Student Entrepreneur Spotlight: Kyran Richardson

Insource: Revolutionizing teamwork among university students

For those of you that don't know Kyran Richardson, he is a recent UMBC graduate, who majored in Financial Economics. I had the pleasure of having a few entrepreneurial classes with him, and he has a passion and drive for success that is unrelenting.

Kyran and his team (including Retriever, Percy Addo) have been developing InSource for nearly a year. They are very happy to announce that UMBC will be their test campus and expect to be launching it in the upcoming semester. When it does, we'll make sure you know about it and get thr opportunity to be one of the first users.

But for know, let's learn a bit about Kyran and InSource.

1. Tell us a little about your company, and what makes your business

unique?

Insource is a revolutionary new tool that will organize the ideas and pre-startup chaos in the academic community. We will provide a social web-based space for idea creators and idea seekers to come together. Our space is entirely focused on the academic community and can be used by students, faculty, and academic partners. Users will be able to search for individuals that possess specific skills required to advance their projects, they will also be able to be found by students simply by the title of their projects and their specified skills. Insource is not only a place for students to connect but also where innovative ideas become reality.

2. Are there classes on campus that have helped you the most?

I would say that ENTR 320/ Entrepreneurial Marketing with Greg Cangialosi was the class that helped me out the most. That class allowed me to experience what it was like to work with a group to create a product and be able to market it using many different tools. Also, luckily for me I was in a group with members that had recently won the UMBC idea competition and I think knowing someone who came up with a unique idea and actually pursued it really pushed me to do the same.

3. What are some resources that have helped you the most?

(Magazines, Books, Websites…)

A book that I think anyone starting a company should read is Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, it explains a lot about human decision making and understanding how people make decisions is really important when trying not only to market yourself but also your companies product.

4. What is the toughest decision you have had to make in the last 6

months?

The toughest decision I had to make in the past 6 months was whether or not to take part of the business plan competition while taking 6 classes and working in my last semester. But hey, I guess hard work really does pay off! [Insource was the winner of CBIC]

5. What advice would you give other student entrepreneurs?

Don't just try to work smarter and not harder, do both.
Pay attention to detail
Meet as many people as possible
Branding yourself is just as important as branding your business (You don't buy a suit from a bum on the street, you buy a suit from a guy in a suit)

Reach out to Kyran & Visit the InSource Website to learn more.