About
Founded in October of 2009, Unstrapp’d is a place for the next generation of entrepreneurs to avoid the boring textbook talk and theory about building businesses and hear the brutal facts and real life stories from the experts and from peers right there with them in the trenches.
Unstrapp’d digs deep in topics such as productivity, time management, college business, internet marketing, social media, branding and of course, bootstrapping. The typical reader is Generation-Y born, which can range from high school students to corporate executives interested in all areas entrepreneurship. This site is intended specifically for Gen-Y, yet we DO NOT discriminate by age. Everyone is welcome. We are all just as old as we feel.
What Is Generation-Y?
Gen-Y is 80 million is strong worldwide. The approximate age bracket is from 15-35. Ninety percent of Gen-Yers in the US own a PC, while 82 percent own a mobile device. They Spend $200 billion per year and have major influence on parent spending.
Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job. Today, 80% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses on entrepreneurship; 60% of Gen Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine. Tellingly, 18- to 24-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35- to 44-year-olds. And 70% of today’s high schoolers intend to start their own companies, according to a Gallup poll.
-Michael S. Malone | Wall Street Journal
The Team
Founder & Chief Creator | Bradley Will | @BradleyWill
Bradley Will has been an entrepreneur ever since he can remember. At an early age he found himself wading through golf course ponds retrieving lost golf balls and selling them back to the golfers at a premium in the parking lot. Bradley’s entrepreneurial spirit was suppressed when he was convinced a college degree would be the best route for the success and freedom he desired.
Walking across the stage, he got his two pieces of paper…His college degree and a huge student loan bill. Realizing his debt was a big hill to climb, he felt he was at a point where he really had nothing to lose. He put all his chips into a real estate investment business and it paid off. The roller coaster of life hit when Bradley found himself making a great income, but it just wasn’t doing it for him any more. On December 30, 2008, Bradley ventured into the world of blogging, knowing nothing other than it was a funny word. After getting a great response on his personal blog from entrepreneurs worldwide, he decided it was time to expand to empowering community blog other next generation entrepreneurs.
Bradley is also a new media advisor, speaker, coach. In 2009, he co-founded both Social Media Altitude, a course teaching over 40 business owners social marketing strategies, and the Chicago Underground Social Media Society, which is a local community of new media minded business professionals and entrepreneurs. He currently lives in the Chicagoland area and has a 2-year-old pit bull.
Graphic Designer | Adam Haroun | @AdamHaroun
Having started his first business at age 19, Adam Haroun is a graphic designer and student entrepreneur from Montreal, Canada. Having the deep-rooted desire to live a beyond-average life and leave a mark on the world, Adam took his entrepreneurial drive and coupled it with his eye for design to launch Advance Enterprises in the early months of 2009.
From the humble beginnings of a college dorm room, Adam’s business now boasts a thriving client base spanning the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and Canada. When not planning his next exciting project or business venture, Adam loves shopping, the celebrity gossip scene, and giving back in the community. Adam is also a full-time Marketing major at the John Molson School of Business.
Community Manager & Writer | Mike Montgomery | @MikeMonty
As a serial entrepreneur Michael has slowly been developing a business monarchy since the of age 16, starting out in vending machines, expanding into custom apparel, website development, and recently social media marketing and management. He is an active member in his local community, recently appointed Vice President of the Gem County Economic Development Association; former President of the Emmett Mayor’s and Commissioners Youth Action Council, as well as the current CEO of Educating Young Entrepreneurs Club (EYEclub).
Michael spends his spare time reading books on business, leadership, and personal development. He enjoys yo-yoing and has organized a club in his hometown of Emmett, ID where he teaches the local youth the sport and hobby of yo-yoing.
Community Strategist | Brenton Gieser | @BrentonGieser
Brenton Gieser is an Internet based entrepreneur focused on developing businesses that adds value to people’s lives. As the Founder of BlackTop Hoops, he lead through all the ups and down of building a startup from the ground up with very little resources and a small team. He is currently the Director of Business Development for Avenue Social; he helps lead one of the top Social Media Application Development Agencies in pioneering new technologies and forming strong partnerships with organizations in the social media space. Concurrently, he is working on building and advising multiple internet startups.
He will soon be writing these posts while overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Find out more about Brenton on his blog, A Life With No Walls.
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