27-year old CEO inspired to follow in billionaires footsteps

In a time when celebrities, athletes and corporate executives are overspending, filing for bankruptcy and earning multi-million dollar golden parachutes, one young entrepreneur has chosen to buck the trend.

Bryan Sims, the 27-year-old CEO and founder of brass|MEDIA Inc. has committed to donating the majority of his lifetime wealth when he dies. Inspired by Warren Buffett and the coalition of over 40 billionaires pledging to donate the majority of their life's wealth, Sims realized there was nothing stopping him from following their example and doing the right thing.

"I've always known I was going to make a major contribution to charity when I died. But when I saw all of these entrepreneurs, film producers and investors making the commitment now, I thought to myself 'Well what's stopping me from making that commitment today?'" said Sims.

Sims started, brass|MEDIA Inc., a media company dedicated to helping young adults understand money, when he was only 19. He later became one of BusinessWeek's Best Entrepreneur’s Under 25 and led brass|MEDIA Inc. to become one of Inc. 500’s fastest growing private companies before the age of 25. He has been profiled in multiple books including Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and Chicken Soup for the Extraordinary Teen Soul.

Despite the high-profile pledges by some of the world's most wealthy, charitable contributions have taken a significant hit in recent years, particularly at the local level, with individual charitable giving dropping 4.9% in 2009 according to the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.

"It's critical that the next generation of entrepreneurs think about future generations, no matter how young they are. Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Oprah Winfrey all started their careers and companies between the ages of 16 and 21. Just think how many people out there are starting new ventures and what the possibilities might be if this next wave of entrepreneurs made the same commitments to donate the majority of their wealth when they die, but to make the commitment today," said Sims.

    To read more about Bryan's story and about starting brass|MEDIA Inc. please visit www.bryansims.com.

About brass|MEDIA Inc. (www.brassmedia.com)

brass|MEDIA Inc. is a socially driven media & technology company dedicated to helping young adults better understand money. Through it's flagship products brass|MAGAZINE and the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM, in combination with other web, video and audio products & services, brass provides direct, intelligent, and entertaining information to young adults about the money side of life™.

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Contact:
Matt Neznanski, Director of Communications
mattneznanski@brassmedia.com
(541)753-8546