Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. It's a common misconception that most startups disappear into the abyss after the first year. It may come as a surprise that only 20 per cent of new businesses fall at the first-anniversary hurdle. Admittedly, after surviving the honeymoon period, failure figures begin to stack up. By the five-year marker, 50 per cent of small businesses close their doors. It was at this milestone that Cam Love found himself in 2013. In 2008, halfway through his freshman year at the University of Missouri, Love had $600 to his name. Needing to earn some spending money for college and with self-taught skills in Web and graphic design, he decided to design and sell t-shirts.