Donuts to Dollars: Babson Student Starts Food-Truck Franchise to Pay Tuition
Jake Bruce ’28 isn’t just navigating the typical challenges of college life.
While his peers juggle classes and campus activities, the first-year student is balancing academics with running a successful franchise, DonutNV, using it as a vehicle to pay his way through school.
Bruce, who grew up in Holden, Massachusetts, had always planned to attend Babson. “It stood out to me as the best place for aspiring entrepreneurs. That’s where I wanted to be,” he said.
But his journey took a unique twist when he made the decision to take a gap year. Unlike most students who use this time for travel or exploration, Bruce launched a donut franchise—an unorthodox yet fitting pursuit for someone committed to entrepreneurial excellence.
Bruce decided to invest the tuition money his parents were going to spend on his education into DonutNV, opting to take on the financial risk while paying his family back over time.
“What I got from them wasn’t just dollars but leverage—an opportunity I wouldn’t have been able to get a loan for,” Bruce said.
Franchise Beginnings
Bruce’s path into business ownership began at home, where his father, a franchise consultant, exposed him to various franchise models. Originally, Bruce considered investing in a children’s physical education business, Kidokinetics, but something else caught his eye—DonutNV.
“I kind of fell in love with it. It was a high-margin food franchise, and I liked the concept,” Bruce recalls. The idea of fresh, hot donuts paired with freshly squeezed lemonade, all served from a visually appealing food truck, was too good to pass up.
He traveled to DonutNV headquarters in Orlando to complete his franchise training shortly after graduating high school.
“It was pretty crazy as a kid just fresh out of high school navigating the flight by myself,” Bruce said. “But it was a good time. I got to meet people that were also starting DonutNV franchises in other places in the country.”
Balancing Business and Books
Bruce didn’t leap into college and business ownership simultaneously, choosing to focus his gap year on getting DonutNV started.
“If I had tried to do both at the same time, it would have been a complete dumpster fire,” Bruce admits. The yearlong gap allowed him to manage the steep learning curve of running a food truck—from operations to marketing to securing permits across dozens of towns in Massachusetts.
Now that he’s at Babson, Bruce continues running the business, though it requires sacrifice. “I’m not studying as much as I could for midterms, but I pay close attention in class and balance it with the work I need to do for the franchise,” he said.
The hands-on experience has given him a practical edge.
“In accounting, I can apply what I’m learning directly to my business, which helps me understand the concepts better,” Bruce said.
The DonutNV Experience
So, what’s the draw of DonutNV? Bruce attributes the success to a combination of high-quality branding, customer interaction, and, of course, the donuts themselves.
“People love watching their donuts being made live through our ‘Watch the Donuts’ window,” Bruce said. The fun concept, combined with flavors like cinnamon sugar and Oreo, makes DonutNV a hit at local events.
Since his franchise’s launch in August 2023, Bruce has steadily grown the business and catered events at Home Depot, Moderna, and Babson’s Make Your Mark Day on October 10.
His favorite flavor? Fruity Pebbles. “People look at me like I’m crazy, but it’s really good!” he laughed.
Looking Ahead
Bruce said his entrepreneurial journey is just beginning. As he navigates his first year at Babson, he’s already looking ahead to what’s next, learning more each day about what it takes to balance education, business, and personal growth.
Reflecting on his choice to launch a franchise while still in his teens, Bruce says, “I’d make the same choice again. It’s given me the opportunity to pursue my dream of being an entrepreneur, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
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