Aspiring entrepreneurs who want to make a name for themselves should look up to Daniel Calvert, an Aztec from the graduating class of 2013. Calvert, along with co-founder Andrew Sutton, created Borninfornia, a clothing line representing what living in the Golden State, specifically San Diego, has to offer.

The casual California-representative brand consists of a collection of T-shirts and tanks with graphic designs of the California brown bear, mountains, ocean and sun.  Calvert and Sutton draw inspiration from the clothes they grew up wearing and the areas they grew up in.

Using the skills he learned in the entrepreneurial program, Calvert is on his way to making his dream a reality. Calvert said his professors at SDSU “really nailed every single aspect” of starting your own business and he was able to carry those techniques into his new business. Many of the ideas rooted in Borninfornia came from Calvert’s “Social Entrepreneurialship” course taught by business administration professor Michael Sloan.

“The basis of the class is to have students learn how to use their business skills to help solve social problems,” Sloan said.  Sloan instills in his students the importance of helping people and creating a business that makes people self-sufficient. He explains how companies can donate products to places of poverty, but emphasizes that this only solves the problem temporarily; you must teach them how to fix it on their own.  Sloan is proud of his students and hopes they implement what they’ve learned.

“It was gratifying to see that Daniel (Calvert) is going to start his own company with some of the foundation he had built in the course,” Sloan said.

Calvert learned in Sloan’s class about the importance of giving back to the community.

“You are trying to generate profit, but also trying to help your community in more ways than one,” Calvert said.

Calvert and Sutton explained how they want to keep most of the company in California and to avoid outsourcing. Calvert said that giving business to local graphic design artists would help “ to make the upward spiral of good.”

Calvert was one of many entrepreneurial students that had big ideas and goals to accomplish. He believes that those who see obstacles have no excuse.

“You can have minimal resources and still pull off your dreams,” Calvert said. To help launch Borninfornia, Calvert and Sutton used Kickstarter to generate funds by having people who believe in their creative project pledge money. Networking, Sutton said, also played a huge role in making it toward the company’s goal.

“It’s so much easier when you’re surrounded with people who have already experienced it so they can share helpful information with you,” Sutton said.  For those students who have similar ambitions, Calvert added, “you can’t just sit there and just dream … you work your butt off until you reach your goal.”