Sophomores Bill Luo and Vivian Jiang are the founders of Cha’Gate, a bubble tea business they started at Colgate University. The duo explained how they were inspired to create their business when they realized there was a gap in the local bubble tea market in Hamilton.

“We both felt that Colgate was missing bubble tea, and figured that having it here would be a good addition since it is such a widely enjoyed drink,” they said.

Launching their business took significant time and effort, and Jiang and Luo were assisted by Colgate’s Thought Into Action (TIA) program, which provides support for student entrepreneurs.

“At first we did a lot of planning, and with the help of TIA and its mentors, developed a sound business model,” they said. “We tested our product less than three months after our start and we got our first sales in April during E-Weekend.”

After launching their bubble tea business, Luo and Jiang pivoted towards establishing consistency and creating growth. They sell their product to Colgate students regularly, and have even been featured at campus events.

“Now, we are focusing on setting up and maintaining a consistent selling schedule as well as expanding our customer base to faculty [and] staff of Colgate through catering services for events,” the duo said.

While Colgate does work to foster student passions and creativity, Luo arrived on campus already interested in building a business. Luo’s involvement in the entrepreneurial sphere began while he was attending high school at the Lawrenceville School, where he was involved in another venture.

“[I] first wanted to get into entrepreneurship because I had worked on a startup in high school and wanted to develop those skills here at Colgate,” Luo said.

Balancing business executive duties with school work has presented its share of challenges, the duo explained.

“Being both Colgate students and business owners can be tough at times,” they agreed. “Both of us are STEM majors and sometimes we have ‘hell weeks’ with three exams along with business meetings scattered.”

Jiang and Luo emphasized that any struggles they have encountered were worth it, especially when they realized how much campus support they acquired.

“[It] is extremely rewarding to see so many students supporting us and appreciating our efforts,” they added. “Most importantly, we are happy to better Colgate in any way we can and we encourage others to do so!”

Cha’Gate can be reached through their Instagram, @cha.gate.