For most people, starting a company doesn’t involve doodling stick figures, but for T.J. Roux, a senior in mechanical engineering, it is his trade.
Since his sophomore year of high school, Roux has drawn stick characters, and now he is the artist and founder of Book of Bobs, an organization that manufactures and sells stick figures.
Roux said he decided to pursue the idea when his high school friends displayed a strong interest in his work.
“I drew a new Bob character every day repre senting every emotion, occupation, personal ity and hobby you could think of until I had an agenda full of them,” Roux said. “Classmates began to take interest in my drawings and flipped through the book, and they always had a good laugh.”
From there, Roux was inspired to create the first volume, which consisted of 1,001 unique Bobs.
As soon as he was done with the first vol ume, friends started asking him about a sec ond. By the time he arrived at State, Roux was eager to market his work.
“Upon arriving at N.C. State, I took an en trepreneurship class taught by Jennifer Capps, where I was inspired to create a business,” Roux said. “I was informed of the eGames here at N.C. State, and without any knowledge of business, I decided to submit my idea.”
Book of Bobs made it to the final round of N.C. State’s eGames competition, where judges praised it. It was only a concept at that point, but the ideas for products began f lowing, and Roux decided to pursue a business minor.
“As I became more involved in the Entrepreneur ship Initiative, I joined the Garage at N.C. State, where I worked on the Book of Bobs and started talking with other student entre preneurs,” Roux said. “Everyone was so en couraging and support ive, and I returned to the eGames as a sophomore and a junior with more of a business plan in mind.”
As a junior, Roux won money at the eGames he used to develop a website, www.bookofbobs.net. He then estab lished a limited liability corporation and started prototyping products.
Over the summer, Roux said he’s been working hard to develop novelty products such as posters, magnets, pins, koozies and ceramic coasters. His official launch came at the Matthews Alive Festival in Mat thews, N.C. this past weekend.
“Currently the business is growing, gaining more fans every day,” he said. Roux is the only one running Book of Bobs but said he looks to expand as soon as the orders increase.
Ed Weems, an N.C. State business professor, taught Roux last semester.
“When T.J. came to me for guidance with his startup, I was fascinated by the simplicity of Book of Bobs but also by its obvious ability to capture an audience,” Weems said. “I am looking forward to him achieving the success I am sure he will attain.”
Roux is optimistic about the future.
“What is unique about Bob is that he is the same stick man character but sporting a different look and outfit for every occasion,” Roux said. “There are no limits for Bob and there are so many Bobs that nearly every topic is covered. In addition, I make cus tom Bobs for people and companies … the goal is to make people laugh and brighten up someone’s day.”