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Young American Entrepreneurs Inspire Peers Worldwide

February 9, 2011 by

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Fabian Pfortmüller, the February Y Gen Entrepreneur, is a New York City-based Swiss entrepreneur and student at Columbia University. Most recently, the 28-year-old founded Sandbox, whose mission is to find the most inspiring young doers worldwide and provide them with a highest-quality peer community, access to senior leaders and resources that help make their ideas happen.

Fabian joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about the difference between American-born Gen Y entrepreneurs and their European counterparts. He also discusses why being able to fail and start again is a key factor in an entrepreneurial society.

More about Fabian Pfortmüller
Fabian Pfortmüller is a New York City-based Swiss entrepreneur and student. Most recently Fabian founded Sandbox, a global incubator for the most extraordinary young achievers between 20-and 30-years-old. Sandbox’s mission is to find the most inspiring young doers worldwide and provide them with a highest-quality peer community, access to senior leaders and resources that help make their ideas happen. Sandbox has over 500 carefully selected members and activities in 22 cities worldwide.

But his entrepreneurship doesn’t stop there. He is also co-founder of Incubaker, a social innovation think tank and consultancy. And together with colleagues, he started a spin-off called Holstee, an eco-label that creates positive impact through smartly designed products.

In his native Switzerland, Fabian started an event-management agency, created XING’s offline network worldwide and was actively involved in high school politics on an international level.

With his entrepreneurial experience, Fabian has become a favorite speaker at universities and organizations around the world, including Yale, Harvard, and Columbia University, where he also studies Middle Eastern languages and cultures thanks to a scholarship from the Surdna Foundation. He’s also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.

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About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.