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Young Entrepreneurs Symposium a success!

April 1, 2009

Young alumni and current Appalachian State University student entrepreneurs shared their stories of their path to starting successful businesses on April 1 to an audience of 350 attendees from the university, community and regional high schools. The event took place from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.

The keynote speaker for the Young Entrepreneurs Symposium was Bobby Martin, a 1992 graduate of Appalachian. In 1998, he co-founded First Research (www.firstresearch.com), a company that synthesizes data into information that a salesperson can use to better understand a prospect’s or client’s business issues. First Research has attracted more than 75,000 users, including ADP (Automatic Data Processing Inc.), Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Sprint and Wachovia. In 2007, First Research was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet and now is part of Hoover’s, a Dun & Bradstreet company.

The closing speaker, Graham Bunn, co-founded 46NYC. At an early age, Graham dedicated himself to his dream of playing college basketball. Though the path was not easy, he achieved this goal and led Appalachian State to a Southern Conference Championship his senior year. After college he continued his dream in Germany, where he played professionally. Soon thereafter, Graham realized a strong passion for helping others. He has worked with a variety of charitable organizations, from local to international, that serve less fortunate children. 46 was inspired by the desire to do something worthwhile and creative. It is an effort to make a difference in the fight to improve the lives of children worldwide. Graham and his business partners are in the process of developing additional programs like the en46le & lov46le projects, which gives 100% of the profit from their t-shirts sales to charitable organizations. They are committed to give "4 the benefit of 6 areas of need - Abuse, Poverty, Disease, Birth Defects, Education, and Nutrition/Physical Fitness." Graham now resides in New York City where he concentrates on events and marketing at 46NYC.

David Phillips is Owner/Franchisee of the PRstore in Winston-Salem, NC (PRstore). He graduated with a Marketing & Management double major in 2004 from ASU. David states the “PRstore is the perfect fit for my entrepreneurial spirit and love for marketing small businesses. At 27, the PRstore has offered the perfect opportunity for me to work for myself, but not by myself. Being a franchisee has been a great stepping stone into business ownership.”

Tyler Brunson graduated from ASU in 2003 with a BSBA in Economics. He is the owner of Waste Consultants, Inc., (Waste Consultants), based out of Asheville, NC, which he started while he was a junior at ASU. He is an expert in the field of solid waste and recycling expense reduction. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, fly fishing, waterfowl hunting, traveling, working with orphanages in Africa, and reading.

Reglan Brewer is a Boone native and action sports enthusiast. In 1998, he graduated from Appalachian with a BA in Art Management and Minor in Marketing. He began his career in Manhattan with a design firm specializing in footwear creation for the action sports industry. After a year in New York, he began working with the Adidas Group. Having completed a seven year stint in both the US and Europe, Reglan went into business for himself. In addition to design agency, RGB Design Solutions, Reglan has recently created his first "garage" brand and is in the process of developing several others.

Jay Parr is a current ASU student, studying sustainable development with a minor in entrepreneurship. While at ASU, Jay decided he wanted to attend culinary school. He went to Le Cordon Bleu, a cooking school in Orlando, Fla and after graduating with honors, he worked at a five-star hotel for a while, and decided he didn’t want to be a restaurant worker. He returned to ASU and has recently started Parr Barr LLC. “I didn’t like the energy bars that were out there, so I decided to make my own." When he graduates after three more semesters, he hopes to build the company and broaden his market. “I’m studying sustainable development, which is about the local community and local food supplies,” he said. “I keep that in mind. I buy the ingredients locally and I try to get them as close as possible. Sometimes that’s just not possible.”

Adam Bennett, is the Owner of Cube Creative Design and Consulting which was founded in May 2005. He is also vice president of IJustWantToSleep, Inc. Adam graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology and a Master of Arts in Industrial Technology. He has over 10 years of experience with print design and Web site production. Adam won PC Magazine's "Best Kid's Page" web design award at only age 15. Since then, Adam has been designing personal and commercial sites and designs.

The symposium was being coordinated by the Center for Entrepreneurship in Appalachian’s Walker College of Business. The event was sponsored by the local owners of Family Only Inc., which owns Back Yard Burgers restaurants in Boone and Hickory and the Marble Slab Creamery in Boone. Scott Prewitt, co-owner of Family Only Inc., has been involved with Appalachian’s entrepreneurship programs for many years. “We are excited about Back Yard Burgers’ sponsoring the Young Entrepreneurs Symposium again this year,” said Bryan Toney, director for the Center for Entrepreneurship. “Scott and his partners are perfect role models for young people who want to become successful entrepreneurs."

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