Brooklyn Blingz Press Release
November 2007:
"YoungBiz Gives Award to Bklyn Blingz for Fall 2007 Top 10 Teen Business Website"
SIESTA KEYS, FL-- YoungBiz.com awards Brooklyn Blingz as one "...of the best teen business websites offering products and services in the US!" YoungBiz.com writes, "These 14-year-old twin sisters decided that today’s jewelry needs to reflect the wide range of attire that’s become commonplace. " Company owners, Lauren and Alyssa are excited about the reward and the new opportunities opening up for 2008. To view the Brooklyn (Bklyn) Blingz business profile and find out more about the award, visit YoungBiz.com.
May 2007:
"Teen Tycoons"
To view a photo slideshow of America's top young entrepreneurs across America, click here. Photos include Brookllyn Blingz' owners' Lauren (left) and Alyssa (right).
19 May 2007:
"Young and in Charge"
ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE--Lauren and Alyssa Burgos are the perfect example. At 14, the twin sisters have launched their own jewelry company called Bklyn Blingz.
"Most jewelry stores or jewelry businesses are run by adults," explained Lauren. "Being teens, we know what's in with fashion, so we actually know what teens want..." find out more from ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE special report on Alyssa and Lauren's jewelry business, Brooklyn Blingz.
19 May 2007:
"Who Wants to Be Millionaire"
Watch Alyssa and Lauren featured on ABC News Nightline.
5 May 2007:
"Bright jobs, Big City"
BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
But the facts tell a brighter story.
Some of it is told when the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a local nonprofit organization, throws its annual bash honoring fast-growing businesses located in inner cities across the country, as it did Thursday night. For neophytes, it's a celebration of who-knews.
Who knew about the Worcester company Bulbs.com, which sells light bulbs over the Internet? Who knew that one time taxi driver Dawson Rutter started Boston 's Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation company? Who knew a landscaping company could have $10 million in revenues, as Christy Webber Landscapes does in Chicago ? For an earlier, shakier business venture, Webber had to get her mother to lease a truck for her. Now Webber has more than 150 employees and hires ex-convicts, giving them a second chance.
These companies are on the Initiative's new 2007 Inner City 100 list, an annual ranking. The 100 were chosen from a list of 4,500 nominees. As a group, the CEOs are strikingly mixed: men and women; white, minority, and immigrant; old and young. So they sweep away stereotypes about who can open businesses where. The companies have also been chosen for their impact, for hiring inner-city residents, paying an average annual salary of $48,000, and, in 99 percent of the cases, providing health insurance plans.
Policy advice lurks behind many names on the list. One theme is that businesses can't go it alone. They need other companies, from banks willing to make loans, to well-known large companies willing to do business with them. One Inner City 100 example is Roxbury Technology Corporation, a toner cartridge and imaging supply company in Jamaica Plain that found a productive partner in Staples Inc. So one question for political, business, and community leaders is how they can foster more of these relationships.
Another challenge is sparking future inner-city business successes. In part, this means reaching teenagers. To do this, schools or other institutions might borrow from the science fair model and run business fairs, asking students to create companies.
The Initiative highlights this group by recognizing businesses run by youngsters ages 14 to 20. Among them: Alyssa and Lauren Burgos, 14-year-old twins from Brooklyn who own Bklyn Blingz, a jewelry company that sells products for $12 and less.
Inner cities are known for having problems such as poverty, unemployment, and low incomes. But they should also be known for having plenty of room for business growth.
28 March 2007:
"Bklyn Blingz on ABC NIGHTLINE!"
NEW YORK-- ABC NEWS Producer Melia Patria found Alyssa and Lauren's business very interesting and full of potential. So the news producer from ABC News Nightline wanted to do a story on the owners of Brooklyn Blingz for a national television coverage segment about "Young Entrepreneurs" across America. For the last few weeks, Melia and her production crew have been following the owners of Brooklyn Blingz around as they shop for products, work from home, go to school, go to chorus and other extracurricular activities, play, have fun, and sell their jewelry at an album release concert sponsored by New Lew Music and Pure Audio Systems. The show is likely air soon. Please stay tuned for more details...
12 March 2007:
"Bklyn Blingz SALES EVENT!"
NEW YORK-- The girls are at it again! Alyssa and Lauren will be hosting an event at the Marriott Financial Center on 85 West Street in Lower Manhattan on Friday, March 16, 2007. The sales event is part of an album release concert for "The Cornerstone Project" sponsored by New Lew Music and Pure Audio Systems. The twins will be setting up a table and selling their jewelry throughout the show to the fans and concertgoers at the event. "We're excited about the event and we hope to see you there!" Alyssa comments. The show starts at 8pm, and parking garages are availabe. You can also take the R train to Rector Street and walk towards the West Side Highway.
26 Feb. 2007:
"Young Entrepreneurs Close the Day at NASDAQ But Usher in the Future"
Merrill Lynch and ICIC to Honor Young Entrepreneurs,
Announce Nominations for the 2007 Growing Up CEO Program and
Release New Research on Youth and Entrepreneurship
NEW YORK- – The closing bell at NASDAQ today was sounded by a group of successful CEOs under the age of 21, whose companies are opening new opportunities for residents of America’s inner cities. Representatives from the Growing Up CEO program, a nationwide initiative, launched by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and the Merrill Lynch Foundation, to identify inner city entrepreneurs, ages 13 to 20, participated in the closing-bell ceremony that recognizes Feb. 24 – Mar. 3 as EntrepreneurshipWeek USA...
19 Feb. 2007:
"Bklyn Blingz Hits Wall Street!"
ONE NEW YORK PLAZA-- Bklyn Blingz was proudly invited to attend and display their products before potential customers, NFTE alumni, and investors at the annual National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurs (NFTE) Business Expo in Lower Manhattan. The girls set up "shop" and had their display table ready for business. Throughout the afternoon, they met numerous businessmen and women from around NYC, Long Island, and New Jersey as they promoted and networked their business and products. Alyssa's sales savvy and Lauren's friendly personality and business knowledge drove in sales and interest in the businesses' website and future of the company. Check out the photo gallery of this amazing event!
12 Feb. 2007:
"Website Has Been Launched!"
NEW YORK-- At the beginning of this year, Bklyn Blingz has launched a jewelry website for its customers.
After local sales and development around Brooklyn and the greater New York, owners Alyssa Rose and Lauren Marie, 14, have decided to expand their enterprise by distributing their products around the country via the internet. "We're excited about the growing stages of our business and the methods we can use to reach all of our customers," says Lauren Marie, co-owner of Bklyn Blingz.
"Our goal is to help girls of all ages express themselves by offering cool and affordable jewelry," quotes Alyssa, the founder of Bklyn Blingz. The company's catalog filled with amazing sales and impeccable taste has this jewelry business captivating the attention of non-profit organizations, local businesses and consumers throughout New York City. Already, these young entrepreneurs have received praise and gained attention from the National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurs (NFTE) and the Harvard School of Business. Recently, Alyssa and Lauren have been nominated for the "Growing Up CEO" Award this May in Boston. (ICIC.org)
The twins are excited about the new line of products and services they have to offer. Bklyn Blingz' website offers visitors an eStore, an online chat room, weblogs filled with fashion tips and articles, exclusive online jewelry products, and the new "Featured Models of the Month." They are sure in helping YOU and Brooklyn Shine!
5 Feb. 2007:
"Forbes Magazine Luncheon"
NEW YORK--Forbes Magazine held an Awards Ceremony at the Jazz at Lincoln Center to honor small business. National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurs' (NFTE) alumni's Alyssa and Lauren Burgos, and other young entrepreneurs from the greater New York area were invited to attend the event filled with CEOs, entrepreneurs and executives for our nation's top companies.
Brooklyn Blingz