CEOs under 25: Tom Moore and Brandon Labman

April 26, 9:54 AMEntry Level Careers ExaminerHeather Huhman

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CEOs Under 25 is an occasional, ongoing series about inspirational young executives and how they quickly worked their way to the top.

Names: Tom Moore and Brandon Labman
Titles: Co-founders and co-CEOs
Organization: Responsible Outgoing College Students (ROCS), Inc.
Age at Which They First Became Executives: 19
Current Age: 24

Heather Huhman: What is ROCS, Inc.?

Brandon Labman: Our company, ROCS, is dedicated to helping top students and recent grads find internships, project or temporary work, part-time and full-time positions in offices throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. 

HH: How did you become executives at such a young age?

Tom Moore: Well, we really don’t consider ourselves executives, but we’ve always been entrepreneurial. In high school, I ran a landscaping business called “Buck’s Brothers Landscaping,” and bought a snow-cone machine to rent out and serve people at parties. Then, there was the failed attempt at helping people fix their computers, and still don’t know why I thought people would pay to have me fix their computer when my only solution was to defrag and run an anti-virus program. 

BL: I started a lawn mowing and car washing business called “Lawn Cruisers” when I was nine, but in my teens found a job as an assistant architect while caddying on the weekends.  

TM: Back to the point, we remained friends and at 19, ended up working at the same non-profit. So, at 19 and as interns, we were tasked with helping the organization find 40 students for their calling drive. Long story short, we did well, and liked the idea of helping college students and did a little research. In other words, after two weeks, we saw the countless “knife-selling” and pyramid schemes, the idea of ROCS hit us. So, we pooled together $400, and created ROCS. 

HH: What challenges did you face getting to this point, and how did you overcome them?

TM: Our friends and family, laughed at the first time they heard about what we were doing. Rather than let it bother us, we just kept rolling, and in five years, we’ve helped more than 500 students find jobs in 150 companies in the area. We’ve been to countless business meetings, some of them wanted us to work with them, while others did not. Not knowing the industry initially hurt and helped us. The idea of helping people find jobs isn’t unique, but the concept of helping only a certain group of people—college students—is definitely unique, especially when their fellow students are helping them find jobs. The hurdles of getting the business started, finding top students, meeting with colleges and universities are all time-intensive challenges. 

BL: That and being college students—amidst starting a business—business kind of contributed to our stress and pressure, as well. Let’s just say that instead of being up late drinking at a favorite bar or friends house, we were busy piecing our business together, which ultimately lead to the demise of our social lives. Starting a business is difficult, and it certainly took away some of our “fun,” but seeing college students get the job they’re after is rewarding. Plus, we didn’t have to find jobs ourselves after graduation, so it made it worth the extra effort.

HH: Is there anything you would have done differently, if you could do everything over again?

BL: It sounds cliché, but we spent countless hours going over every single detail of a mailer, Web site or horrendous flyer, but you just have to be willing to fail. When you’re young, you don’t want to screw things up. But, then again, you’re young and the bar isn’t that high, so we should have taken those chances and just figured out where we failed and where we achieved. We also shouldn’t have compared ourselves to other companies and tried to do what they do. We’re a unique company and worried too much about what we looked like going into meetings, or looking like everyone else.  

TM: For me, it’s just doing your own thing and people will be naturally attracted to your business. If we would have known that “being ourselves” was our selling point three years ago, we could have saved ourselves lots of time at the drawing board. 

HH: What advice do you have for others looking to follow in your footsteps?

TM: Do it, and don’t look back. For every bad reason to start a business, there’s one good reason to start one. When we were in school, we looked at the workforce differently, and decided we wanted to make a difference. Well, after helping those initial 40 students, and seeing the lack of great opportunities, we became passionate about what we accomplished. So, I guess you could say that in order to be successful, you have to be passionate about the final product because that’s what keeps us going, in down times and in the best of times. 

BL: Frankly, a passion for what we do gets us excited in the morning—and helps us get additional business—and it’s the same passion that keeps us from going to bed at a reasonable hour, thanks to late night pizza and beer brainstorms. One last thing—have a sense of humor. If you can’t laugh at how awful your first attempt at a sales pitch was, you probably shouldn’t run a business. If you do choose entrepreneurship, you’ll have enough material to keep your kids, nieces and nephews or grandkids entertained—or bored out of their minds—for years.