Some entrepreneurial-minded students don’t wait until graduation to get a company off the ground.
Finance sophomore Adam Dawkins is doing just that with the creation of his new company, Shadowbox Media Inc.
Working in collaboration with interns at the Mays Business School and the Aggie Advertising Club, Dawkins formed Shadowbox Media Inc., a media application and program development company, this summer.
The company is focused on developing a cloud-based application that offers an interactive and social platform for an immersive media experience while watching television.
“Users are able to create their own custom-viewing templates with both video and social media feeds, selecting which content they want to see on their television while using their mobile phone or tablet in place of a remote control,” Dawkins said.
Dawkins said gamers and spectators of gaming competitions are main target audiences of the app.
“Twitch users and fantasy football fans, for example, can utilize it,” Dawkins said. “For fantasy football users, the app can display social media feeds and scores for your teams and players, allowing you to track everything all in one place.”
Dawkins said the idea was brought to him by a few friends at A&M, and through Startup Aggieland, the company was developed.
Even before starting Shadowbox Media Inc., Dawkins said he had a deep passion for entrepreneurship. Dawkins said he has invested in the stock market, participated in garage sales and started a savings card business that promoted environmentally friendly business habits.
“I brought that idea to Startup Aggieland in May of freshman year and pursued that for a bit, then was approached with this idea for a tech startup,” Dawkins said.
One of the challenges of starting a business is a lack of resources, Dawkins said, which is where the Aggie Advertising Club, Mays Business School interns and business mentors come in to help the still developing app.
“We’ve been reaching out to different student developers and development firms, Dawkins said. “We are meeting with them and figuring out who has the necessary skills to develop the product and who can fit our particular timeframe.”
The Aggie Advertising Club has helped Shadowbox Media Inc. define and meet its goals for advertising and marketing, Dawkins said.
“It’s very beneficial to us as a club because our members can get some real-world experience that they can take to interviews and into the future that can help them build a portfolio and gain some confidence,” said Bailey Strohmpyer, marketing senior and Aggie Advertising Club member.
Another tool available to students interested in business startups is a program called Wrangler Wednesdays, said finance freshman Austin Tankersley.
“You present your business idea and the progress you made that week every Wednesday to mentors,” Tankersley said. “The mentors are local, successful entrepreneurs who have done this before. They are older Aggies with experience in the field who want to come back and help out.”
Dawkins said as far as progressing the business goes, Shadowbox Media Inc. plans to participate in a pitch competition in November, with hopes of launching a product in the wintertime.
“You have a panel of judges where you present your idea, and there is a first, second and third place winner,” Dawkins said. “Afterwards, they invite people back to speak to these start-ups that are interested in investing in them, so that’s what we are preparing for now.”
Shadowbox Media Inc. will keep developing over the course of the semester with continued help from Startup Aggieland, the Aggie Advertising Club and Mays interns, Dawkins said.
“It’s pretty cool because you have multiple organizations at A&M working together toward one common goal,” Dawkins said.