Ryan Stoner

Advisory Board, 100 Urban Entrepreneurs

Throughout his career as a business strategist and online innovator, Ryan Stoner has generated successful marketing strategies for some of today’s biggest brands: Microsoft, NBC/Universal, Hewlett-Packard, the Academy Awards, T-Mobile, Anheuser-Busch and Fox, among others.

Now, through his involvement in 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, he’s applying the same business-building tenets to companies at the other end of the commercial spectrum: tiny startups whose founders have limited experience, few connections and little money. The field of play is different, but the game plan is the same: helping talented entrepreneurs maximize their exposure, and engage their target consumers, through creative use of social media, public relations, marketing and advertising.

“Working with young urban entrepreneurs is, at its heart, no different than working with a Fortune 500 company,” Stoner says. “Lacking the resources to execute an idea, they’re beaten to market by their competitors. First-time entrepreneurs, never having done it before, lack role models, qualified resources and mentors. 100 Urban Entrepreneurs will be that support structure.”

In addition to his work with 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, Stoner, 29, is also the founder and CEO of Hooray, a Los Angeles–based “innovation startup” consultancy that helps brands, agencies and individuals rapidly execute ideas and scale them into stand-alone businesses.

Stoner was previously director of strategy at Omelet, a Los Angeles entertainment-marketing agency, where he first acquired his passion for nurturing startups. “100 Urban Entrepreneurs provides a place where a traditionally ‘underserved’ group has an approachable platform to exchange ideas, learn about business trends and receive mentoring and operational assistance,” he says. “We have the opportunity to change the face of business by giving these American dreamers the chance to succeed. It’s a very powerful thing.”