A thank you + goodbye from the founders

It’s been almost two years since the idea of Hottest College In America first began spinning.

The thought of growing a small Facebook group into one of the most widely known publication on a campus of 40,000 students was merely that — a thought. Everybody has thoughts. Everybody has ideas. We thought ours was pretty cool so we went after it. Little did we know “going after it” meant challenging, innovating, and believing in a dedicated group of peers to accomplish something much larger than ourselves.

The process became one of the most rewarding experiences any student could create. Whether it was walking across the Mall and spotting a complete stranger wearing an HCIA t-shirt, or seeing one of our girls score an internship in the career path she aspires to follow, we could consider HCIA a success without ever having to look at the bottom line.

With sudden success comes opportunity. As quick as we thought today’s job market worked, none of us HCIA founders expected to grow up so fast. Since graduating just a few weeks ago, Carly has already accepted an entertainment job in Hollywood. She’s driving down Interstate 10 right now. I’ve accepted a technology job in Boston. I’m flying out next week.

Boom. Just like that, our careers have ripped us into different directions — leaving the company we built hanging without a full team during the most critical time of production. Could we attempt to pull together a few interns and teach them everything in a few weeks to launch a poster by this August? Maybe. Would that be fair to everyone who dedicated so much effort into HCIA’s brand? Absolutely not. We built HCIA on three major principles: Professionalism, quality, and honesty. And without the man power needed to execute those, I would rather close up shop than cut corners and put out a half-assed product. We have too much pride in our work to compromise it and everyone’s name associated.

So on behalf of the HCIA team to everyone who has supported us since October 2009: Thank you. It’s taught us more about business than any class or lecture could ever. For us, it’s time to move on to the real world and represent the University of Arizona as a birthplace for innovation, gateway for entrepreneurs, and school we will always call family.

-Bryan, Carly & Colin