At BU, Student-Made Gives Young Entrepreneurs a Place to Grow
From crocheted animals to custom rings, student creators are gaining visibility and support through an Innovate@BU initiative
Rachel Zheng (Questrom’27) has taken her pipe cleaner art from a hobby to a business with the help of Student-Made. Photo by Innovate@BU initiative
At BU, Student-Made Gives Young Entrepreneurs a Place to Grow
From crocheted animals to custom rings, student creators are gaining visibility and support through an Innovate@BU initiative
This article was originally published in BU Today on December 2, 2025. By Camille Bugayoung (COM’27)
EXCERPT
This fall, Innovate@BU, a Boston University initiative rooted in student entrepreneurship, launched a chapter of Student-Made, a national program that supports and promotes student small businesses with managers, pop-up events, and an online marketplace. For student creator Rachel Zheng, the new business has given her the confidence and trust she needed to take her pipe-cleaner art from a hobby to a business: Florify Made, handcrafted pipe-cleaner flowers, Christmas trees, and poinsettias neatly in pots, perfect for a desk or table.
Students pay a $50 fee to join Student-Made, but the program does not take any cut of their sales moving forward, explains Austin Boyer, Innovate@BU associate director of marketing and communications. In addition, Student-Made has five paid student managers who help creators run their businesses and maintain communication.
Julia Lawrence-Riddell has been crafting rings for Julia Designs since high school. She initially ran her business through Etsy and social media, but became overwhelmed by the workload.
One benefit of Student-Made, Lawrence-Riddell (CFA’27, CAS’27) says, is that the support provided by student managers lessens the stress of running a small business. Student managers notify creators when an order comes through the online marketplace and help track it until it’s completed and shipped.
Lawrence-Riddell also says the store’s pop-ups, held a few times every semester, bring her the most profit and allow her to get to know her customers. “I feel like that’s what’s unique about being in a group that’s on campus—it allows me to connect with customers face-to-face when I’m at pop-ups,” she says, “and that’s something I never had before.”