People turn into entrepreneurs at different points in their life and for different reasons.
Some get the drive early.
The second annual Buffalo Inno 5 Under 25 feature finds a new crop of young adults working vigorously on their startup companies. They will join a broader community of Western New York entrepreneurs that has gained an increasing sense of purpose over the past decades, as a way to express professional ambitions and turn dreams into life-changing wealth.
Flock to corporate safety? These five could certainly do that.
They’d rather build something with their own hands.
Seth Blum, 22
Networthy • https://www.linkedin.com/in/siblum/
Williamsville native Seth Blum graduated from high school and enrolled at Michigan State University, but he quickly realized he was on track to graduate with more than $100,000 in debt.
He came back to the University at Buffalo, entering the School of Management’s MBA program when he was 22.
Most of his master’s degree counterparts were smart cats. Few of them understood personal finances.
Those two experiences formed the philosophical basis for Blum’s start, NetWorthy, a web-based platform that aims to support young adults as they balance their personal goals and financial needs.
“Everyone I spoke with had ambitious goals to travel here and to do this, but nobody knew or understood how to go about it,” Blum said. “That’s where the idea of NetWorthy came from.”
Blum said his parents are entrepreneurs, and he is the founder of one successful company, recreational sports program Buffalo Bar and Sports League. He is a Western New York Prosperity Fellow and worked this summer as a portfolio selection intern at 43North.
NetWorthy was a finalist in this year’s Panasci competition and won the audience-voted $1,000 People’s Choice award.
Blum built out the initial version of the NetWorthy app and is piloting it with a group of young alumni. He plans to finish his MBA and then to hit the ground running with NetWorthy.
“Building a business is an investment in yourself and in the customers you’re trying to help,” Blum said. “Most MBAs go to the corporate world and make pretty good money, but I’m much more motivated by working on projects that I’m personally invested in.”
