LeBow College Sophomore Bradley Ericson Named College Entrepreneur of the Year

Bradley Ericson, a student at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, was named Entrepreneur magazine’s 2009 “College Entrepreneur of the Year.” Ericson is co-founder and CEO of 3SecondReceipts LLC, a company developing a platform to create manageable, itemized digital receipts to replace traditional thermal paper receipts.

Ericson will receive a grand prize that includes $5,000 in start-up capital, the cover story of Entrepreneur’s January 2010 issue, and a follow-up article in 2011 about his business’ progress. This award has also generated coverage by the Philadelphia Inquirer, KYW News Radio, and WHYY News.

“Being named ‘College Entrepreneur of the Year’ is an immense honor,” Ericson says. “I plan to use this opportunity to take 3SecondReceipts to the next level. I also want to thank LeBow College of Business and the Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship for preparing me with the skills I need to successfully run my business. Without Drexel I really believe my business would not have had the growth and success it has today.”

Ericson came up with the idea for 3SecondReceipts LLC while dining at Drexel University’s Ross Commons. “I was ordering a slice of pizza with my Drexel meal plan. Being a freshman I had an unlimited meal plan, but was still provided with a printed paper receipt that was supposed to tell me how many meals I had left. This receipt was instantly thrown away,” Ericson said, “and I realized there had to be a better way to reduce this paper wastage.” From there, Ericson spent months researching a better solution to paper receipts and subsequently created a business plan.

During the next three months, Ericson will be traveling to Europe to meet with international digital receipt companies. He says he is also focused on placing in Drexel’s 2010 Business Plan competition, so that he can vie for office space in the Baiada Center’s Business Incubator and work on his business full time over the next year.

According to the magazine’s publisher, thousands of entries poured in for Entrepreneur’s competition, which included three categories: Established Entrepreneur of the Year, Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, and College Entrepreneur of the Year. Contestants were narrowed to 15 finalists – five for each category – before *Entrepreneur *handed the voting over to its magazine and Web readers who voted online for their favorite business ideas. Voting ended in mid-October.

Originally from Bergen County, N.J., Bradley Ericson is a sophomore at LeBow College of Business studying marketing and entrepreneurship. He is vice president of the Drexel Entrepreneur Association and a member of the Drexel Economics Society, Drexel Marketing Association, Dean’s Student Advisory Board, and Phi Beta Lambda business fraternity.