How much are you willing to give up to launch your business? Would you say no to a full college scholarship and drop out of university?

That is exactly what Bryan Sims, CEO of Brass Magazine did. Bryan was recently voted to Business Week’s list of top entrepreneurs under 25 years of age.

His company is a magazine publisher that focuses on helping young people learn about how to manage their money. When he was 19, Bryan dropped out of college, gave up his full scholarship and focused on building Brass Magazine. I learned about Bryan through an interview with Marketplace.

“There was a lot of people that were pretty skeptical and saying, “Oh, why are you leaving school? You’re not gonna get another shot with scholarships like this . . .” and so. I mean, it was the middle of 2003, and we were trying to raise money for a company starting a lifestyle magazine out of Corvalis, Ore. So, not exactly a lot of people were investing in the idea at the time.”

Now, at the age of 24, Bryan continues to focus on building Brass Magazine into a leading financial publication for young people. Instead of offering in depth articles he provides shorter, more practical advice on topics today’s youth care about such as saving money on road trips or improving your credit score.

Talking about why he dropped out and started the company, Bryan said:

“Well, because of the fact that I’d started the company and then my dad’s working at the company. I came home from school one time and was talking with him and my mom about things, and they said that, like most parents said, “We want you to stay in school and to get a degree.”

But in the same conversation, basically said that if Brass didn’t get off the ground that they’re gonna have to file for bankruptcy, because we had, you know, put everything we had into it. So I decided to leave school, move back home with my parents and focus on getting business off the ground full-time.”

What have you given up to start your business?

Evan Carmichael

Evan Carmichael
YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog Manager

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