Meet the JMU senior who started his own company

Back in 2012, Brian Chambers was a freshman with a dream to be an entrepreneur and own his own company. While living on campus, Brian saw a need amongst the student body for an app to find buses, buildings, dining hall menus and more. After interning for a consulting firm last summer, he coupled his experience with the computer science knowledge he’d already gained at JMU to develop the iMadison app and fulfill this need.

Brian Chambers posing with his successful, iMadison app

The Tab caught up with Brian to find out more about what it took to become the president of his own company so young and how he manages that with being a senior Computer Information Systems major.

What is it like balancing managing the app with being a student?

It’s pretty easy. Just, school’s kind of second now because I do have a job lined up so it’s a little challenging at times. I’m in a CIS Capstone right now that’s a lot of work and requires a lot of  hours be put into it. It’s a little frustrating at times, because I’m so used to putting school second at this point, but it’s not too bad.

What are your plans after college, you said you had a job lined up?

I’ll be moving to Clarendon, Virginia. I’ll be a technology consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. They do a lot of government consulting and contracting.

How did you develop the app?

I used a program you could download on Macbook. I was a Computer Science major before I switched to CIS through the business school so I already knew some of the coding and decided to keep learning more, because once you learn one coding-language, it’s pretty easy to pick up another. I took all the experience and knowledge I got from my internship and coupled it with what I’d learned in my freshman classes to develop the app. The coding language I learned [at JMU] and the one I used to develop the app were very similar.

How long did it take you to make the app, from idea to on the market?

I developed the loose idea freshman year and I just kept building onto it with time. It didn’t really become a solidified idea until June or July of 2015. I started working on the app around August and then it took me about six weeks to do all the design and functionality of the app. A lot of entrepreneurs tell you that you’ll be embarrassed about your first app and I was pretty embarrassed, but it’s gotten a lot better.

How has the development of the app changed your life?

It’s helped me out in a lot of my coding-intensive classes, knowing the language and having experience with the development really helps. I know it will help me in my future career, too, because, when you start at any consulting firm, your going to be doing a lot of the grunt work and coding. It’s also helped me because I’ve always wanted to start my own business and learning the process of making a product and following through with the marketing aspects of it has been really cool and a great learning experience. I’ve always had self-doubt, ever since high school, and it has been really cool to see that one I put my mind to something, I can actually do it. My brother is the vice president, too, so it’s been really cool working so closely with him.

Do you think you’ll continue making apps?

Probably not, right now our plan is to find an investor and get funding. After that, I think I’ll be creating them, but hiring someone else to make and develop them.

What’s it like being the president of an app company so young?

It’s cool! I try not to be prideful, but it’s been great to see myself fulfill my dreams. It’s always been my dream to start my own company and we’ve got some big plans for it and we’ll see where it goes.

How much have you put into this monetarily?

I would say about $400 or $500. You have to pay for the start up of the company, developing licenses, stickers, business cards, all that marketing stuff.

 
Brian wants his app company to take over college campuses across the US. His goal is to make guide apps for all the different college campuses and eventually make city guides as well. This driven student took the knowledge he gained at JMU and his internship to make his dream a reality and help students on campus.