From selling exotic snacks from their home countries to offering laundry services, entrepreneurial students at LAS have always found creative ways to start businesses. In light of our focus on entrepreneurship at LAS, we reached out to our alumni community on Facebook, asking them to share memories of their entrepreneurship ventures when they were students here. 

The new Changemakers program at LAS cultivates innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking, empowering students to become proactive problem-solvers and leaders who drive positive change in their communities and beyond. Through hands-on experiences, students tackle real-world challenges, develop creative solutions, and apply entrepreneurial skills to turn ideas into action. Learn more about the Changemakers program here.

Share your entrepreneurship memories by emailing advancement@las.ch!

Send us your memories!
 

---

Shawn Carner '92
"Ziad Salem and I ran “Shredder’s Express” a ski and snowboard tuning and waxing business for close to 3 years. We would have people drop their skis at our door and usually Friday night we worked hard while everyone was out. We made decent money in the winter getting all those skis and boards tuned up every week."

Joe Burby '93
"A few of us with rice cookers worked together to make a "rice bowl" business. We cooked rice in our rice cookers during study hall time, then sold bowls of rice with different toppings. People used to stop by our rooms during the break during study hall time to make sure we didn't forget to cook the rice! One of the most popular items was rice with cheese on top. It would just melt on top of the rice and make it creamy and tasty!"

 

Ryan Clausing '98
"I sold grilled cheese sandwiches (from a little sandwich maker I had), candy bars, and sodas during study hall breaks and before lights out. I would buy multi-packs from the grocery store about once a week and haul them to my dorm room. It supplemented my pocket money quite nicely."
 

Bruce McKinzie '71
"Weekend breakfasts were minimal in '70-71 in the dining room. There were boiled eggs and big bags of cereal. My roommates and I made pancakes in our dorm room and sold them. The hallways smelled so good on Saturday morning!"
 

Lesley McKenzie '97
"Haircuts! I quit after the teachers started asking me for them!"
 

Brad Wyman '80
"When I took over running the snack bar in 1978 that first semester, I had lousy accounting. The school pulled out of supplying, and I became independent. Mom showed up for a visit and we went down to the big Co-op in Aigle. We bought tons of food and candy and drinks and I got the business going. I still wasn’t making anything, so I started a sandwich business on the side. Every day I walked downtown after school and bought French bread, cheese, and mortadella meat. It cost me 20chf. Just before study hall was over, I’d go make the sandwiches. Twenty in all. They sold out! It cost me 1chf each and I sold them for 2.5chf each. In my mind, I was rich. Five nights a week at that was 150chf—a lot better than my weekly allowance of 20chf! 

This picture is Chip Janes and Brad Wyman yearbook pic. I’m holding a handful of Swiss Francs"