“Reaching Your Dream” series tells stories of Northwestern alums of Chicago Field Studies, an academic internship program that matches over 500 students every year with over 250 employer partners. CFS participants receive guidance on choosing internships based on their passions and values. Students navigate applying and interviewing and develop skills to succeed in the professional world. While interning, students process their experiences in weekly CFS seminars, where they reflect on the place of work in their lives and the role of their industry in society.
By Nina Wieda
Colton Horn is a Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Breinfuel, a company producing an innovative energy drink. Colton graduated from Northwestern in 2021 with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Economics. Participating in Chicago Field Studies helped him understand himself as a professional and gain confidence to start his own company the following year.
Growing up in Deerfield, Illinois, Colton always felt drawn to entrepreneurship. As a high school student, he took on a job that most would find too intimidating: cold-calling companies and selling them USB flash drives in bulk. It gave Colton an early taste of succeeding through perseverance, and he felt inspired to take it to the next level. The summer before college, Colton signed up for another infamously challenging job: selling Cutco knives. He enjoyed the process so much that he continued with it even as a Northwestern student, opening a branch office in Evanston. As a college freshman, he already hired a team of over a hundred students to work as sales representatives, and trained them to become one of the top teams in the company.
Colton Horn ’21
Because of his interest in entrepreneurship, Colton chose to major in economics. Once on campus, however, he learned that most of his fellow economics majors were planning to pursue careers in the corporate world, which started sounding appealing to Colton, as well. He began questioning his path. Along with a few friends, Colton applied for Chicago Field Studies and secured an internship with Chicago Venture Partners for his sophomore spring quarter. “CFS turned out to be a really enlightening experience for me,” Colton reflects. “It helped me understand what I really enjoy doing.” The insights came not only from the internship itself, but also from going through the program alongside other NU students. In his CFS class and while commuting downtown Chicago, Colton compared his impressions to those of his peers. “I learned a lot about myself,” remembers Colton. After CFS, he felt more confident as a professional and realized, among other things, that he did not have to major in economics to succeed. He started taking more courses in the subject he really enjoyed – philosophy – and eventually graduated as a philosophy major and economics minor. “I remember sitting down with my philosophy adviser and discussing changing my major. I was hesitant to take a plunge. Now, I know I made the right choice. I still think back to some of my favorite philosophy courses, such as the one on Nitzsche and another one on the philosophy of art.”
For Colton, CFS provided another unique insight: hearing his classmates discuss their internships helped him understand how to run a company better. “I listened to others discuss what they liked and what mattered to them, and I applied that knowledge to the way I ran my Cutco office.” The results were impressive: during the summer after CFS, Colton’s branch became the best performer in the nation. After that, Colton felt sure that he wanted to start and run his own thing.
An opportunity to start something new presented itself soon enough. After his study abroad in Italy, Colton reflected on his new five-espresso-a-day habit and questioned whether caffeine was really enough to keep people alert and engaged all day long. He shared his thoughts with his father, who also noted the need for long-lasting alertness working long shifts as a surgeon. Father and son put their minds together and launched a start-up: an energy drink company called Breinfuel. While Colton’s father worked to perfect the secret formula, Colton took on the business side of the venture. “It’s a typical start-up rollercoaster ride. No two days are alike.” Some of Colton’s favorite moments include Breinfuel appearing on CVS shelves, partnering with NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie, and becoming a cult beverage of the poker community thanks to 16-times World Series of Poker champion and Breinfuel partner Phil Hellmuth. This year, Brienfuel is on pace to increase revenue by over 400%.
“I love what I do. Northwestern and CFS helped me realize what it was,” reflects Colton and embarks on another unique day of running a start-up.