"There were a lot of good things at Dartmouth that no one knew about," Gardner said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "There was a culture where people were almost embarrassed to talk about their accomplishments."
Buzzflood did not last long after Gardner graduated, but in 2008 the former sociology major helped found ColorJar, which builds web sites and online strategies for its clients, he said.
ColorJar focuses on the entertainment and sports industries, according to Gardner. Two of the company's main clients include sports journalist Stephen A. Smith and Music for Tomorrow, a foundation started by actor Jude Law that aims to restore the jazz culture displaced by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Gardner took a break from online entrepreneurship after graduation. After playing basketball at Dartmouth and serving as co-captain senior his year, Gardner went to Germany to pursue a professional basketball career.
"It was a realistic goal for me to try to play professional basketball," Gardner said. "I didn't have a plan B. My plan was to play basketball."
After playing for one year, Gardner decided to leave basketball and Europe behind, heading to Bangalore, India to start a web site with two other Dartmouth alumni, Kabir Sehgal '05 and Constantinos Neophytou '06.
After traveling across India and speaking with college students, he realized that they lacked a way to network online. The web site served to help users pursue their goals by connecting them with mentors or people who shared their dreams, Gardner said.
Although the trio eventually received a partnership offer from AOL, they decided to end the web site because they felt it was not the right project to pursue long-term, Gardner said.
"A few things weren't lining up," he said. "We weren't ready to stay invested for a number of years."
This led Gardner to Chicago, where the pieces to start ColorJar came together organically, he said. He knew people who needed help creating an online strategy and also creative computer programs and designers looking for work, and he realized that bringing such people together could become a successful business.
"[Buzzflood] was kind of a create-your-own internship experience," Gardner said. "There was no playbook. That was part of the appeal of it."
Although not even a year old, the company is "really starting to hit its stride," Gardner said. Because people are beginning to realize how important online branding and presence are, ColorJar has not been affected by the economic downturn, he said.
"We only work on projects we really fall in love with," he said. "Life is too short to work on things you're not interested in."
Gardner said that his time at Dartmouth helped teach him the skills necessary to start a successful startup.
He has visited the campus three times since graduation and said that he maintains a great deal of enthusiasm for the College.
"My outlook on the world and my sense of adventure those are part of my character, but they were augmented at Dartmouth," he said.
Despite bouncing across three continents and pursuing a variety of professions since graduating, Gardner said that he hopes to continue with ColorJar "for the long haul."
"We found a great niche and all signs point to good things," he said.
