Good Evening! It’s Wednesday, August 2nd! Today, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Babson entrepreneur, Carmelo Carbone. Carmelo is an extremely passionate student who believes in hitting the ground running with his ideas. He’s highly hands on with each of his three separate businesses that he runs at the age of 20 years old, while still in college. While his days are packed, he finds joy in the journey of entrepreneurship, and takes advantage of his summers by chasing his entrepreneurial goals. 

My interview with him was just over a half-hour long, however there are a few key takeaways I’d like to share:

1. Hit the ground running. Each of Carmelo’s businesses required very little, or no startup capital. He took advantage of facebook groups and his community around him to market his businesses, and took personal initiative. What Carmelo did was nothing groundbreaking, yet he generated profits by diving in head first where he saw opportunities to solve problems. Any of you could replicate his success, or do even more with determination and persistence. There are few barriers to entry when you refuse to give up.

1. Be all in, or don’t be in. Carmelo believes in the idea of 100%. When he starts his businesses, he believes there is no way to be successful by being “partly” committed. Moreover, he understands that his name is attached to each of his businesses, and as a result he likes to be personally involved with them, taking personal pride and responsibility in the work they do. The takeaway from this is, when you chase your own idea, be completely committed to your goals. 

1.  “There’s not much in the world that makes someone happier than failing, and overcoming it.” As Carmelo discussed the failures and rejections he’s gone through, he emphasized the importance and value in taking them, learning from them, and overcoming them. He was frank in his point that if you fail, and do nothing, it truly is a failure. But, if you learn from your failure, there is more value and gratification there than from any other element in the entrepreneurial journey.

1. Network and listen. Carmelo’s advice to incoming students was simple, yet he pointed out that unfortunately too many students don’t follow it. When you’re in class and around other people, be engaged and truly listen. You’ll make better connections, and spend less time outside of classes trying to study and relearn what you could have already. Additionally, he urges students to take advantage of the many experienced professors and students all around campus. Sit down and talk to as many people as you can, because their stories may change yours. 

The rest of the interview involved going into detail and learning about the ways Carmelo manages his time, the “why” behind his decision to be an entrepreneur, and his breakdown of his specific business models. Additionally, he elaborates on each of the takeaways I’ve listed above, with specific examples and stories. I would highly encourage everyone to listen to the interview, because my writing can’t do his advice justice. I’ll link the interview below, as well as Carmelo’s businesses.

I hope you get as much inspiration and excitement out of this interview as I have! 

Watch the full interview here

Check out Carmelo's Businesses here:

Community Cleanup: https://communitycleanup.co/

Pikelball: https://pikelball.com/