Entrepreneur Student Spotlights

In our Fall 2019 issue of The Mount magazine, we highlighted Mount alumni who founded their own companies and found success through hard work and their go-getter attitudes. Many of these alumni got started on their entrepreneurial journeys as students here at The Mount, so we talked to some current students about businesses they have started.


Robin Paranilam ’20

One day during his sophomore year, Robin brought lunch to school — his mom’s homemade chicken curry. His classmate Dan Alli ’20, intrigued by the mouth-watering aroma, asked if he could have some. “So, I asked my mom to make extra that night, and I brought it in for him the next day,” Robin explains. “He said he would pay me $10 for it, but I only charged him $5. He was my first customer.”

So, Robin’s business, aptly named Curry in a Hurry, was born.

Robin’s grandmother took over the cooking once orders started picking up. “I try to get the recipe from her, but she says no,” he shrugs.

Today, Robin charges $7 per dish and uses Instagram’s direct messaging platform to take orders but looks forward to automating the process with Google Forms in 2020 — a much needed efficiency as he is currently fulfilling 25 orders every week. In his first year, Robin made nearly $2,000 selling curry. Now a senior, he has brought in around $4,000 so far this year. A new addition this year, he now offers a mild version, which has been very popular.

Robin’s customers include Mount Saint Joseph students, parents, faculty, and staff, as well as students from other schools like Loyola and Calvert Hall, who have heard about the delicious, savory dish from friends.


Jack Cohen ’21

For his solutions showcase project freshman year, Jack created his own online business selling outdoor and adventure-themed apparel. He named his company Little Cub Outfitters, inspired by his experience with the Boy Scouts.

While his project was fairly successful, earning just under $100 in net revenue after one month of operation, Jack learned a lot about what worked and what could be improved upon. With that in mind, he decided to pick the company up again this year as a junior. He has made some major changes for the relaunch and is excited to see where the company can go from here.

As a Boy Scout, Jack is passionate about the outdoors and giving back. That’s why he has pledged to donate $1 of every t-shirt purchase to the National Forest Foundation, which will use each dollar to plant one tree in one of the country’s national forests.


Anthony Hobbs ’23

As an imaginative five-year-old with an affinity for television, Anthony would regularly transform his living room into the world of whatever show or movie danced across his screen, pretending to be the characters whose lives seemed to exist only between the credits. Until one day, Anthony saw a favorite character playing a role in a world that was not his – a different movie entirely! In a panicked conversation with his mom, Anthony learned for the first time what it means to be an actor. “I want to try that,” he said.

In just a few years, Anthony earned credits in several television shows, commercials, and films. His most notable role was acting as young Frederick Douglass in the Emmy-nominated PBS miniseries The American Experience: The Abolitionists.

Anthony’s love of acting quickly expanded to more creative projects such as writing, producing, and directing his own short films. He started his own film production company, Imagination Lunchbox, and launched an annual international children’s film festival in 2017. The festival receives submissions from kids in countries all over the world, including Australia, Russia, Qatar, and Japan, among others. Anthony also hosts workshops around Baltimore to share his passion and expertise with young, aspiring filmmakers.