This Founder Turned His Hustle Into a Brand That Gives Back

When he was growing up in North Omaha, Nebraska, he saw a bag of drugs for the first time and it would be the beginning of a career that would define him.

Teddy Young of Stable Gray Digital Media

Young says he didn't understand why his community didn't look the same as the suburbs. I wasn't sure why our streets and schools weren't as nice. I didn't know how economics works.

Young had an entrepreneurial mindset as a teen. He didn't feel like he could use it at school. He faced more than 15 years in prison because he was selling drugs when he was 16.

Young says that he had an ultimatum. If I continued on the road that I was on, I could end up spending a lot of my life behind bars. I didn't like that.

Young was told by a professor at Wayne State College that he was anentrepreneur. Young didn't know what that term meant at the time, but with his mentor's encouragement, he began to learn more.

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"I wanted to use entrepreneurship to tap that talent that goes overlooked and underdeveloped — because that's my story."

Young became president of his college's chapter of SIFE after becoming a member of the organization. Enactus is a project that aims to create change in communities.

Young says that he had the chance to be exposed to other successful executives and business owners.

Young saw himself in their shoes for the first time.

Young wanted to use entrepreneurship to not just help people who had already started businesses and were in the process of growing a business but also to tap that talent that goes overlooked and underdeveloped.

Encouraging people to dream is what it was in the beginning. No one is too poor to dream. Everyone can have a dream. He made sure that people knew that their dreams could be used to solve real problems.

The Start Center for entrepreneurship was founded by Young and his wife Brittany. The goal was to teach the basics of running a business. He asked for help because he knew he was in need.

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"He's been a vital part to what we do, and he's my mentor to this day."

The co- founder and chairman of the board of Scooter's Coffee was one of the first contacts Young made. The coffee shop was set up in an old bank building and doubled as a Start Center space.

Young owes his success to someone else. Tom was the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Young tried to arrange a meeting with Osborne for almost two years, but he finally caught up with him at an airport before he left the country.

Young said that he shared his vision for what he wanted to do through entrepreneurship and how he wanted to impact his community. He really liked it.

Young was guided by Osborne to narrow down his passion for results.

If he didn't help me, I wouldn't be where I am. He disagrees, but I think that's just the humility in him. He is my mentor to this day because he has been a vital part of what we do. I spend a lot of time with him. He uses his network and advice to help us grow and build what we're doing.

The start center is now known as the Julian and Brittany Young Foundation. Young explains that the organization has evolved into an idea since it began as a place. People want to know if Young and his wife are involved in their programs.

Young said that they became the brand. We got applications and enrolls from entrepreneurs across the country and internationally, and we became the name that people trusted in our community.

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"We are helping so many entrepreneurs not only start but also grow businesses."

The Start program will continue to offer classes on entrepreneurship, but the foundation will also strive to shape policy and educate elected officials on the unique challenges small, minority-owned businesses face. Grants will be offered to small business owners as it expands.

The Small Business Resiliency and Recovery Plan was established by the Youngs to help give minority and Black-owned businesses the resources and education they need to go as far as they possibly can.

Young says that the foundation operates with a "one- two punch" approach. The for-profit side of theJulian Young Advisors helps budding entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

Young says it's an opportunity for entrepreneurs who want the next level of service in terms of a paid advisor, a consultant, someone to work with them throughout a longer tenure and process in their business They're looking for wraparound services that will help them grow and become sustainable.

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The time is right for many people to start businesses. Business owners are acting like never before because of the Great Resignation and the Pandemic. The Youngs' client base has doubled on both sides of the business.

Young says it's going great. Many of the entrepreneurs we help move on to their second location in businesses because of the help we give them. We're watching entrepreneurs be able to buy their first home and begin to invest in real estate, and all of this has come from a single business that they've started.

Young has come to realize how powerful that ripple effect can be. The most important thing you can have is your peace, but you cannot be a person of peace if you don't have patience.

Young says that if it wasn't for the advice, he would have tried to push through the doors when it wasn't necessary. I wouldn't have continued if I thought it was time to give up. It has been the most fruitful teacher I have had because of patience.