May 22, 2015
6 Former BE Kidpreneur and Teenpreneur Attendees Discuss the Importance of Teaching Youth Entrepreneurship
Brandon L. Griffin
By the time Brandon L. Griffin first attended the Teenpreneur program in 2004, he was already an entrepreneur in in his own right. In addition to creating a website design service at the age of 10, he started a second business venture, FyeBye–For Young Entrepreneurs, By Young Entrepreneurs–an online and print publication dedicated to encouraging youth to pursue entrepreneurship, which reached a national circulation of 10,000 copies with the support of corporate partners Comcast and Wendy’s. By 2007, Griffin went from Teenpreneur conference attendee to teacher and team leader, passing on his expertise to his peers. Griffin is now a managing partner and COO of SMDG L.L.C. (Social Media Development Group), a social media marketing firm he co-founded in 2012. Even as a seasoned entrepreneur, Griffin is grateful for the opportunities afforded and lessons learned during his time attending and teaching the Teenpreneur program. “Exposure to BE 100s [companies] provided me with a unique set of role models and a different definition for success than what most inner-city students are familiar with,†he says, also adding that the opportunity “reinforced his entrepreneurial spirit†and “prompted him to take action on certain business ideas that would ultimately shift the trajectory of his life.†Griffin is passionate about educating youth about entrepreneurship, noting that “although owning a business is not for everyone, everyone can benefit from thinking like an entrepreneur.â€