His company, Helo, now has sold and shipped shorts as far away as Finland, he said.

“My website has been up and running since the middle of January,” he said. “Things have been going really well.”

Howison’s success is not unusual at MSU, nor is his entrepreneurial spirit. Gaia Rubera, a professor of marketing who taught one of Howison’s classes, said in her three years at MSU, she knows of three students who have started their own companies.

“In MSU and East Lansing, they have important centers they’ve created,” she said.

It hasn’t always been that way. Brett Kopf, who graduated from MSU in December 2009, said when he first was starting his company — remind101.com — he didn’t find many resources.

“Over the past two years, (MSU has) started to create these great
niche communities,” he said. “Now, there’s tons of great resources.”

Howison credited a class taught by Rubera as one of the factors that most helped him work through the process of starting his own company.

“That (class) essentially laid out a lot of the framework you need to develop a new product,” he said.

From researching textiles to finding his suppliers, Howison said he did all the work himself on weekends and nights while maintaining a full-time job.

“I think the whole thought process that MSU really ingrained into me really helped me tackle this project,” he said. “In college, they teach you how to research and kind of throw a lot at you, and you have to break it down and digest it.”

Kopf said the market is highly receptive to startup businesses, and if a student has a desire, they should go for it.

“There’s tons of openings. When it gets down to it, when they have an idea, try to execute it,” he said.

Howison said his advice for students is if they have passion and the desire to succeed, the rest will fall into place.

“There were times when I would get discouraged,” he said. “(But) I knew, in the back of my head, it was only a matter of time until I found something.”

English senior Chris Reed said entrepreneurship might be a good route for students if they have an idea for a product that will fill a need — but he thinks the majority of students aren’t interested in their own startup companies.

“That’s kind of what we paid for, coming into school, is the certificate,” he said. “I think if you had some great idea to start your own business, you would be less likely to come to college and get a specific degree.”