- VENDING MACHINE BUSINESS OWNER- in the Carolina Trader, I found a used Coke and cracker machine and I bought it. I think it was about $400. I put it in the basement of the fraternity house, without asking anyone. I always kept a roll of quarters in my room. Part of creating value with the drink and snack machine was that at 2am, the bars would close, and the gas stations were sparse at that time in the morning. I had Bud light and Busch beer in the cold drink machine and the quarters to make the change. In the snack machine, where most places sold packs of crackers, I had cigarette packs.
- CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COLLIEGANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD: Pinestraw Plus Runner Up; lost first prize to a girl who had a jewelry business that looked like her parents branded her company for her. I created all my stuff myself
- “Clemson Student’s take Top Prizes in the 2006 South Carolina Collegiate Entrepreneurship Award Competition” The winner and runner up of the 2006 South Carolina Collegiate Entrepreneurship Award (SCCEA), sponsored by the Spiro Center, are Sara Beth Baxley with Sassy Mel’s and Matt Warren with Pinestraw Plus, respectively. Both are Clemson undergrad students.
Sara Beth Baxley, a freshman at Clemson, is pursuing a business degree while operating Sassy Mel’s, LLC, a Columbia-based boutique specializing in jewelry, gifts, and accessories. Matt Warren, a Clemson senior majoring in agricultural economics with a minor in business administration, formed Pinestraw Plus in November 2001 to sell, deliver and spread top-quality pine straw to clients in the Columbia area.
The SCCEA competition allows the Spiro Center to recognize and encourage student entrepreneurs from colleges and universities throughout the state. Over the competition’s 7-year history, 36 collegiate business owners have vied for the award with businesses ranging from internet-based specialty sales ventures to landscaping and construction companies.”
Credits: Written up in the Entrepreneurial Leader. A publication of the Arthur M. Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership College of Business and Behavior Science 2006
