Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Balancing A Startup and School – Intelligent Payment Networks

Post from Katya Bilonog of Intelligent Payment Networks:

Being a busy college student, I find it to be an art to balance academics and running the company that was founded during my time here at Babson, Intelligent Payment Networks. IPN was founded by my colleagues, Max Miller and Eveline Dang, who saw a problem to be solved in the confusing electronic payment industry. They realized that merchants had two problems: they were simply paying too much in processing fees, and had no idea that they had this problem. The company has grown to having over 40 clients from as far as Colorado. With managing a successful company, there are many challenges from the operations side of business that we face each and every day. At IPN, we pride ourselves on our customer service and we are the first to be contacted if a company experiences any issues with their payment system. We work around the clock to solve any and every problem that we face—which sometimes staying up at late hours of the night working on company related projects instead of essays for class.

Regardless of the challenges we face, I find that the resources Babson provides truly supplement my experience as a student entrepreneur. Being a part of the Babson’s Summer Venture Program set us up for success so that we could hit the ground running in the fall. Also, the finance and accounting related coursework that are required for each student at Babson to take give us an important insight into the details of our company. Most importantly, the faculty at Babson have been one of the most important resources for us. No matter what obstacles we face, we never have to face them alone. Babson also generously provides us with the office space that we need to complete our work in an quiet environment.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the business is knowing that the team that we have built with our peers is always there for support. There is truly nothing that we cannot conquer as a team, and they are what motivate me to do my best. I have learned many lessons here at Babson, but the most important one is to never underestimate your peers and to work together to solve problems instead of facing them alone.