The young and the motivated

Going out on your own with a new enterprise is an intimidating endeavor.

But in the midstate, many young souls have ventured to start their own businesses. Some had the desire to provide a more efficient product for clients, some were inspired to create an innovative service, and others were dissatisfied with their jobs in corporate America. No matter the reason, these 10 entrepreneurs began to brave the business world in their 20s.

From Internet marketing campaigns to handbag design, and from restaurant branding to raising money for children in Zimbabwe, these entrepreneurs hit the ground running and found success in Central Pennsylvania within the first few years of their businesses.

Paul Benninghove
30, chief executive officer of MudBrick Creative, Harrisburg

Paul Benninghove bounced around in college and with jobs, at Tyco Electronics Corp. and AMP Inc., before he discovered what he wanted to be permanently: an entrepreneur.

"I had gotten to a point where I was still learning a lot about business in general and what it takes to be successful," said the Harrisburg native. "But creatively, (my jobs) weren't good enough environments for me. Everyone in my family is some sort of an artist; it is kind of in our genetics."

So in 2007, at age 27, Benninghove started MudBrick Creative, a creative design firm that provides Web design and development. The company now has five employees and works out of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center in Harrisburg. While the company focuses on design, MudBrick uses marketing agencies to find business and handle sales.

Business, design and the Internet are contemporary considerations. So where does a distinctive but seemingly archaic term like "mud brick" come into play?

"The name came from a conversation I had with a friend of mine. We started talking about building materials, because we build Web sites," he said. "Even in Third World nations, mud is a staple building material that they use for foundations."

Adrian Fang
28, president of Cruzstar, Carlisle

Adrian Fang hadn't planned on becoming a Web developer. Growing up, he dreamed of entering the film industry.

"I've always had an artistic background," he said. "Being innovative and creative in marketing strategy and with marketing collateral, that has really helped me as far as the creative element of business."

But after graduating from Lafayette College with an English degree, he went on to earn a master's in information security at Johns Hopkins University and work for the Social Security Administration. Now Fang, 28, is the owner and creator of Cruzstar, a technology company that develops online solutions for restaurants of all sizes.

"My family has always owned restaurants," he said. "Once I started to get more of a background in technology, I wanted to find how to blend those two interests together."

The idea came to him in 2006 when a friend approached him about creating a better way of booking catering for his sales meetings. From there, he developed the product until 2007 and launched an operational version of the Web site in 2008.

Through sponsorship from the Murata Business Center in Carlisle, Cruzstar has created three products: Cruzcatering, an online catering service; Cruzcourt, a virtual cafeteria for businesses; and MyMenuOrder, a Web site for restaurants such as Cuppy's Coffee and Al's Pizza and Subs to market their menus and allow customers to place orders.