Bryan Sims, Chief Executive Officer & Tom Loika, Sales Manager, Brass Media Inc.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 12:00 PM - Thursday, February 5, 2009 8:00 PM
Bryan Sims: Bryan Sims is the 25-year-old founder and CEO of brass|MEDIA Inc. Bryan founded brass, when he was 19, working out of his dorm room and parents’ garage in Corvallis, Oregon. In a high
school business class in 2000, Bryan wrote a business plan for a teen investment club. Starting the club at his high school, it quickly grew to the largest in the nation, investing nearly $25,000 of
students’ allowance money and part-time job paychecks. After high school, Bryan wanted to spread a message about the importance of understanding money that would speak to young adults, not at them. A
few years and lots of hard work later, his vision is now a reality. Bryan’s company, brass|MEDIA Inc., publishes brass|MAGAZINE, a lifestyle money magazine produced for young adults, by young adults
about the money side of life™. brass|MAGAZINE has over 465,000 readers across the country, is distributed in 39 states and currently employs 35 people through brass|MEDIA Inc. The newest brass
initiative, the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM, takes brass|MAGAZINE into high school classrooms to every public high school in New York and Wisconsin. As part of his unusual and often over-glamorized job,
Bryan travels quite a bit (which means he can now cut in line at airports). He speaks at engagements for corporations, non-profits, educators and students. Like the young and successful people
highlighted on the cover of brass|MAGAZINE, Bryan is a young entrepreneur working to make a difference. Media giants like Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, CNN and American Public Media, have taken note of
Bryan's successes. BusinessWeek.com readers voted him as one of their favorite young entrepreneurs in 2007. Bryan is the first CEO based in the Pacific Northwest to earn recognition on the
BusinessWeek.com list of “Best Entrepreneurs Under 25.” In 2006, at age 22, Bryan became the youngest recipient of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award from his hometown of Corvallis, Oregon. On the
off chance that Bryan has some free time, you can find him doing normal twenty-something stuff like snowboarding, playing fantasy football or hanging out with his buddies. Bryan’s future goals
include, but are definitely not limited to: influencing and inspiring millions of young adults across the country, creating education reform in high schools, and revolutionizing the publishing
industry through the use of emerging technology and user-created content. Most importantly, Bryan just wants to be known as a regular guy trying to make a difference and do something worth doing. Tom
Loika: Tom Loika is a 25-year-old sales manager at brass|MEDIA Inc., a multimedia company that publishes a young adult lifestyle money magazine, brass. A growing expert in marketing financial
services to young adults, Tom has nearly a decade of business and financial experiences with his peers. In high school, Tom co-founded an investment club with his best friend, Bryan Sims. It quickly
grew to the largest teen club of its kind in the nation, investing nearly $25,000 of students’ allowance and paycheck dollars. The club was recognized by local and national media, including CNN. At
Oregon State University, Tom established the OSU Entrepreneurship Society and served as President for two years. He became the fourth employee at brass|MEDIA in 2004 and earned his Business degree
two years later. Tom travels around the country working with financial institutions to help them connect with young adults. Under his direction as sales manager, brass|MAGAZINE’s circulation has
increased to nearly half a million subscriptions. brass|MEDIA Inc. has also been fortunate enough to be featured as one of the INC 500 Fastest growing companies in 2008. Tom’s age allows him the
distinct advantage of participating daily with the young adult demographic, and also understanding the needs and wants of his peers. This translates into spotting unique business opportunities for
financial institutions to serve young adults. In his spare time Tom can be found enjoying the Pacific Northwest whether it’s surfing, snowboarding or just about anything in between.
