When Sam Franklin finished high school, he decided that college could wait. He would brave the business world instead. His idea: launch a web-based, eco-friendly wedding service for couples to send electronic wedding invitations. He would call it Greenvelope.

“I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship and did some small startups on the Island,” said Franklin, who graduated from Mercer Island High School in 2008. That summer, Franklin drafted a business plan, contracted developers and began creating www.greenvelope.com, which recently launched. He wanted to offer more formal invitations that weren’t accompanied by ads or pop-ups. The invitations come with animated simulation. “Our goal is to imitate the experience and delight of opening a traditional paper wedding envelope,” said Franklin, who is now a student at Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in businesses entrepreneurship and marketing.

Greenvelope at www.greenvelope.com donates a portion of each invitation package sale to Mountains to Sound Greenway, a nonprofit organization.