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Student Start-Up Connects Student-Athletes With NIL Opportunities

Two Clifton Builders Team Up on New Business
Student Start-Up Connects Student-Athletes With NIL Opportunities
Met when they were selected for the Clifton Builders Program, Rob Khorrom and Zach Molzer started a new business called the Big Red Fan Club. Their business connects Husker fans with student-athletes through exclusive content and experiences.

Shortly after meeting at Nebraska Business, management majors Rob Khorrom and Zach Molzer’s entrepreneurial spirits brought them together — both in friendship and business. It didn’t take long for a casual phone call to turn into an exciting new venture: launching Big Red Fan Club.

Khorrom of Elkhorn, Nebraska, and Molzer of Leawood, Kansas, met when they were selected for the Clifton Builders Program, which supports students who aspire to change the world by building new businesses and communities through their leadership. With a curriculum that emphasizes hands-on, real-world projects with local businesses, the program has offered them some of their most valuable business experiences.

“The first project we did was a start-up competition for who could generate the most revenue selling to the community,” Molzer said. “There aren’t many opportunities like that and that’s why the Clifton Builders Program is second to none.”

Through Clifton Builders and campus RSOs like Husker Venture Club and Big Red Investment Club, Khorrom and Molzer built the network and skills to launch Big Red Fan Club in the new era of Name, image and likeness endorsements. The company connects Husker fans with student-athletes through exclusive experiences, player-generated content and behind-the-scenes action while giving athletes the opportunity to build their brand and earn money off the field.

Their experience building their start-up hasn’t been without hard work, challenges and sacrifices, but they’re proud of the early success they’ve experienced. They encourage students to take advantage of university resources and to take chances on themselves and their aspirations in and out of the classroom.

“Now is the time to take action. You can read books about entrepreneurship but will never become one until you try something,” Khorrom said. “You’ve got to go for it and not be afraid of failing, because that’s where you learn all your lessons. No one has created something successfully without hiccups.”

Published: September 29, 2022