YEC

l service, business resources, and media exposure via major brands. The first seeds of YEC were sown when Scott, now a serial entrepreneur and internationally syndicated business columnist, started a business while still a college student. He says he made “every possible mistake one could make as a rookie entrepreneur.” He realized that candid advice and support from fellow Gen Y entrepreneurs who’d been there and done that could make all the difference. This led to the first iteration of Young Entrepreneur Council: an informal brain trust of like-minded peers who wanted to help one another grow. Meanwhile, Ryan had co-founded Brazen Careerist, a career-management site for young professionals. It quickly became one of the top social networks for Gen Y, and Ryan was lauded by Mashable as “something of a cult legend in the online community-building world.”

When Scott and Ryan met, their complementary expertise led to the foundation of YEC as it exists today: an invitation-only, elite group of successful entrepreneurs who share a pay-it-forward mentality and believe that doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive. Scott says, “Everything we do at YEC is meant to fulfill a social need, promote free enterprise, and curate meaningful connections among our generation’s most successful entrepreneurs.”