Reporter Volume 25, No.21 March 17, 1994

By BETHANY GLADKOWSKI
Reporter Staff

Marc Rosenthal, 22-year-old co-owner and manager of Campus Tees and
Sweats in the UB Commons, minds his own business.
	And when he's not running the storeQwhich he does about 50
hours a weekQhe is a full-time student who has maintained a 3.0 G.P.A.
pursuing a special major in Judaic Studies. He has completed a Millard
Fillmore College business certification program, but hardly needed it;
he started his first business in his junior year at Williamsville
South High School. 


Q. How did you become an entrepreneur at such a young age?

A. I had my first "business" when I was in high school. And I only
call it a business because I made money. For two years I organized a
ski bus, including setting up the bus and collecting the money. I
would say I made about $1,000 from it.
	Then in the summer of 1990 I heard about The Commons.
Originally my father and his colleague were interested in starting a
business there, but my dad dropped out of it and moved to Florida with
my mom. He thought a t-and-sweatshirt shop was a good idea, so I
opened it with his colleague. My father helped finance it. 

Q. You oversee a staff of five and manage almost all of the accounting
work for the shop, as well as its future development. Where did you
get, as you say, such an "intuitive" feel for business?

A. When I was 19 I became assistant director of a summer camp in
Algonquin, Canada. For that position, I was in charge of 80 other
counselors aged 19 and up, and 220 kids from 7 to 16 years old. It
gave me hands-on experience. The camp really taught me how to handle
people who were sometimes much older than I was. A summer camp is
still a business. 

Q. You've mentioned that you now carry two portable phones and spent
summers next to the fax every morning. Would you say you are "high
maintenance?"

A. (He laughs.) I am basically type-A. I need to feel like I'm
succeeding, but not necessarily making money. If there is no place for
me to advance, achieve and succeed, then it's a plateau that doesn't
satisfy me.

Q. If you don't make money from a venture, is it still "business"?

A. When you use good business skills, eventually it will result in
profitable company....And profit doesn't need to be cash. If you're
providing a service, it could be profit for people. I try to utilize
the best skills I know, and I'm definitely on the brink of having a
good business.

Q. At the camp, your staff was 80 strong. Now you manage fewer than 10
people. How has your managerial style changed?

A. It's not a concrete hierarchy here. I try to impress upon my staff
that although they work for me, they also work with me....Once that
was established, it became an effective and efficient environment. For
example, even though I pretty much organize what goes on here, I don't
just write a note for someone else to unpack a new shipment. I'll do
it with them.

Q. The "20-something" crowd has been accused as a whole of being
apathetic about achievement. Do you think today's young people live up
to the label "Generation X"?

A. Well, I don't see as many 20-23 year olds going out, getting
financed and opening up the doors to their own businesses. Whether or
not it's their natural ambition, they are spending more time in
graduate school and end up seeking employment from someone else. 

Q. What do your future plans include?

A. I'd like to continue developing Campus Tees until it's a strong
enough money-maker for me to hire someone to run it. One of my ideas
is to establish its own manufacturing and supply site in Buffalo. I'd
also like to open other shops on other university campuses, perhaps
offer a franchise. I don't know if it'll turn out to be blue chip
stock, but we'll see. 
	For the long term, I would like to go back to grad school for
corporate law.
	It may be an immature goal, but I'd like to do better than my
parents....My parents have done very well for themselves. They have
always been there for me, sent me money every month when I needed it.
I'd like to give something back. (He laughs) Now I send them money
every month.