Four CT friends want to be their ‘own bosses.’ So they launched a T-shirt business and got started.

Steve Jobs once said that “great things in a business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”

Alex Santiago, Randy Opoku, Basil Abusalih and Maher Khalfalla can confirm that. Two months ago, the incoming college sophomores at the University of Hartford, Northeastern University, University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University, respectively, started a T-shirt business called Mixed Varieties.

“As a group we had many projects drafted, and this was the first idea that we wanted to take seriously,” Santiago said.

The quartet created Mixed Varieties as a business that offers unique designs on a variety of apparel such as T-shirts and hoodies for any local restaurants, educational programs or even for personal events such as birthday parties and bachelorette parties.

“The best feeling comes from finishing the process of peeling the designs out,” Abusalih said. “Being able to work together with our different personalities brings enjoyable moments during the process.”

Before graduating from New Britain High School last year and going to different colleges, the foursome formed a friendship through their shared interests in track and field and the school marching band. With two pursuing engineering degrees, one going into business administration and another still exploring his options, Santiago says the group is able to bring their different skills and practices to the table that allows them to learn from each other.

While the four friends share similar aspirations such as running their own business and working for themselves, it was the push from Opoku’s business administration advisor at Northeastern University who encouraged the process.

“We have had a lot of external influence going into starting our own brand. Although we haven’t had that much entrepreneurial experience, we have always shared the desire to be our own bosses in the future,” Opoku said.

While the nearly 20 year old entrepreneurs learn the ropes to running a business and fulfilling orders, they hone in on their customer service skills, which Santiago says are vital and applicable to their own business. With Santiago as a food runner in the food service industry and Abusalih as a retail sales associate, Santiago said this experience has enabled them to make connections with people and even network with hungry customers.

Once the friends invested in a die-cutting machine, a device used to make customizable designs, and a heat press machine to transfer the design made from the die-cutting machine and apply it to T-shirts and other apparel, the Mixed Varieties founders quickly made Abusalih’s home their makeshift headquarters. To date, the company has had seven clients and has made over 100 unique clothing products.

Khalfalla and the Mixed Varieties team says they specialize in comprehensive support to companies seeking to expand their creative ideas, establish their brand and promote their businesses.

When it comes to fulfilling an order, the college students will work immediately, but on a first-come first-served basis. Additionally, depending on the bulk of an order and the design chosen, the company’s base prices go from $15 to $20 for T-shirts while additional matching apparel is negotiable.

But, what distinguishes their services is their commitment to customer satisfaction, Khalfalla said. “We are not satisfied until the customer is, and we vow to bring the utmost quality in our products.”

The glue to the well-composed symphony is how the college students see the world and want to use this time to embrace a potential new passion even if it come with a few risks, they said.

“We collectively embody a steadfast work ethic ingrained in us. Our diverse first-generation immigrant family backgrounds further enrich our perspectives, igniting our creativity that fuels our constant flow of innovative ideas,” Opoku said.

The small business can be reached at Mixedvarities10@gmail.com.

“We want to be our own bosses in the future, and this is just a stepping stone towards that dream,” Santiago said.