Even on a day where NASDAQ was down nearly 4%, the members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) were all smiles. Leaders from The YEC gathered at the NASDAQ Market Site to celebrate Entrepreneur Month, as President Obama has declared this November.
As young entrepreneurs are, the group was undoubtedly positive among the day’s financial turmoil. Penny stock guru Tim Sykes who started his hedge fund as a college student said, “I was perhaps the happiest and loudest clapper of anyone there as the market’s plunge made me several thousand dollars which I fully intend on giving back to help the suffering NYC fine sushi dining industry to be split equally between Yasuda and Gari (restaurants).” YEC Founder Scott Gerber was also in high spirits as he and his finance came directly from making their marriage official and were congratulated on the billboard above NASDAQ.
Aside from the glamour of being featured on television outlets across the globe and the thrill of having our faces projected among the flashing lights 20 stories high in Times Square, the YEC truly brought together an amazing group of young entrepreneurs. YEC board member Jeremy Johnson, Co-Founder of 2Tor was in attendance who recently brought their company’s funding to over $65 million. Jordan Goldman, Founder of Unigo, who’s company helps college students select universities recently raised $2 million from McGraw Hill after he famously had to sublet 18 apartments in 18 months while bootstrapping. Also in attendance was Andrew Bachman, who’s behavioral ad network Tattoo Media was acquired earlier this year for $60 million.
The invite only Young Entrepreneur Council recently announced the founding of Gen Y Capital Partners, a $10 million fund that will be investing in as many as 100 startups over the next 3-5 years. In collaboration with the White House, Gen Y Capital will give portfolio company founders the option to live rent free on college campuses and have their student loans paid down by the fund. These types of public/private partnership efforts are truly solving the problems that young entrepreneurs face when they graduate from school.
