Life for the average 21-year-old college student, for the most part, roughly looks the same way: Focusing on their academic careers to set themselves up for a bright future after graduation while also striving for a healthy balance between school and their personal life. In 2024, college serves as a catalyst for young people to set up their lives for when they enter the “real world”, allowing them to adequately prepare themselves in their respective careers along the way. College is the seemingly necessary status quo for being able to survive and thrive in today’s world as an adult. Not only does 21-year-old LMU student, Kaden Bishop not only rejects these rigid societal parameters, but is also actively establishing himself as his own personal status quo.
Kaden Bishop is the CEO and Co-Founder of Fanhaven, an emerging new startup he has been building with his COO and Co-Founder, 23-year-old LMU Alumni Cole Marsten. Fanhaven is a company focused within the industry of music, with its main goal of delivering high-touch CRM solutions for music labels to connect deeply with their artists’ top fans through data analytics surrounding ticket and merchandize sales, as well as stream numbers. It is currently still in its early stages, having only been in development for just under a year, but through the drive, determination and commitment from Bishop, it is on pace to create a massive rift in the world and business of music.
Being a massive music and concert fan, Bishop got the idea for Fanhaven simply through his frustration and disdain with having to pay high resale prices for tickets to see his favorite artists. “I was and still am, a huge concert and festival junkie. So, it started as me being constantly pissed off at having to pay resale ticket prices,” said Bishop.
With this motivation and inspiration in mind, Bishop saw his opportunity when time came around for the 2023 LMU Tech Stars weekend. Tech Stars weekend posed students with the challenge to pitch an idea for a business and gave them 72 hours to flesh it out as best they could as a form of exercise in creating their own businesses in the future. While at first, Fanhaven was simply an idea created by a team of 14 students over a 72-hour period, Bishop was inspired and determined to continue working on it and build it into a fully functioning business, eventually minimizing the team capital to just him and Marsten.
“It was really just seeing who was willing to put the work in. Cole and I are willing to drop out for this. We’re willing to work full time on this and are willing to sacrifice everything for this. We really see it going the mile and that was just a process of us figuring out who’s gonna be able to go the mile with us,” said Bishop.
While Fanhaven is still in its early development, its growth in the time since its conception has been undeniable, sparking multiple difference sources of monetary investment and funding, causing Bishop to constantly consider dropping out. “It’s a weekly thought. Especially after just raising some investment, it’s really real. Even though there’s a year and a half left for me, it definitely is a real emotion of mine, constantly,” said Bishop.
It is no question Bishop’s drive and work ethic is nothing short of unique, but even with all of the success and physical evidence two questions remain: How did he get himself here? and Why is he so special?
Fanhaven is not Bishop’s first stab at creating a business. “I’ve been building businesses since I was seven. It’s like always been a thing for me. I started off with a snack company when I was in elementary school, and then when I was in high school I created a nonprofit that taught stock trading to other high schoolers,” said Bishop.
Bishop also rebuilt and redesigned the curriculum and overall layout of the LMU SIFI Financial Literacy Program, all while being a full-time student while doing so. Bishop’s list of accolades and accomplishments is nothing short of impressive and is living proof of his status as a gifted mind with a drive and passion for business that is unmatched.
“I’ve always been a long term thinker. That’s why I act the way I do. I don’t know. I’ve never been extremely drawn to the supposed ideal college experience and I don’t feel like it’s a necessity for me. I’ve always had bigger dreams of how I want to live my life, and I think I’ve let that guide me and how I choose to do things,” said Bishop.
In a world where many college students are guided by the rigid life paths being made out for them by their parents and educators, Bishop bet on himself completely. He has completely rejected all preconceived notions and social norms surrounding the idea and process of success, and for that decision alone, he is thriving.
“I am able to do the things I love and meet amazing people, because I’m not bound to what society has said is the ideal experience, or ideal life to live, even though it can be fun at times. But I don’t think it’s always for me, and it never really has been for me,” said Bishop.
While it may seem like Bishop has taken a unique life path and a big risk for his own future, his plan and mindset for creating the life he desires is simple: put everything he has into his dreams and never let anyone or anything waiver his trajectory. He refuses to leave any stone unturned and educate himself to the fullest in whatever venture he is in at that time. Being uneducated and unprepared is not an option, nor a choice, for him.
“It is all about not letting anyone else’s limiting beliefs of you ever affect you. You have to be so good that their beliefs are below all of that meaning. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, what skin color, what age you are, or anything. You have to be so good that it doesn’t even cross their mind to even doubt you because of some external factor that’s out of your control. And I’ve lived by that,” said Bishop
Kaden Bishop is not simply a businessman. He is Kaden Bishop. He is himself to the fullest and will never be, or try to be, anything different. His passion for what he loves and his self fulfilling outlook on life has, and will continue to propel him to successes and heights that he is able to decide for himself. He is a gifted mind and a genuine human being at his core.
“At the end of the day, it’s the same fish to fry no matter what. You just got to do it, right? You just got to go for it and and stop thinking that you have to be in some sort of position to be able to do something that you dream of. So yeah, you just have to go for it and stop letting any limiting beliefs, like stop you from trying, because, like, at the end of the day, like this is the biggest and the best time to fail,” said Bishop.
