Rohan Reddi: Entrepreneurship major launches app

When entrepreneurship student Rohan Reddi graduates in December he will walk away from the bluff with not only a degree in hand, but also an inspired new app he developed in the entrepreneurship program's innovative "Business Incubator." 

Rohan's creation, "Twine," is a social payment app that optimizes the way people interact with each other about money — and is currently available for download on Android and iOS. 

"Payment situations can be very awkward," Rohan said. "We change the way people track, collect and transfer funds." 

The Business Incubator provides a select group of entrepreneurial students the workplace, guidance and small funds to pursue ventures that could have an impact in the real world. 

That such an offering is available to LMU students is hardly surprising considering that their entrepreneurship program recently ranked No. 14 on The Princeton Review's annual list of "Top 25 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies."

Rohan, who hails from Bangalore, India, says he initially got the idea for "Twine" when he was studying abroad in Germany and having difficulties using like-minded social payment apps Venmo and Cash. 

"I found these apps still made it very awkward to collect money when dealing with friends," Rohan said. "So I thought this problem needed to be solved." 

Since seeing his idea come to fruition, "Twine" has attracted significant attention, not only from first-year entrepreneurial students clamoring to assist Rohan, but notable figures like T.S. Ramakrishna, an ex-president of Facebook, and who now sits on the app's advisory board. 

Rohan says that over the course of the next year the plan is to continue building out the app's network and customer base, while hoping to raise half a million dollars in funds. Certainly no easy task, but Rohan is undaunted - not to mention he has already won $25,000 in prize money from various competitions. 

"I am a fourth generation entrepreneur," Rohan said, "have seen the highs and the lows and know the landscape, know what it takes to make a go of it. And LMU has definitely given me the platform to succeed." 

During his time at LMU, Rohan has racked up quite a few accomplishments, including becoming a Leadership Scholar, Co-Founder of the Entrepreneurship Society and named Entrepreneurship Student of the Year. 

Looking to the future, Rohan hopes to scale "Twine" into a public company in the next five years, then sell it. Additionally, he plans to pursue his MBA at either Harvard or Stanford. 

As for what advice he has for other aspiring entrepreneurs: "Stop talking, start doing," Rohan said. "An idea is just an idea until you do something about it."