BusinessWeek.com Recognizes brass|MEDIA CEO as a Best Entrepreneur Under 25

CORVALLIS, OR – BusinessWeek.com has named 24-year-old brass|MEDIA Inc. CEO Bryan Sims one of the "Best Entrepreneurs Under 25" on its 2007 list. Sims started brass|MEDIA, a multimedia company focused on young adults and money, out of his dorm room and parents' garage in 2003 at age 19.

"It's a privilege to be chosen by BusinessWeek, but the real credit goes to our staff and the things we collectively do. We've been fortunate to create a sustainable business in brass that is focused around a key societal issue: young adults and money," explained Sims. "Young adults are not being educated about the impact money has on their lives, which makes it easier for them to be taken advantage of financially. brass helps young adults understand money and real world stuff in a way that is interesting and entertaining, so that they can educate themselves and can successfully plan for their future."

brass|MEDIA published the first issue of its flagship publication, brass|MAGAZINE, in February 2004. brass is written for young adults, by young adults about the money side of life™. It features articles about young entrepreneurs, getting out of debt, savings strategies and cheap ways to have fun, save the planet, and give back to the community.

In 2006, the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM was born as a nationwide initiative to strengthen high school students' understanding of money. The Student Program provides classroom sets of brass|MAGAZINE and online resources for teachers and students to public high schools at no cost. Currently the Student Program is available to every public high school in New York and Wisconsin, with financial institutions underwriting the costs of the program.

"brass is proof that a business can be socially driven and successful," Sims said. "This past year has been the culmination of many things we've been working on for a long time. brass has grown to 35 employees and nearly half a million readers across the country, and we've introduced new initiatives, like the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM, to share brass content with public high school students. These factors combined have helped us get noticed, all the way out here in Corvallis."

brass|MEDIA is the first company from the Pacific Northwest to make the BusinessWeek list. Sims' hometown of Corvallis, Oregon presented him with the 2006 "Entrepreneur of the Year" award, making him the award's youngest recipient, at age 22.

While Sims is living his dream by interacting with thousands of young adults across the country, creating change in high school education, and revolutionizing the publishing industry through emerging technology, he says he just wants to be known as a regular guy trying to make a difference and do something worth doing.

The BusinessWeek.com "Best Entrepreneurs Under 25" list is determined through a nomination process, where readers suggest their picks of rising small business stars. The top 25 entrepreneurs, including Sims, are profiled online at www.businessweek.com/go/sb/under25. People can link to the site by going to www.brassmagazine.com. Viewers can vote for their favorite young entrepreneurs online until mid-November. The top five, determined by votes, will be featured in BusinessWeek's Small Biz Magazine.