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Meet Michael Duong, an inspirational entrepreneur, who is one of our very own here at Penn State. Thanks to Michael and his innovative smartphone app created with the typical college student in mind, nightlife and entertainment, as we know it has now been revolutionized and all available to us in the palm of our hand.
HC: What inspired you to create Campus Concierge? And please explain a little what the purpose of this exciting app is.
Michael: Campus Concierge was developed to simplify college life and help students save time and money. The purpose of the app is to be an all-in-one solution for all college life needs! Whether you want to place a food order at DP Dough, stay up to date on concerts and events around campus, take advantage of daily deals/specials downtown or find out where the best parties are at, Campus Concierge can and will help you accomplish them.
HC: What aspirations do you have for Campus Concierge in the future? What additions do you hope to add to the app for the 2.0 version?
Michael: I hope to make Campus Concierge successful enough at Penn State so that we can begin to expand to every Division I university in the United States. For version 2.0, we plan to add events listings (HUB, BJC, Bars, Frats), Taxi contact info, parking spot locations, and downtown daily deals.
HC: As a young entrepreneur what advice would you give to other young hopefuls looking to start their own company or business venture?
Michael: The best advice I would give to other young hopefuls would be to start their own company or business ventures early as possible and get comfortable being uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to fail early and fail often, not all ideas are successful right away, but all it takes are a few key changes and you could be on your way to massive success. The ideas behind Campus Concierge were changed countless times before we hit something that students truly need.
HC: Since you have been so successful with Campus Concierge, do you see yourself taking on any new entrepreneurial endeavors anytime soon? If so, would you mind sharing with us what your goals are for the future?
Michael: Ever since Campus Concierge started to become more well known, I’ve had so many people try and contact me to either team up with the company, work for the company, or help them with their own apps. So to answer your question, yes I definitely see myself as a serial entrepreneur and plan to pursue new endeavors in the near future. One of which that I am pursuing right now is being a consistent and profitable stock daytrader.
HC: You developed Campus Concierge while in college here at Penn State; did any of the resources around you help you accomplish your dream of creating Campus Concierge?
Michael: Yes, I definitely had a lot of help to guide me in the right direction and to avoid making common entrepreneur mistakes. Lion Launch Pad and the entrepreneurship minor helped provide a blueprint to starting a company. My mentors Professor Santoro (College of IST) and Penn State alumni: Rory Spangler (serial entrepreneur) & David Rusenko (CEO and Founder of Weebly) all coached me on mistakes they made when they started out and acted as a lifeline when I kept running into road blocks.
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