In the ever changing world of social media and technology, entrepreneurs of all ages are fighting to get to the front of novel fields. With an international network at their fingertips, these up and coming movers and shakers haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of their digital resources.
But one young prodigy working to capitalize on this dynamic market is serial brand-builder Alex McCurry. In the process of developing his career, Alex has been able carve out a unique niche for himself. However, Alex does not follow the status quo, and has had skin in the game since a very young age. Having worked with major celebrities, fortune 500 executives, corporations, and more, Alex has built an incredible reputation as one of the top PR/Branding experts in the nation, all by the age of 19. We recently sat down with him so that he could share his thoughts.
What inspired you to kickstart your career in digital brand-building?
Since about 15 I started building social media accounts for various different entrepreneurial ventures. After building a relatively large repertoire of pages, mainly on Instagram, I noticed how impactful having an online presence could be if applied properly to a company or personal brand. From there I did everything possible to build my network and capabilities in order to be able to build brands as powerfully and effectively as possible. This led me to scaling my Instagram network immensely as well as getting connected with other, more traditional forms of media.
What are your plans for future education?
I am constantly self-educating, reading, and learning from industry leaders in my space and others. As far as traditional education, I have received offers and interest from a multitude of top tier academic institutions both in the US and abroad. Still, nothing has really convinced me that that route is the right move at the moment. At this stage I am focused on building my company as much as possible and continuing to develop my skill sets and network.
What have you done differently than other people in your field that has put you ahead?
I’m a firm believer that hard work and integrity are everything. I see a lot of people in my industry who don’t operate their businesses in the most ethical ways and I feel like that is the most surefire way to guarantee failure in the long term. I also don’t know many people who work as hard as me, I work constantly and have sacrificed a lot of things that most people my age aren’t willing to.
How has your career been affected by your young age? Have you found that people are biased because you’ve broken into a space so young?
Starting out was hard. Lots of people weren’t interested in taking me seriously, mainly because I was young. I think after I started seeing successes was when that perception changed. After I landed my first big clients and delivered for them and received their support, people’s perceptions shifted. People were kind of like, “holy shit, this kid is the real deal” and I started earning a lot more respect.
What is the next step in this new professional life that you have constructed?
I’m interested in building my PR & Branding firm, Astra Strategies aggressively these next few years. Handling our recent expansions has been a lot of work, but I’m excited to see how we grow. That, along with working with bigger, more interesting, and more diverse clientele, while finding interesting projects to lend my skill set to are my primary focus.
Thank you so much! Where can people find you?
I am most active on Instagram @alexmccurryo, but you can also email me at alexmccurryo@gmail.com!