We sat down with different members of the 2015 Future Founders Fellowship to hear all about their experiences as collegiate entrepreneurs and how the Fellowship helped accelerate their success. Interested in joining the 2017 cohort of Future Founders Fellows? Apply by November 17! Learn more here.
My company is called Brandless. We’re a full-service creative agency located in River North. We’re “brandless” because it’s not about us–we’re a blank canvas for your business. We specialize in building custom web solutions for startups and small businesses.
Why is having peer entrepreneurs important? The reason why having other entrepreneurs around you (especially those that are at the same level as you or slightly higher/slightly lower) is really beneficial is because there’s a segment of this arena, the startup space, that is kind of superficial, where you’re just walking around pitching. But to really have a group of people where you can just be honest where you can tell them what you’re struggling with and what you need help with has really helped me to reflect on my business and use the advice I received from those around me to really execute on those items and really bring it to the next level.
Where was your business before you started the Fellowship? Over the course of the program, my business has grown exponentially. When I signed up for the program I was sitting in my dorm room in college. I’ve since graduated, we moved into a co-working space, we’ve gone from one office to three offices, and we’re growing at a great rate, and working with even better clients. I owe a lot of that to the network that I’ve built through Future Founders and the credibility that I’ve received from being a part of that organization.
What advice would you give young entrepreneurs? If I could provide advice to young entrepreneurs, the pieces of advice that I would give them are to listen to the advice that other people give you, don’t take no for an answer (but don’t be cocky), and be vulnerable, because being vulnerable allows you to be open to experiences and potentially create new relationships.
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