Arens’ first step toward creating his startup was to enter the Big East pitch competition, a contest for college students from Big East Conference universities. After winning the first round, a professor advised him to find a co-founder who could help him launch his startup.
“It started to become more of a realistic goal instead of just some idea in a notebook,” Arens said of the pitch competition experience.
Clean Earth Rovers’ first addition was David Constantine, who now is the company’s chief operating officer.
Arens and Constantine were neighbors in a residence hall their freshman year of college. Arens knew Constantine shared his passion for environmentalism and also was studying business and entrepreneurship.
Together, Arens and Constantine brought their idea for Clean Earth Rovers to UC’s Venture Lab, whose eight-week pre-accelerator program provides tools…
