Joseph Mollo is no ordinary founder and chief executive. Mollo does not sport a suit and tie, and his office doubles as a buzzing woodwork factory. However, he possesses something every businessperson needs: passion. Mollo is the sole founder of C5 Beer Pong, a Chicago-based company that designs and creates custom-made, luxury beer pong tables.

Coming up on the three- year anniversary of Mollo’s first beer pong table sale, he never pictured a life like this. To the surprise of many people, beer pong is not Mollo’s biggest passion. “I am passionate about building products and design,” Mollo said.

This day in particular was a busy workday for Mollo, which is surprising because of his laid- back nature and his casual attire of jeans and an apple red t-shirt with a large “C5” logo.

“My typical day varies so much, when you’re a solo founder you have to wear a lot of different hats,” Mollo said as his cell phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Even though customers can design their dream beer pong tables in a matter of two minutes on the C5 website, Mollo sometimes can share up to 40 emails per customer dealing with specific details for their tables.

“There’s a lot of communication that goes in,” Mollo said while twirling a pen between his fingers. “I want to replicate the experience someone would have building their own beer pong table for themselves.”

Other than the first table Mollo built by hand, which is carefully wrapped and kept in a safe place, his most memorable table to create was the first colored beer pong table. “It’s always the first of a certain kind that are my favorites,” Mollo said. “It kind of opens new doors and breaks barriers down.” Mollo’s voice filled with excitement as he described the purple table he was asked to make for a Manhattan customer.

The customer, who wanted the table to match the ambiance of his home, had his interior designer work with Mollo. Now, more than half of the tables C5 makes are colored; the purple table was deemed a success and was a giant leap for expanding the product line within the company.

The job is tough, but the 24-year-old entrepreneur’s love for woodwork keeps him going. Mollo is also grateful for his father for starting an Italian furniture company, which gave him early exposure to the industry. However, beer pong tables were not something that the Mollo family imported from Italy.

“I definitely had to explain beer pong to them,” Mollo said with a laugh. A wide smile grew across Mollo’s face when he spoke of his family. Mollo, the baby of the family, is the sixth child. “I wouldn’t have made it this far without their support,” Mollo said with a slow nod of his curly dark-haired head.

Mollo took a modest tone when he talked about his success, a tone that is noticeably different than when he talks about his passions. Mollo’s passion comes from wanting to do something completely different than what everyone else is doing and he likes making and following his own path. However, Mollo would not be on the path he is on now without some guidance along the way.

Mollo attended DePaul for and has nothing but praise for the DePaul Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and its mentors. “The Coleman Center provided great opportunities for mentoring,” Mollo said. “I had no idea what I was doing, no idea how to start a business, so I think that it was very important to have mentors and talk to people who’ve been there and done that.”

Mollo’s eyes lit up when he talked about his DePaul experience and truth could be heard behind every word.

“DePaul has great resources being in the city, being able to network, I think it’s something that you really can’t replicate if you went to a school without an entrepreneurship community,” Mollo said. Professor Raman Chadha was one of Mollo’s biggest supporters and role models at DePaul.

Chadha, who was the executive director of the Coleman Entrepreneur Center during Mollo’s time at DePaul, is quite fond of the man Mollo has become. Chadha recalled Mollo as an attentive and engaged student who always drew from his peers’ experiences.

“He is a very commmiteed entrpeneur, he strives to continue to improve and he has been very open to learning from others,” Chadha said. “All of those combined, along with his ambition to do well, led him in the right direction for a very bright future,” Chadha said. Just as Mollo had been the mentee, he has also been the mentor. DePaul sophomore Katy Carlin has known Mollo for the past six years when he started tutoring her during her freshman year of high school. “Joe is very down to earth and is just a colorful person,” Carlin said tilting her head and smiling.

“When you’re around him he puts a smile on your face, he’s full of good vibrations.” The business venture that Mollo built from the ground floor is attracting customers from all over the country. Mollo’s tables look appealing and are attracting a new demographic of beer pong players. Surprisingly, many corporate offices have designed tables with Mollo. “It’s not just a college game anymore, it’s becoming an industry,” Mollo said.

Mollo’s confidence in his business comes from knowing the product can survive on its own and he enjoys the rising competition in the luxury beer pong industry.

“I don’t want to argue that C5 is changing the world, but it is exciting to know we are making an impact on a game that is ripe for innovation and growth,” Mollo said in his casual matter- of-fact tone.