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11 Jun

15 Millennial Entrepreneurs, 15 Interviews, 15 Perspectives

 

They’re young, humble, passionate, happy and killing it!

They do not embrace the label of “The Entitlement Generation”, but instead embrace everything that is contrary that designation. These people are hard working, risk taking, life seeking, anti-status quo thinkers who are successfully hustling their way to the top.

From 5 figure revenue up to 8 figures, they’re doing it in a variety of industries from technology and product development, to design, publishing, modeling, art, athletics, retail, eCommerce , health & wellness, and even winemaking.

Not to mention they’re doing it in places such as Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Montreal, Washington DC, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Los Angeles, Sydney, Argentina, Croatia, Miami and more.

Nearly 6 months in to my project with Hustle & Deal Flow™ (hdfmagazine.com), an online magazine dedicated the world’s creators, makers and rising entrepreneurs, I have debunked the fallacies that a new generation of go-getters are wishing more than working.

My goal was very simple – to feature their journey. I did this for 2 very distinct reasons.

  1. First, all too often the idea of entrepreneurship is being sold. The dream is sold. The end results of entrepreneurship are sold. Life is not a destination. Your work is not a destination. The journey is what matters. It’s where growth takes place, challenges are faced and magic happens.
  2. Second, I wanted to document their thinking patterns. With all this talk of generational divides, entitlement, etc., I really just wanted to show all age groups that magic is happening and Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of “Outliers” is correct.

Recently, I decided to go back through all of the interviews to see the progress to date and what I found was pretty amazing and I’d like to share it with all of you.

Below is a list of inspiring creative mottos and words of wisdom I retrieved from interviewing these rising millennial entrepreneurs. I thought you may find motivation in their words and solace in their leadership as you build on your journey.

AS A SIDE NOTE, it is not the intention of Hustle & Deal Flow™ to only feature the Millennials. We feature all generations. It just so happened that the interviews I have gotten to date were in the age categories of 20 and 30-somethings.

 

Here are 15 Entrepreneurs and Their Words of Wisdom

Brandon Boetto, Founder, Slabhaus (Slabhaus.com)

Creative Motto: “I create to challenge my ideas of what is possible. I want to create something that will be around for years. My pieces will be around for decades after I’m gone. Not many other genres can say that.”

Words of Wisdom: Try to be unique. Try to find a niche. Try your best not to copy what’s been done and push the boundaries of what you think is possible.”

 

Chris Cota, Co-Founder, Skingraft Designs (Skingraftdesigns.com)

Creative Motto: I love building from the ground up. Every little detail that goes into something, while creating the feeling and culture around it.”

Words of Widsom: The business of business is changing. We all have to be media companies now – Constant content creators.”

 

Iva Čuljak, Founder, Ivachu Designs (Ivachudesigns.com)

Creative Motto: The best part about creating is definitely creating a product that I think is super badass and seeing other women wear it and look like a million bucks in it.” 

Words of Wisdom: Get out of your bed and start drawing your ideas. Then, create your first product, and work on it until you get to say ‘wow’ to your own piece.”

 

Amanda Marko, Founder, Trouvé Magazine (trouvemag.com)

Creative Motto: “Celebrating the creative lifestyle and those who live it. Do as much as you can do on your own, but don’t be afraid to reach out to photographers and writers—you’d be surprised how many ‘creatives’ are up for a collaboration.”

Words of Wisdom: “My biggest advice is details, details and then more details.”

 

Luke Chesser, Co-Founder, Unsplash (Unsplash.com) & Crew (PickCrew.com)

Creative Motto: I love seeing people’s reactions to something I helped make. That gives me energy and keeps me motivated to build more and take risks.

Words of Wisdom: We have more power than ever before to be our own bosses. Develop our own passions. And work is no longer a place. It can happen from any space, any place, anytime, anywhere.

 

Alex Wain, Co-Founder, So Bad So Good (SoBadSoGood.com)

Creative Motto: We want to expose people to different forms of creativity, culture and art whilst entertaining them . . . It’s never been about the making zillions or world domination, we just enjoy being able to link the two and bring everyone together.

Words of Wisdom: For all the hype and giant numbers you see around the web, FB pages with millions of followers, articles with hundreds of comments, remember this – everyone started at zero.

 

Lacey Jones, International Poker Player & Founder, Complete Skin Makeover (CompleteSkinMakeover.com) & (LaceyPoker.com)

Creative Motto: Whether it be a business, pose, or product, it is important that I’m expressing my true self through those creations. I pour my heart completely into my work.

Words of Wisdom: Don’t be afraid to fail. Do it now. Do it often. Embrace your failures because, after all, they aren’t really failures if you learn from them. That, and make a plan. Having visions of where we want to go is vital. But, we need to have strategy and tactics that we use in our day-to-day lives to get us there.

 

Nikolaj Astrup, Workaway Camp – now Refuga (Refuga.com)

Creative Motto: What I really like about creating is that I am essentially building. Like LEGO or a house, I slowly build the project from the bottom – from the foundation to the roof. I like the feeling of having a bigger mission and each day doing something to build on that.

Words of Wisdom: There will be a lot of ups and downs ahead, and a lot of times when it would be more than OK to quit, but you have to just continue and be relentless. I think that’s the absolute most important thing. If you don’t do that everything else doesn’t matter.

 

WRDSMTH, Street Artist | Hollywood Writer (WRSMTHinLA.Tumblr.com)

Creative Motto: I aspire to inspire others on a daily basis with colorful and well-chosen words crafted into indelible thoughts that are temporarily tattooed onto walls around the world.

Words of Wisdom: Truth told, the odds are not in your favor. But that’s what will make it such a great story.

 

Kirk Morales, Founder, intrakr (intrakr.com) & City Boy Ventures

Creative Motto: Creating gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can potentially build something useful for other people. Just like those who build with their hands and have people use their products. I feel the same way about digital products.

Words of Wisdom: In the beginning you don’t have any resources, contacts, or networks, so you have to go out there and ask a lot of questions. Offer to help others, get to know them and then become the guy they want to get help from.

 

Lexi Placourakis, Model, Social Entrepreneur (LexiPlacourakis.com)

Creative Motto: I enjoy the whole process. It touches me in a personal way. For me, I know my work is impacting a lot of women out there and that impact elates me, It makes me fell like I’m more then a pretty picture.

Words of Wisdom: Don’t ever feel like you shouldn’t follow your dreams because of what society labels it. This is your life and you can create massive impact from going after your dreams. Not just for yourself, but for thousands, or even millions of people.

 

Sergio Avendaño, Founder, Trabun Wines (trabunwines.cl)

Creative Motto: I like seeing that first facial gesture on people. That first gesture is honest without lies or compliments. It’s when you know if they like it or not without saying a word.

Words of Wisdom: Be honest with yourself. Do what you think is right and what you believe in. Don’t do it because of the money or fame. Don’t look at things as just a business. Live every process and consider them as part of your life. Go step-by-step, get fully involved, learn, study and accept all the critics.

 

Lashay Marks, Founder, Phoenix Evolution (phxevolution.com)

Creative Motto: The combination of creativity and seeing how far you can push the envelope mentally. How far can you make someone push themselves to the edge. Or, oh this is fun let’s see what the next challenge is.

Words of Wisom: Have faith. You’re always going to have the “Crab in a Barrel” Syndrome where you try to get out and all the others try to pull you down. When you’re trying to build yourself and a business up, there are people who will try to get in the way of that. Just have faith that you’re doing the right thing.

 

Juliana Correa, Founder, Lencería Boutique (lenceriaboutique.com)

Creative Motto: I love creating an experience. It is one of my favorite parts about having the boutique. I love having people come in or look online and leave happy because they’ve learned something new, saw something great or were just treated kindly.

Words of Wisdom: I recently heard someone say that the best advice they ever received was, ‘no one knows what they are doing.’ I love that! It’s refreshing to remember that we all had a first time making an order, or speaking to a client, or closing a deal. It’s also helpful to think…if we always knew what we were doing, wouldn’t that mean we are not growing, or learning something new?

 

Daehee Park, Co-Founder, Tuft & Needle (tuftandneedle.com)

Creative Motto: In creating a product, we’re very iterative. It’s about versioning and constant improvements. In creating a company and a culture we’re very open and transparent. It’s about taking the lessons we’ve learned in the past and removing all the red tape that gets in the way of creatively pushing the boundaries and being super efficient.

Words of Wisdom: Everything we do starts with the end user, the customer. I think that’s one of our huge competitive advantages in our industry. Many manufacturers never deal with the customer because they are in business with the retailer. We grow with our customers, which allows us to make rapid improvements. We’re very flexible and nimble that way.”

 

Welcome to a New Breed of Entrepreneur

They are creators, makers, doers and they’re happening globally. Interviewing them has been my pleasure and the next 15 will not disappoint.

To all who have supported my journey thus far, I thank you. If you’d like to follow along on my journey, you can do so by navigating to hdfmagazine.com and subscribing for FREE. It would be an honor to have you on this journey.

 

Are you an entrepreneur with an aspiring company or know of a really unique company that fits in with “new economy” thinking? Please feel free to comment below.

If you liked this post, SUBSCRIBE for FREE so we can continue to share our journey, as well as those of other creators, companies and non-conformists globally.

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Matt Gottesman

Matt Gottesman is a global digital strategist and technology advisor, creator and editor-in-chief of Hustle & Deal Flow™ - an online magazine dedicated to the world's entrepreneurs, creators and makers, a Social Media Influencer and a consultant on New Media and go-to-market strategies for investments in digital marketing, technology, websites, mobile applications, eCommerce, social media and content.

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