“You don’t need to have some crazy high GPA or be valedictorian to succeed. .”
— Bryan Concepcion, Young Innovator Action-Based Scholarship Winner
I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan Concepcion, the winner of the Young Innovator Challenge.
The challenge was to create a 1–2 minute video about a business idea.
Bryan created an “elevator pitch” about how he executed an idea on selling old AP exam notes from students who aced the exams to students who need them. He won a $1,000 scholarship.
The scholarship was sponsored by Smarter In The City, whose founder Gilad Rosenzweig started with the belief of empowering minority entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurs who live in under-served communities.
“ Our mission is to diversify Boston’s startup sector by providing support and resources for local minority-run ventures. Through our accelerator program, we draw investment to communities that have traditionally been left out of the high-tech startup scene.” — Smarter in the City Mission
Tuan: Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?
My name is Bryan Concepcion and I’m a Boston boy, born and raised. I go to Boston Latin Academy and I have a short list of colleges I hope to attend with Bentley University being at the top and then Northeastern University, Iona College, UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst. I’m hoping to get into at least one of these schools for business where I will major in some type of entrepreneurial studies along with marketing and management. I just want to use this opportunity to let everyone know this: I am not a good student. I did terrible in school and had personal circumstances that led me to give up in school which led to me being held back. This can all be summed up in the description one of my favorite teachers used to describe me once “Bryan, you are a terrible student but an amazing and smart person.” I am saying all of this so that people know this: You don’t need to have some crazy high GPA or be valedictorian to succeed. Just make sure that you don’t give up on yourself. If you put in enough hard work and prove yourself in other ways, then people will notice and anything is possible. Also, if you wish to contact me to talk or ask about my future business plans then email me at Concepcionconcepts@gmail.com and keep me in mind because hopefully very soon I’ll be doing some big things.
Tuan: Can you share the feeling that you have when you know that you were the winner of the challenge?
When I found out that I won this challenge, I was immediately filled with a sense of accomplishment and bliss, to the point that my friend Cynthia took too many pictures of the dopey face I was making because it was, “So cute to see me so happy”.
Tuan: Did you happen to be good at pitching a business idea before you did the challenge?
I wouldn’t consider myself to be good but I have had prior experience in public speaking, interviews and pitching ideas because I recognized that those skills would be useful for the future.
Tuan: Did you look at the resources offered on the site? Did they help to inspire you in any way?
In all honesty, I refused to look at the resources offered on the website because I wanted to test my own abilities as they were in that moment. I’m sure that the resources were very useful but I wanted to see if I was able to come up with a business plan and convey it properly using my own business sense.
Tuan: What do you think makes your submission stand out? Can you share what went through your mind as you worked on the submission?
In my opinion, I think the fact that I had already executed the plan outlined in my submission and had real numbers to show off served as a driving factor for my submission. While working on the submission I was a nervous wreck. I ended up working on it until just before the deadline and I still ended up missing things during editing. But all I was thinking about was that I needed to compress all of this information into a nice 2 minute video while making simple and understandable. Sounds simple but my friend and I must’ve spent at least 40 minutes just doing reshoots.
Check out his winning submission!
Tuan: Did you happen to learn anything along the process?
This is gonna come off all wrong but the only thing I learned is how important success is for networking. After winning, I spoke to so many people and established some new connections, mainly because I was in the spotlight so I didn’t have to worry about approaching people: they came to me.
Tuan: Did you learn anything about Smarter In The City that created the scholarship or the meaning behind the scholarship itself?
Before the awards dinner, I was in, what my friends call, my “black out phase” where I got tunnel vision and focused on working on my submission and not much outside of that. So hearing the origin behind the scholarship and this amazing company in Boston was very eye-opening and I’ll definitely be looking into Smarter In The City and possibly working with them in the future.
Tuan: Why do you think it is important to have alternative scholarships like action-based scholarships in the community?
Action-based scholarships are extremely important and I hope that ScholarJet inspires scholarships like these to become more prevalent. Writing essays for scholarships is so impersonal and disconnected, but with action-based scholarships, it is possible to pour your heart and soul into your video, project or whatever else you need to do. Along with the fact that, honestly, the competition aspect of these scholarships is something I really appreciate. It is one thing to be awarded a scholarship because you and other people wrote nice essays vs. winning a scholarship among other highly skilled and qualified contestants. It adds an extra sense of appreciation and honor to the award, if you ask me.
Tuan: With your hard work, talents and skills how are you looking to create a better future?
I have thought about this question for probably too long but I can only come up with this answer: I don’t know. From my personal experiences I can honestly say that it is impossible to fully control where you end up. When I was a kid, I would bounce around future goals at least once a week and now I have found my calling in business, but who knows where I will go with this. I will just go one step at a time and push forward with everything I’ve got and see where that takes me. If that leads to me significantly affecting the future then so be it, but for now I’ll be satisfied if I can help make the future happen.
Tuan: Do you have any tips for future scholars who are looking to participate in an action-based scholarship?
Have fun with it. Don’t think of it as just something you need to do because you need the money. If there is a challenge open with a topic that you absolutely hate, don’t force yourself to do it just to win. Chances are you’ll just waste your time because your passion will not shine through in the end product. If you have fun with it because it is a topic you enjoy or a challenge you know can reflect who you are, then you are one step closer to winning.
Tuan: If you could have lunch with any person in this world, who would it be and why?
Sadly, this is the most difficult question that I have been thinking about for the past week. I could go with the easy answer and say someone like Elon Musk or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. All of my friends would love a shout out but this isn’t about them right now (love you guys). Long story short, I would love to have lunch with David Mayer de Rothschild, adventurer, environmentalist and member of the prestigious Rothschild family. As one of the younger members of the Rothschilds, I would love to pick his brain on the secrets of the Rothschild family (which is projected to be worth 2 trillion dollars amongst all its members) and to discuss what it’s like to be a recognized adventurer, ecologist and environmentalist. To be able to do so much and be so accomplished is something I strive to achieve and, honestly, it has always been a dream of mine to meet a real life adventurer.
Tuan: Thank you so much for participating in our scholarship and congratulations once again.
