As you all know we love featuring exciting Change Makers on our blog. Here is one more who is a Badger and an entrepreneur.
Meet Paul Standring!
Paul Standring is a proud Badger 2003-2007, and was part of the Badger football team on special teams and was also a backup punter.
He is now living in Chicago, the owner and CEO of Carefree Boat Club of Chicago and Wisconsin. Paul’s entrepreneurial driven goals began during his senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he began working as a financial advisor. He returned to his hometown of Chicago after graduating with a degree in Business Management and has continued to practice as a financial advisor for the past 12 years and is currently at Hoopis Capital Management, downtown Chicago.
In 2015, Paul founded Carefree Boat Club of Milwaukee, and has since expanded to five additional locations throughout Chicago and Wisconsin. Growing up boating on Lake Michigan with his family, Paul knows the struggles and headaches associated with boat ownership, which is why he knew a “boating without owning” concept would be successful. Carefree Boat Club has allowed members to obtain unlimited access to a variety of boats without the hassle of owning one, allowing them to focus on building memories with family and friends.
In Paul’s free time, he enjoys traveling, staying active, attending Wisconsin Badger football games, and giving back to his community.
Since 2012, Paul has been a board member for Chicago’s Reading in Motion, as well as mentor middle school students in under-served communities through Chicago’s Spark Program.
What’s your connection to Campo?
I met Katie at the Buckingham Club Event downtown Chicago at Chicago Cut. I entered a free raffle and won the coolest sweater ever!
How was the experience winning the CAMPO merchandise?
As soon as I won it, I put it on and people were offering money for it but I refused to give it up. I'm excited to rock it for badger football games! I was in Peru a few months ago so I saw first-hand how hard the women would work to make and sell sweaters for such a small profit. It is fantastic what Katie is doing with CAMPO to help them out!
What was your most memorable moment at UW-Madison?
My most memorable moment in college was in 2007 when I caught a fake punt pass for 31 yards at Ohio State. With a 31 yards per catch average, I think I led the country :).
What does being a Badger mean to you?
Being a badger is like joining a very large family. I have never met someone who didn't like their experience there and every time I meet a stranger who went to school there, it typically leads to a several minute conversation down memory lane and it always brightens my day.
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing in college, what would that be?
I wouldn't change a thing about my college experience. Those were some of the best years of my life and I met some amazing lifelong friends while I attended Madison.
Anything else you would like to share about yourself to the readers?
If you want to meet a lot of people, do a scavenger hunt the first or second week you move into the dorms. It will give you an excuse to get out of your comfort zone, meet a lot of people and you depending on what you are hungry for, put that on the scavenger hunt list and print it off!