Name/Year/Major/RSOs or involvement/Favorite Food?
My name is Jason Li, I’m a second year in the college at the University of Chicago, and I study Economics and Computer Science. I’m a mentor in Moneythink, where we teach financial literacy to high school students in Chicago; I’m also a past associate in Midway Ventures (now an entrepreneur in residence). I’m an IM sport enthusiast, but even more of a food enthusiast.
Tell us a little about your life before you came to UChicago. You were already quite accomplished, can you briefly describe some of your major [exploits]?
I definitely somewhat peaked in high school. I had a great time at Saratoga High School, a public school in California. Aside from my involvement in Speech and Debate, Yearbook, and Class Government, I founded my first company called iReTron Inc. It was a phone-fixing project that got out of hand and became a social enterprise in which we buy used electronics, refurbish them, and sell to the general public or donate to schools and hospitals. It really only started because I became interested in environmental efforts, especially ways to solve the e-waste crisis. I wanted to create an easy and rewarding way for people to give their used electronics a new life cycle, so iReTron happened!
Within a year of starting, we were approached by the producers of ABC’s show Shark Tank, so I pitched my company to “the Sharks” and we received an investment of $100K from Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran. I was only 16 years old at the time so it was really fun more than anything. Also it was very Hollywood — I got my makeup done for the first time, and the wardrobe person made me buy a pair of jeans from Forever 21 to wear on the show. Now we’re making annual revenues of around 2 million dollars.
What are you currently involved in on campus, and what have been some of your latest endeavors since coming to UChicago?
I try not to spread myself too thin so I can dedicate as much time as I can to a select few projects and clubs. As a freshman, I joined Moneythink because I was always interested in teaching and education. I was able to learn so much by teaching high school students around Chicago and it was overall a very eye-opening experience. I also helped sponsor our inaugural ‘Money Tank’ event which was like a Shark Tank pitch event for our students!
I also gave a TEDx Talk at UChicago about my idea of every-day entrepreneurship, in which I explain how entrepreneurship is not just about starting companies but also approaching everyday opportunities optimistically.
Most of all, I somehow fell into starting another company/project this past year called UProspie. It has been a ton of fun, but also a lot of work and learning.
Can you tell us about UProspie? What first drove you to that project, what the process has been like, and where it is now?
As I mentioned before, I worked with a lot of city-based and south-side students through Moneythink. It was there when I learned that a lot of students who were very bright weren’t even considering applying to selective four-year universities. I later learned this was a nationwide problem known as undermatching.
In an effort to make higher education more accessible, a couple friends and I created UProspie, to connect prospective college students with current undergraduates based on similar interests and backgrounds to provide tailored and relevant information about campus culture. The free online side of UProspie’s social platform allows prospies to engage with undergraduates through photostreams, live Q&A, and video chat sessions. More affluent prospies who visit campus can also pay hosts $25 to go on a personal tour, which will help current undergraduates make money during their own hours.
We started building it last winter with my friends Mathew and Raymond, and we raised around $50,000 through college pitch competitions.This past summer, we used some of our money to hire interns of our own and rent a penthouse in San Francisco. After working on redesigning and scaling our web platform, we launched in late September and we now have a couple thousand users. After some new changes we’re finishing up now, we’re very excited to be launching everything onNovember 1st, 2015!
What do you see for yourself going forward? What might be in store for UProspie? Are you already looking ahead to your next venture?
Going forward, I want to use UProspie as a hub for students and young adults to simply learn more. There’s a huge lack of information in the world, and we started UProspie in trying to solve the asymmetric information in choosing where to go to school, but there are a lot of other important situations where people can learn from those who have been in their shoes.
And I’m not looking for any new ventures right now. I’m still very interested and invested in this education startup and I believe there’s lots of promise in what we’re building. However, I do advise many student startups and I always enjoy hearing about new ideas that people have!
What would you say puts a spring in your step or a fire in your belly? Do you have any reflections? Advice?
I’m mainly driven by the potential to help people, which I have allowed to channel through business and social entrepreneurship. Because I don’t have too many financial obligations other than going to school, I can really focus on building empowering platforms rather than trying to make the most amount of money.
For example, iReTron was built so there will be less exported e-waste, while we help people save money and make money. UProspie is to help students of all backgrounds learn more about college culture while offering undergraduate students jobs.
My advice really is to do something that you’ll enjoy. I often think to myself, “if I died this second, would I be happy knowing I died doing this?” And if you don’t think what you’re doing is worth your life, then stop and try something else. College is too expensive to not do what you love.
So you’re officially a Campus Celebrity, but who is your personal celebrity/idol, and why?
My parents are the people I look up to more than anyone. My mom, dad, and I immigrated here from China when I was 5 years old and they have worked tirelessly to support us as a family. Even in my busiest times of high school, my parents often times stayed up later than me and woke up earlier. Taking on multiple jobs and starting their own Chinese School, they are the people I look up to every day. I don’t think I’ll ever be as intelligent as my father or as driven as my mother, but I can always try!