TE 2.10: Patrick Ambron: Co-Founder & CEO of Brand Yourself

  Patrick Ambron is the CEO and co-founder of BrandYourself.com, the first DIY platform that makes it simple for anyone to take control of their own search results.   In 2011, his company was named New York's # 1 Emerging Technology Business, making his team the youngest company ever to win the $200K prize. He was recognized by the White House as one of the Empact 100 Top CEO's under 30, named Young Entrepreneur of the year by the SBA, and most recently, named to Inc Magazine's top 35 under 35.   Patrick has led BrandYourself to secure over $5 million in venture capital and grow to over 60 full-time employees. They were recently named the overall StartUp winner at SXSW.  His ideas on Online Reputation and business have been featured on Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, HuffingtonPost, FastCompany, Mashable, TechCrunch, WSJ, the NYTimes, and many others.   On this episode we discuss:  Patrick's career as a competitive runner. The types of businesses Patrick had as a kid. How Patrick learned about SEO How Patrick's co-founder, Pete, was being mistaken as a drug dealer and how that led to the idea of Brand Yourself. How Brand Yourself went from 3 years of no traction to 60,000 users in 60 hours.  How they financially supported themselves while building Brand Yourself.  How Patrick lived off $10,000/year for 3 years.  How Brand Yourself went from 5 to 60 full-time employees in 5 months. How every venture capitalist originally turned them down but invested months down the road. Advice Patrick would give to other entrepreneurs who are trying to secure funding. How Patrick has managed the transition of being a start-up founder to being a CEO.    Thank you so much for listening to Teenage Entrepreneur! For more details on this episode or resources and support on building your business, please visit www.teenpodcast.com We have built a community of entrepreneurs from all around the world to help you on your journey.