Young Entrepreneur Balances Dual Role as Student and Marketing Executive
It鈥檚 only his first semester on campus, but David Prince has a pretty good idea of what he wants to major in鈥攎arketing.
He鈥檚 been doing it professionally since tenth-grade.
At 21, the Syms School of Business student is president of a full-service management and consulting firm he founded four years ago, Prince Management. At an age when many college students are writing their first cover letters to their first internships, Prince has represented and secured endorsements and business opportunities for a wide range of clientele in the entertainment and corporate world, including NFL and NBA athletes, rappers, musicians and charitable foundations.
So how does a yeshiva kid from Highland Park, New Jersey become a successful public relations executive before he graduates high school? And what brings him back to the classroom when his career has already taken off?
According to Prince, it all started with a marketing internship at Marc Ecko Enterprises in the summer after ninth-grade. 鈥淚 always knew that I loved business, but didn鈥檛 necessarily know what industry or what capacity I鈥檇 be involved in,鈥 said Prince. 鈥淚 fell in love with marketing.鈥
Prince spun his internship at Ecko into a full-time position as a marketing and public relations coordinator, with responsibilities that included social media, networking and marketing strategies. In an effort to attract celebrities to a fundraising event for Tikva, an orphanage Ecko supports in the Ukraine, Prince reached out to many well-known names. One of them was NBA player Al Harrington鈥攖hen a member of the Golden State Warriors.
鈥淚 set up a lunch and my goal was to convince him to get involved with Ecko,鈥 Prince said. However, Harrington was so impressed by Prince鈥檚 sincerity and enthusiasm for Tikva that he turned the conversation around. 鈥淗e asked me if I鈥檇 be interested in working with him.鈥
Prince was 17 at the time.
After a follow-up meeting in Harrington鈥檚 off-season Las Vegas home, it was official鈥攎arketing and public relations for Harrington and the Al Harrington Foundation were in Prince鈥檚 hands. 鈥淚 had no idea how to do it all,鈥 Prince said. 鈥淚t probably wasn鈥檛 the smartest thing but sometimes you just have to be able to go with your gut and say, 鈥榊eah, I can figure this out. This is going to work.鈥 It did.
鈥淭hank God, within two weeks we had endorsement opportunities on the table, I got him scheduled to film MTV鈥檚 Cribs and we were already planning the first foundation event.鈥
His work with Harrington was so successful that Prince began to think about offering his talent to others. 鈥淭he summer before my senior year, I walked into my local accountant鈥檚 office and created an LLC,鈥 he said. At awards shows and in locker rooms after games, he reached out to recording artists, athletes and others who could use his services. Today, Prince has a growing clientele.
So college, especially the intensity of 黑料社 All鈥檚 dual curriculum, may seem like an odd choice. But for Prince, who was awarded a scholarship by the McKelvey Foundation for his entrepreneurial skills, it was the only option.
鈥淭he stuff you learn on your own is in some ways the most valuable education you鈥檒l ever get,鈥 said Prince, 鈥渂ut I also wanted grounding in the areas I wouldn鈥檛 necessarily come across because I鈥檓 not in every industry. I鈥檓 taking finance and accounting classes that are important to give you the roundedness of a full business education.鈥
At YU, Prince can also focus on another pillar of his personal and professional life: Torah.
鈥淚 chose YU because the religious aspect was extremely important to me. It鈥檚 hard enough to find time to learn even in a good environment. Here learning is constantly accessible.鈥
It鈥檚 also in tune with what Prince views as a key life lesson: 鈥淪urround yourself with people you admire and look up to, whether in business or your personal life,鈥 said Prince. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 at YU now鈥攊ncredible people.鈥
For Prince, business ventures and opportunities never come at the cost of his Torah values or Jewish identity. 鈥淚鈥檓 a Jewish businessman,鈥 said Prince. 鈥淲hatever I do, I do as a Jew.鈥 That鈥檚 why you鈥檒l never find Prince without a yarmulke at any show or arena. 鈥淢y kippa grounds me and tells everyone else where I鈥檓 holding. I think of it as a great opportunity to make a kiddush Hashem [sanctification of God's name] wherever I go.鈥
The 鈥榟olding鈥 hasn鈥檛 always been easy. Prince recently returned from two years of study in Israel, several time zones and continents away from an industry he described as 鈥渁ll about personality and face-to-face communication.鈥 Nevertheless, he is proud of those years and considers them an investment in himself and his business.
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 make sense for me to be 17 and flying out to Las Vegas, hanging out with basketball players and celebrities,鈥 said Prince. 鈥淥bviously that all came from something bigger. I could say that going to Israel for two years was one of the most difficult things for my professional career, but that learning is the fuel I鈥檓 using for my life now.鈥
What鈥檚 next for Prince? He鈥檚 not sure, but he鈥檚 excited to find out. 鈥淢y dream is to work in a place where I feel I can make a difference in the world,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only thing I really want to do.鈥 For other young entrepreneurs, Prince offers advice in a similar vein: 鈥淒on鈥檛 give up on a good idea鈥 there are ideas that pop into your head, especially if you鈥檙e an entrepreneur, which, if you put a little confidence into them, can sprout into something beautiful and incredible.鈥
