Summer sessions get down to business

During a recent session, one conceded that his idea for a computer repair business was running up against an oversaturated market. Another group of students said they were pleased with the number of merchants they had added to their online shopping portal, but disappointed by the revenue.

Similar college programs often feature mock start-ups, but the 42 Babson undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students participating in the Wellesley school’s program are running real companies.

About a third of the 23 teams in the 10-week program are already generating income, with the rest hoping to make their first sale before summer’s end.

Raul Pellerano said that in less than two months, the program has helped him expand BongoBing, a shopping portal, from one merchant offering 4,000 products to 68 merchants offering more than 1 million products. But he still has a major goal to accomplish. “The next step,’’ he said, “is generating revenue.’’

The first-year program, which concluded Friday, gave each team a chance to get their start-up businesses off the ground through coaching, brown-bag lunch seminars, and meetings to discuss complications and progress.

Perhaps most importantly, it offered students a chance to spend the summer working around the clock to turn ideas into companies. All of it is built to “demo day’’ on Friday, when each team made six-minute presentations to venture capitalists and potential strategic partners.

“The program is addressing a need that had been identified by students,’’ said Daniel Marques, the Babson staff member managing the program. “In the past, students would be pushed out all over the country, and their ideas may languish over the summer.’’

Marques said some students used the program to position themselves to seek funding, and a handful have already received their first round of investment money.

Some teams were formed in conjunction with the program, while others were established during the students’ time at Babson. All the fledgling companies are Boston-based.

The free program received applications from nearly 50 teams. While Marques originally envisioned accepting just 10, he more than doubled the number “to see what would happen when we got all these teams together.’’

In addition to the update sessions, lunch seminars, and demo day, students had access to mentors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists who have successfully navigated the start-up process and could offer students guidance.

“We wanted to get them in here and see how much progress they could make during the 10 weeks,’’ he said. “It gives them a chance to immerse themselves fully in their work, but it’s a bit insulated and not quite like being out in the real world.’’

In addition to free work space on campus, undergraduates received free housing in a Babson dormitory.

At the recent Monday afternoon meeting, student Alice Leung said her company, Top Sprouts, was nearing an agreement with Bunker Hill Community College to set up a pilot program with the school’s culinary arts programs. Top Sprouts works with building owners to build greenhouses on roofs.

Rahul Sahni said his company, Fit in Clouds, had reached agreements with boutiques in Boston, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C., to sell shoes that are small and lightweight enough to fit in a purse. The idea is to allow women to ditch uncomfortable high heels at the end of a long day of work or a long night of clubbing.

Chris Jacobs, who founded an energy consulting business called Emergent Energy Group Inc. as part of the program, reported that his start-up had recorded its first sale that morning. The company will be consulting on using solar, biomass, and turbine energy sources at a waste-water treatment facility.

“It was definitely a good way to start the day,’’ he said.