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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
Online Editor: Mark Kendall
For editorial matters:
Editor: Mark Wood
Phone: (909) 621-8158
Fax: (909) 621-8203
PCM Editorial Guidelines
Contact Alumni Records for changes of address, class notes, or notice
of births or deaths.
Phone: (909) 621-8635
Fax: (909) 621-8535
Email: alumni@pomona.edu
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Campus Life/ Student-Run Businesses
Keeping the Oreos Running on Time
By Sonia Sohaili '09
TUESDAY, 4:30 P.M.—TY Hollingsworth ’07 sinks her hands into a
bowl full of margarine, peanut butter, chocolate chips, brown sugar,
bananas, flour and baking soda as she prepares a batch of her favorite
vegan, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies. By the end of her shift,
she will have prepared 135 vegan cookies for the Scripps Motley Café—and
gained more hands-on experience in running a small business.
 Hollingsworth, along with bakers Meredith Horiuchi ’07, Sophia Magnone
’06 and Cate Powell (Scripps ’06), made up the Claremont Vegan Baking
Collective, one of several student-run businesses on campus last spring.
They may not rake in big profits—yet—but these upstart enterprises allow
students to get a taste of the entrepreneurial life.
The Baking Collective, founded by Ilana Blankman ’04, sells its organic
cookies to the Motley for $1.50 apiece. Ingredients include Earth
Balance margarine instead of hydrogenated oils, and bananas instead of
eggs. The all-female baking team, with only one vegan among them,
donated 5 percent of their profits to House of Ruth, an organization
that helps battered women. Said Business Manager Magnone: “The most
important thing for this business is not
making money, but making a product that is good for society and good for
your health, even if it means buying more expensive, organic
ingredients.”
OreoRun (www.oreorun.com), created
by Kyle Hill ’09, Chris Kolmar ’09 and Michael Oster ’09, boasts a
slogan that college students can hardly resist: “Go Ahead, Be Lazy!”
Whether preoccupied with studies or procrastinating, students may not
have the time or the means of transportation to purchase dorm-room
necessities, something the founders of OreoRun realized one night after
making one too many trips to Target for friends in Oster’s car. In the
spring—its second semester of operation —OreoRun employed two additional
Pomona students, accepted credit cards and handled an average of 30
orders per week delivering anything from 60 gallons of water to tampons.
Every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, OreoRun bought goods from stores
such as Costco and delivered them to dorm rooms, charging a delivery fee
starting at $2 for orders below $20 and then moving closer to 10 percent
for pricier purchases. Oster doesn’t mind the modest profits, estimated
at $40 per week, or the $1,500 investment he and the other partners put
forth. “More than anything else, we don’t do this to get rich quickly,’’
he said. “We’re doing
this because running and owning a business is a learning experience.
It’s gratifying to see our peers start using and talking about something
that we’ve worked so hard on.”
The creators’ parents are also supporting OreoRun, clipping out helpful
newspaper articles and giving financial advice. Other students have even
expressed interest in investing in the business, especially since
OreoRun is considering expanding to retirement communities and other
colleges this fall. But launching the enterprise has brought its
challenges. Initially, OreoRun was concerned about Nabisco’s trademark
on “Oreo.” However, with intended irony,
Kolmar, Hill and Oster decided to keep the name since Oreo also refers
to a type of speedy snail.
Another student business, Claremont Tutors (www.claremonttutors.com),
created by Gabe Audant ’06 and Elissa Brewerton (Pitzer ’07), provides
tutoring to The Claremont Colleges and the wider community. The tutors
rely on the business to organize appointments and handle cancellations,
provide transportation and manage the payroll. Audant and Brewerton
report that running a business has helped each of them to become better
leaders, replacing an easy-going attitude with more firm and disciplined
business savvy.
One of the newest businesses, Forget-Me-Not (forgetmenotatcollege@yahoo.com),
was created by Brittney Andres ’08 and her partner Tasha Cockrell (Mt.
SAC ’08). This business allows parents to have flowers, gift baskets,
chocolate or care packages delivered to their student’s dorm room. So
far, the business has mainly done birthday packages, including
such goodies as sparkling apple cider and birthday cake. Said Andres:
“Parents just really want to be there for their kids, and it has been so
rewarding to help.”
The College takes a neutral stand on student-run businesses, according
to Associate Dean of Students Neil Gerard. Some policies include no
advertising in the student Digester and no door-to-door sales. Gerard
urges start-up businesses to obtain proper licenses and insurance, as
well as pay appropriate taxes. Said Dean of Students Ann Quinley: “What
we ask of student businesses is that they do not rely on college
resources to flourish or grow. Otherwise, they are great experiences for
students, and we welcome them.”
Student-run businesses such as these have long existed at Pomona. Some,
including services offering coffee delivery and airport transportation,
didn’t take off. Others have soared. David Ordal ’01 started his
computer-consulting firm, CyberSense, as a first-year student, and today
the company is going strong. So keep an eye on this latest crop of
business-savvy Sagehens.
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