Because I was once a lost college freshman with the same deprecating thoughts racing through my mind:

• “I feel like I disappointed my parents.”
• “I feel like I’m not fit to be in my major.”
• “I feel like a failure for not getting an internship.”

But I found what clicked. I went from 0 to 6 internships by junior year, running 2 profitable side businesses, becoming a Forbes Under 30 Scholar, and being featured in publications like EntScoop, VoyageLA, and Poets & Quants for Undergrads… all while taking a full course load.

You don’t have to be a child prodigy, the next “Zuckerberg” attending MIT or Harvard, or have a weird name like “Ocean” to win during your collegiate career.

I’ve talked to dozens of students and counting on how to get started with entrepreneurship. I’ve sat down and helped others craft their resume, cover letters, and cold emails to recruiters… And get internships!

So, how did I get here?

My entrepreneurial flame was ignited when I was six years old. I had just received my first laptop.

On the internet, I came across an addicting online game.

But the membership subscription was $5/month.

I had an idea.

So, I went on Google and typed in these queries:

• How do I make money online?
• How do I make money without a bank account?
• What is a PayPal?

That night, I created my own PayPal account (even though you were supposed to be at least 18 to do that).

Over the years, I learned how to launch websites that offered affiliate products, drive traffic to them, and earn a commission on every purchase.

I also signed up for an online publishing service where I published articles and how-to tutorials on how to beat games. I used search engine optimization (SEO) to grow traffic and clicks to my articles.

By the time I was 8, and about every-other-week, I’d get about $20 deposited into my PayPal.

Bingo.

I didn’t get an internship.

I felt like I was a fraud.

I had already had an LLC under my belt. But why couldn’t I get an internship?

When it hit May and my last final was done, I moved out of my freshman dorm. I took my suitcases and headed on the last flight home to Hawaii.

I spent the whole summer working at a shave ice shop where the line would be out the door everyday from open to close, making $8/hour in the sweltering heat.

I would be lucky enough to make $500 the whole summer.

I would stare at my ceiling wondering if my life had a greater purpose… If I could impact people instead of going through daily, robotic motions…

And then I had a flashback.

I remembered that growing up, my mom would take care of me (a toddler) while going to medical school.

She took intensive exams, worked double shifts, and came home to cook me a meal every single night.

Did she want to be in that position?

No.

But she fought to live another day. It was a game of survival, not perfection.

A lack of money was a blessing. Any wrong choice was at least an inexpensive wrong choice.

If my mom could take care of a toddler while attending medical school full-time…

I had no excuse. It hit me. I found out what I needed to do.

I’m paying for college on my own, taking out student loans. I could either sulk, or…

Use that energy of wanting more as momentum to seek out answers and grind for many, many days straight.

I realized that nothing would ever be given to me. If I wanted something, I had to work for it.

If I didn’t know where to start, I Googled it.

If I didn’t know where to go next, I called someone.

If I couldn’t call someone, I’d look at successful people’s online portfolios.

I built my own personal website using their foundations.

I took Udemy courses on software engineering projects and added that to my portfolio.

I didn’t think twice about all of those decisions.

I just did it. My gut feeling told me to. It was the feeling that I had to keep running, keep pushing, or I would be in the same position next year.

When my mom was taking care of a baby AND going to medical school.

This is my journey so far. What will yours look like?

I can help you if:

• You want to become a rockstar student that all the recruiters will contact.
• You want to buy your own dream car in college.
• You want to get a Fortune 500 internship.
• You want to live a more fulfilling, purposeful life in your early 20s.

Seriously, thank you. I deeply value every relationship I’ve been lucky enough to build from this community.

Let’s chat. Shoot me an email at ocean@oceanmorgan.com with where you’re at right now, where you’d like to be when you graduate, or how you’re feeling. I respond to every single DM and email.

Let’s hustle together,

Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan

Recommended Books

• How I learned personal finance: “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi
• How I learned to automate my businesses and cold email people: “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss
• How I learned how to network: “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi
• How I learned how to persuade others: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
• How I learned to never give up: “The Third Door” by Alex Banayan

Popular Guides

• My Software Engineering Internship Experience At A Fortune 500 Company
• What Is A Web Developer Intern? How I Got My First Internship In College (Ultimate Guide)

Interviews

• Daily Trojan: Students design game day spirit apparel
• VoyageLA: Meet Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan of Geistwear in Downtown LA
• EntScoop: Student Business Owners Thrive Amidst Crisis
• Poets&Quants for Undergrads: USC Undergrads Launch ‘Gameday’ Streetwear Clothing Brand
• University of British Columbia’s eProjects: Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan On Navigating the E-commerce World Against All Odds
• SUMMR 2020: “Just keep persevering through it all.”
• USC SPEC Magazine: Geistwear: Apparel for the Students
• HerCampus: USC’s Geistwear is no longer asking permission
• NextGenHQ: Spotlight on Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan
• FutureSharks: How Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan of Geistwear Built and Scaled a College Merchandise Brand
• ShoutoutLA: Meet Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan: 3x Gen-Z Serial Entrepreneur
• Authority Magazine: Female Disruptors: Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan of Geistwear On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
• ThriveGlobal: Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan of Geistwear: “Celebrate the process”

Podcasts

• Unscripted Startups: How to Develop and Adapt Your Business to An Ever-Changing World with Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan
• Just the Bulb: Automate Everything In Your Online Business with Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan
• ‘Think’ Ideate. Decide. Act. (IDA): Riding the Entrepreneurship Wave with Ocean Ronquillo-Morgan