“I started as the barber in the dorms. I’m going into my senior year now, but before coming here, I’d learned skills cutting hair and everyone knew me as the ‘Barber Guy.’ I quickly built up a pretty big client base of about 100 people just in the dorms during my first month of school. That’s when I realized this is a real service that people need, because it isn’t easily accessible to students who are out of state, like me. They don’t have cars. Transportation might be a little bit tricky, or they’re paying for Ubers to get to other barbershops. So, I worked with the university and pitched them the idea for this mobile barbershop that is similar to the food trucks that come to campus. They loved the idea and have been helping me as a student to entrepreneur this business.

In my freshman year, I had an entrepreneurship class with Kathy Hajeb. Two years later, I reached back out to her with this idea, and she took me under her wing. She mentored me throughout the whole process and connected me to the right departments, which I couldn’t have done without her.

I opened the mobile barbershop during spring break and since then, we’ve built up a client base of 300-plus. For the summer, we’ve already built up about 150-plus clients coming into the shop.

This fall, I’ll be in the Lassonde Founders program. In the program, you work with other CEOs and other groups of students here who are starting their own businesses to help scale and build businesses. It’s a great mentorship process and I’m excited to start.”

— Aiden Leone, senior, majoring in entrepreneurship, minoring in financial technology, founder of Leone’s Barbershop

Leone’s Barbershop is open all summer.
Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Haircut: $35 | Beard trim: $15
All are welcome.
Visit leonesbarbershop.com to book an appointment.