Meet the student entrepreneurs behind Puffed Club at Centennial College
Balancing assignments, classes, and field placements is already a full-time commitment. But Mariame “Mimi” Camara and Kaelan Wilson also balance a business on top of that. The two Centennial College students run Puffed Club, a beanie brand that has taken shape alongside their studies. Mimi, a Social Service Worker student at Centennial College, first launched the idea on her own. Kaelan, an Electrical Engineering student at Centennial College, later joined her, helping expand the business. What started as a small operation has continued to grow on Centennial College’s campuses, where both students are finding ways to develop their brand while working toward their careers.
From an Ottawa Idea to a Scarborough Startup at Centennial College
Puffed Club began in Ottawa, where Mimi first started selling beanies within her local network.
“I started it in 2023,” Mimi says about Puffed Club. “I always had a passion for entrepreneurship. Before I came to Toronto, I was just selling to my neighbors and friends. I didn't have a website or anything.” When she moved to Scarborough to attend Centennial College, she made the decision to keep building the business alongside her studies. That decision led to a partnership that would shape the brand’s next phase.
“I met Mimi one day on campus,” Kaelan says. “She was part of the Black Student Collective… later, I saw her selling beanies during a break. I helped her that day and started to like it. So, she got me involved.”
“We built a website,” Mimi says, “decided to go from there, and try to sell at least once a week, as much as we can.”
Two Centennial College Programs, One Student Business
Though they share a business, Mimi and Kaelan are pursuing very different academic paths at Centennial College.
“I'm from Ottawa, so I chose Toronto because I wanted to get out of the city,” Mimi says about her decision to come to Centennial. “I want to be a therapist. I wanted to start with hands-on experience and be able to talk to youth, able to talk to seniors, able to talk to just anyone the right way, properly, using strength-based approaches.”
“I’d heard that Centennial had a good Social Service Worker program,” she continues. “That's the main reason I came, because you guys are really good at being inclusive, and that's what I need.”
“I just wanted a clean trade,” Kaelan says about Electrical Engineering. “I wanted something hands-on. That's always how I've been working, hands-on, and I enjoyed it. And then electrical engineering, I felt like it was a cleaner one.”
Hands-On Learning at Centennial College Supports Student Entrepreneurs
Hands-on learning plays a central role in both students’ experiences at Centennial College, and it continues to influence how they approach their business.
“For my program, we have to do two semesters of field placement,” Mimi says about the Social Service Worker program. “Right now, I'm working at an agency. I do presentations for the youth, or intake for the youth. I have one-on-ones to talk about how they're doing for the week, how they're doing at home, and that hands-on experience helps me for social work.”
For Kaelan, that same emphasis on applied learning comes through in his coursework.
“We've been doing a lot of labs, and I feel like those helped me,” Kaelan says, “especially when I was in Electrical Engineering 117, where we’d have the lecture section and then the lab section. I would learn the lecture, and then after that, do the lab, and I would apply the things I was learning.”
How Centennial College gave their business room to grow
Outside the classroom, Centennial College has also provided space for Puffed Club to thrive.
“I started at Ashtonbee,” Mimi says, “and they would give me a little table so I could sell my beanies. It really helped me with getting to know people, what they really like and what they want from us, because we always ask for feedback.”
“They gave us the space to plant our roots, and then grow from there,” Kaelan says. “And, you know, it's a community. The Business School, we had a vendor’s market with them. They gave us a stall. We get repeat customers or students there that we know and get to talk to, they'll come in every single time and see what we have.”
Mimi also credits her involvement with Centennial College’s Black Student Collective as a turning point in her confidence.
“I started at the Black Student Collective last semester,” Mimi says. “I was a liaison for my placement, and it helped me very much, because I was such a nervous person. I took that initiative, I got out of my comfort zone, and I decided to talk to the students on campus.”
How these Centennial College Students Balance School and Entrepreneurship
Managing a student business while studying at Centennial College requires discipline, structure, and clear priorities.
“When I first came to Toronto, I promised myself, I'm going to get all my grades right,” Mimi says. “I'm going to finish this diploma no matter what. I use entrepreneurship as my side hustle. So how I balance it? I just know that I have to finish my homework, finish my assignments, finish my placement, and then when I have a gap between that, I can do my entrepreneuring.”
“We're taking things slow, too,” she continues. “We're not trying to rush the business. we just take it one week at a time, and make sure that we have our priorities straight.”
Kaelan approaches the balance in a similarly practical way. “For me, I just decided to separate the two,” Kaelan says. “If I'm on campus, I'm going to do work. If I'm back home, those are the times where I work on Puffed Club with her.”
“It's mainly a partnership, but at certain times, it's really what we have time for,” he says. Together, they manage everything from in-person sales on campus to branding, marketing, and online engagement.
Building the Future of Puffed Club
While Puffed Club continues to grow week by week, both students are already thinking about what comes next.
“For Puffed Club, I want to launch exclusive stuff,” Kaelan says, “because right now we're mainly doing reselling. I’d love for us to be able to launch different products. I want to see Puffed Club as a whole marketplace.”
For Mimi, entrepreneurship is something she plans to carry alongside her career in social work.
“I want to do social work, but at the same time, I want to do entrepreneurship on the side,” Mimi says. “If I'm able to even donate some things that I've made, that will be so nice. I want to be my own boss. I even want to open my own social work practice.” Both see Puffed Club not just as a current project, but as a long-term opportunity that can grow with them.
Advice for Future Student Entrepreneurs at Centennial College
For other students looking to start something of their own, Mimi and Kaelan emphasize patience and persistence.
“Be patient,” Mimi says. “You might fail, or you might succeed. It's a gamble… just save up. Take your time. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.”
“Also, engage,” she continues. “Try to talk to people, let them get to know your brand. Take that feedback, or criticism, and just apply it better.”
Kaelan, meanwhile, highlights the importance of taking action and embracing the process.
“Everything starts as an idea,” Kaelan says, “so as long as you don't keep it as an idea, you’ll never fail, because you'll learn.”
“Don't be afraid of doing the little things,” he continues. “Every business, you have to do the little things… you can't skip over the process and try to go to the end goal.”
Growing Through Experience at Centennial College
For Mimi and Kaelan, Puffed Club represents more than a business. Through hands-on learning, campus support, and a willingness to take risks, they have turned an idea into a growing brand while still in school. As they continue to build both their careers and their business, their experience shows how Centennial College students are turning entrepreneurship into real-world business success. And if you’re interested in Puffed Club’s offerings, follow them on Instagram, and check out their Shopify site.
By Anthony Geremia