'Netflix for baby clothes' founder named College Entrepreneur of the Year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7A1tY2Vu8YA founder of the student start-up known as Netflix for baby clothes has been named Entrepreneur magazine’s College Entrepreneur of the Year. Allen Kim, a senior industrial operations and engineering major at the University of Michigan, launched Bebarang (originally called Bebaroo) last year with Luis Calderon, who is pursuing a dual master’s degree in business and natural resources through the Erb Institute. It’s a baby clothes rental service that ships parents’ brand-name outfits at a fraction or their original cost.Kim is profiled in the January issue of Entrepreneur. He was one of five finalists. The winner was determined based on judges’ scores and online voting. He says he was shocked to hear he won.”I am still in a state of disbelief,” Kim said. “All the finalists were extremely impressive. The magazine told us that only the winner would be notified via email by Sept. 15. I can’t count how many times I checked my email that day. I still remember how deflated I was when the clock hit 7 p.m. and my inbox was empty. But at 7:14 p.m., I received the notification. I think all the residents on the floor heard me hollering in elation.”Kim’s prize is $5,000 in seed money, which he and his colleagues will put toward efforts to expand to 100 customers by the end of next semester.”When I graduate in April, Bebarang will be my full-time job,” Kim said. “I didn’t even go to the career fair.”Kim’s win attests to the growing entrepreneurial spirit at the College of Engineering. Through the Center for Entrepreneurship and the TechArb student business incubator, the college encourages students to start their own companies and guides them through the process.Bebarang was a TechArb company last semester. And Kim and his co-founder Calderon actually met on a trip to the Bay Area sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship.

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