I think the most important difference between a good movie and a great movie is that with a great movie, you can become so absorbed in the story that you forget it is a movie; the character development, plot line and cinematography are structured so seamlessly that real life takes a backseat as voyeurism sets in. For the first time in a long time, I had this vicarious experience while watching The Social Network. For everyone living under a rock, The Social Network tells a dramatized story based on how Facebook was created and then launched by Harvard University students in 2003 and 2004.

This resonated particularly strongly with me because I am a college entrepreneur. I started a custom-gear outlet with Ari Tretin '12 called Dript that produces clothing, hats, bags, teddy bears, etc. with custom graphics.

In the process of starting this business and trying to promote its website, I learned about the resources available-and unavailable-to entrepreneurs, people with a general interest in business and those who want to begin investing in the stock market, at this university. The recent addition of the Business major at Brandeis reflects students' desire to explore entrepreneurial endeavors, investing and financial planning. Therefore, it is time we start taking stock of the tools available to students and see what can be done to improve or increase them.

The most important resource available here is social capital. I was trying to figure out how to be a middleman between an artist and a printing press for all of last semester. I posted job descriptions on freelancing websites, and I ended up hiring a team of website developers from Pakistan. Unfortunately, I failed to communicate to the group the details of the website, which I thought would result in the business falling apart. Suddenly, a friend of mine who lived down the hall walked into the room and inquired as to what I was doing. He immediately started helping me and solved all the website problems I had in less than 10 minutes.

We are privileged to be part of a talented network of students, from artists to website developers to business people. We are privileged to have forums to communicate ideas and the people who can move an endeavor forward. The best way to access them might just be by checking out the club page on myBrandeis and communicating with the leaders of a club.

The second crucial resource this University has is less obvious. It's called a Bloomberg Terminal. It's a computer system that allows you to analyze market data, trades, news and price quotes. All major financial organizations have these terminals. They have two, sometimes four screens, and whenever you hear someone bantering about Wall Street on the news, the people in the background are working on these computers. The International Business School is home to a Bloomberg Terminal lab. It would benefit students to go there and experience this powerful tool in action.

While the University may have some great resources, it lacks other amenities that could really enhance an entrepreneur's chances at success.

We need a forum to utilize all the talented website developers on campus. This forum could connect students who have ideas for a website but have little or no background in programming. It would enable entrepreneurs to find website developers and begin working on projects. Ideas for business ventures could take form, and both the programmers and the entrepreneurs will reap the benefits. Currently, the University does not have any direct method for students who are interested in entrepreneurship to actually put their website ideas into action. It would serve the ever-growing population of business-oriented students (who often have numerous creative ideas for websites) very well if Brandeis could serve as a testing ground for their ideas.

Finally, there are many students on campus with brilliant ideas for entrepreneurial endeavors; however, these ideas cannot be made a reality because of funding. Imagine if there were a forum for students to present their ideas to investors in order to start projects. The University would bring wealthy investors to campus to hear different presentations from students about business ventures. The investors could then choose which venture they deem profitable and the two groups would thus benefit from one another.

These 4 years are an incredible investment of time and capital. It's time to start thinking about how we can reap all the benefits of this investment. The access we have to social capital and opportunities in the business school is too valuable to waste. Start investing some time in your entrepreneurial endeavor, and find people with similar interests and talents that compliment your own. Start networking in IBS and learning about the opportunities they provide. Although students' primary focus in college should be classes, starting a business can be an incredible educational experience. I would go as far as to say that starting a business is an exercise of critical thinking and creativity that compensates for lessons left out of the classroom. In the words of Mark Twain, "I never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Editor's note: Ari Tretin is an illustrator for the Justice.