Think being young means you can’t become an uber successful entrepreneur? Think again. SXSW Interactive Panelist Brian Wong (a young man so swift he skipped two years of high school and finished college early) knocked that mentality out of anyone in the room, including myself. Wong believes being young is the best excuse for experimenting with startups and entrepreneurship. He should know as he’s the youngest person since Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook to receive mass amount of financial backing for his startup, Kiip.me which focuses on mobile in-game advertising. I have to admit after his core conversation I’m feeling pretty good about Branduu and my future as a young business owner.
Being Young and Rocking It
Time: Friday, March 11th 2:00 p.m.
Hashtag: #rockit
Panelist: Brian Wong
Brian’s Words of Wisdom:
- Take an active approach in the world
- Make money before you start giving it away
- You can influence others and create positive change
- Giving back doesn’t have to mean giving money to a charity
- Make yourself and your environment happy and healthy
- There’s a fine line between overselling yourself and understating what you do
- Use your youth to let others know you’re still learning
- Have confidence in your thinking
- As young individuals our ideals allow us to THINK BIG. It’s expected that once we get older we won’t think we can change the world
- Passion is the key to doing what you want
- Passion can be brought out of you with the help of mentors and role models
- Passion takes creativity, research and yearning
- Sometimes we need people around us to tell us what we’re good at’
- Surround yourself with smart people
- Work with people who want to teach you and help you
- You should be the most excited person about your brand. You ARE everything!
- True advisors wants to give advise and aren’t looking for money
- Know who around you will give you support with no strings attached
- Read as much as you can in your spare time
- Engage in active conversations with those who influence you
Even more tips from other great minds at the Being Young and Rocking It panel:
- Listen more than you talk
- Help people
- Passion is contagious
- Rid your life of “can’t” “don’t” and “won’t”
- Positive attitude can go far
- Make yourself a company called Me Inc.
- Don’t let those who disagree with you or your idea affect your goals
My favorite line from Brian: “When you wake up and say ‘Shit I have to go to work today!’ that’s the day you know its time to do something else, something that’s in your heart.”
We’re too young to hate what we do. Find your passion, develop a niche and create the brand called YOU today.
Photo uploaded to Flickr by jhmostyn
