepreneurship expo.

“It is amazing just how many students here are running or have already had successful businesses,” Groom said. “Their peers deserve to hear about it.”

Contact Ozie Ikuenobe [email protected].