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October 2, 2008

Young entrepreneurs honored by BusinessWeek

By Judy Wakefield

This Andover High School graduate said his plans to drop out of college for awhile to do some Web-site development didn't exactly sit well with his parents.

Think about the founder of Facebook and you'll understand why he says Vitaly and Olga Revsin, of Enfield Drive, eventually came around. Their son, Boris Revsin, is among the founders of a Web site gaining notice for helping college kids find what they search for most — a good place to eat.

"It's a new way of showing menus," Boris Revsin said of the Web site he helped develop, CampusLIVE.com, which customizes Web sites for colleges and links students to restaurant menus from their college's community. "Menus are by far our most popular link."

BusinessWeek thinks it's a great idea, as the CampusLIVE.com team was named among the 25 finalists for the magazine's Best Young Entrepreneurs of the year. Revsin learned last Friday, Sept. 26, that his team placed third.

"Just incredible," he said of the BusinessWeek salute.

The idea started in a dorm room at the University of Massachusetts Amherst about 18 months ago. Revsin, the son of Russian immigrants who came to Andover when he was 5, said a classmate, Jared Stenquist of Holliston, launched a simple, informative Web site about the college and what services and businesses were available in the area. The site took off.

"It was one place where a student could go and find out a lot of information," said Revsin, who is 22 and graduated from Andover High in 2004. "The students really liked it."

Revsin was doing some Web development for the campaign of then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney when he met Stenquist and he eventually joined the CampusLIVE.com team. He is now the chief operating officer.

The 100-hour work weeks followed, which is what led him to decide to take a break from college. Revsin emphasized that he will one day return to college and get a degree.

For now, his busy work weeks continue as the number of college campuses connected to CampusLive.com keeps increasing as the Web site becomes more and more popular. There are 27 colleges connected now, including the University of Vermont, Boston College and Northeastern University. Revsin said the team is optimistic it will have links for 100 colleges by year's end.

The team also has another Andover connection. Revsin's friend, Ryan Durkin, has joined the staff and will handle business development. Durkin also graduated from Andover High in 2004 and graduated from UMass Amherst this past May.

A track sensation at Andover High and a UMass track scholarship recipient, Durkin planned to go into the Marine Corps. Health issues — asthma and color blindness — have changed those plans temporarily, he said. He has joined the CampusLIVE.com team for what he sees as a chance of a lifetime.

"I walk into the office each day with a smile on my face, which is something that can not be said of a lot of people my age starting their first entry-level job," Durkin said. "When your four co-workers are a group of super ultra-motivated 21- to 23-year-olds, how can you not love it?"

In an interview with BusinessWeek, CampusLIVE reported it employs five full-time people, and interns, and had just over $100,000 in revenue during 2007. The company is currently negotiating a $1.25 million investment deal, according to BusinessWeek.

Revsin added the company is looking at leasing space in Boston, which would be the headquarters for CampusLIVE. That's a long way from that dorm room at UMass.