Carey Receives Entrepreneurial Alumni Award

March 12, 2018 Personal, University of Central Florida

Carey received UCF’s 2018 Entrepreneurial Alumni Award, and was honored at the 2018 UCF College of Business Hall of Fame event, which took place on February 20th, 2018.   This was the 19th annual Hall of Fame event, which had a theme titled ‘Knights on Ice’.  UCF President John C. Hitt was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.  Inductees to the Hall of Fame included Sheila Jordan, Terry McNew, and Dawn Olivardia.  You can read a recap of the event here.

The UCF Today website featured a Press Release about the event and awardees back in November of 2017. 

 

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Carey Receives UCF’s 2017 Young Alumni Award

October 17, 2017 Boss Group, Personal, Three21, University of Central Florida

Carey received UCF’s 2017 Young Alumni Award, and was honored at the Shining Knights Award Ceremony which took place the Friday of UCF’s Homecoming Weekend.  

The UCF Alumni website featured an Alumni Spotlight titled ‘Noble Sobel‘, which talks on Carey’s story and accomplishments.

 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY.


Here are a few excerpts from the feature:


 

ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 17, 2017) – UCF College of Business alumnus Carey Sobel ’09 has made it a priority to conduct himself and his businesses with integrity. It’s what he hopes he will always be remembered for.

Now a partner at both Three21 and Boss Group International, he has been growing his reputation as an entrepreneur in the Orlando community since he arrived on UCF’s campus in 2004. It’s his success in the business industry, along with his commitment to excellence, service and philanthropy, that garnered him the honor as UCF Alumni’s first recipient of the Young Alumni Award, which he received at a ceremony Oct. 13 at the UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center.

If you take a look at his life away from the office and the community, the bigger picture comes into focus – there’s more to his story….

….CONTINUE READING THE FULL STORY HERE.

  

“Carey truly holds himself to a certain standard that he wants to meet each year – setting personal goals and devising a game plan to achieve them,” Lauren said. “If Carey assumes a role in life, be it business broker, marketing director, chief strategy officer, husband, son, and now father, he ensures that his whole heart goes into fulfilling that role. I truly believe it’s that quality that separates the dreamers from the doers, and Carey is a doer.”

 

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Carey Recognized in UCF’s 2017 30 Under 30 Class

October 11, 2017 Personal, University of Central Florida

UCF’s 2017 Class of 30 Under 30 post can be found here.

The University of Central Florida selects 30 individuals that are under the age of 30 to represent a ’30 Under 30′ class each year.  The 30 Under 30 awards program recognizes outstanding young alumni who continue to “Reach for the Stars” in their professional and personal lives. Young alumni currently make up one third of our alumni population, making them the largest constituent base. Each year, the UCF community gathers to celebrate the achievements of these individuals in the areas of professional success, community involvement and/or university engagement.

The 30 Under 30 Award 1) must be a graduate of the University of Central Florida (undergraduate or graduate degree), 2) Must be age 30 or under on the deadline, 3) Must have made an impact in one or more of the following areas: professional success, community involvement, and/or university engagement, 4) Must demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a lifelong relationship with UCF, 5) Must strive to uphold the tenets of the UCF Creed,  6) Must be willing to submit a professional headshot that can be published by UCF Alumni and other UCF entities, as deemed appropriate.

Mike Kilbride, the chair of the Young Alumni Council stated:

“This year’s 30 under 30 class is a bold group of young alumni who have made an impact from the early stages of their careers. Their commitment to their profession, community and UCF is inspiring. This group represents the best of the best from UCF’s accomplished young alumni base. As a fellow alumnus, it is inspiring to see so many of our graduates using their UCF experience to make an impact. The entire young alumni council is proud of the group of finalists, and on behalf of ucf, i extend my sincerest congratulations on this well-deserved accomplishment.” 

 

An excerpt from the 30 Under 30 Webpage:

Sobel has a proven track record of entrepreneurial success, co-founding seven companies in Central Florida. He currently serves as partner and chief strategy officer for Three21, a full-service digital marketing agency. Sobel has helped grow the company into a multi-million dollar, award winning agency. The firm employs many UCF alumni, and offers internships to UCF, Valencia, and Full Sail students. Carey is also a partner at Boss Group International, a business brokerage firm where he helps people buy and sell businesses. An avid UCF fan and supporter, Carey is a member the UCF College of Business Alumni Chapter, actively participates in speaking engagements for students, and also partakes in the mentorship program. Majored in management.

You can visit UCF’s Alumni ‘Exposure’ page that mentions and recognizes all of the 2017 30 Under 30 Class here.

 

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Orlando Business Journal Feature | December 11th, 2015

December 11, 2015 Boss Group, General Business, Networking & Affiliates, Real Estate, University of Central Florida

Taken from the Orlando Business Journal on December 11th, 2015.

How I … Found entrepreneurial success via my social network — without a computer

In-person social networking is essential to business success for Carey Sobel.

The 28-year-old Philadelphia native and entrepreneur owns the Orlando-based marketing agency Three21 Creative and is a partner at business brokerage firm Boss Group International.

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Carey Sobel (center) brokered the sale of the former Friendly Confines location in Waterford Lakes fellow UCF alumni Jamie Feldman (left) and Eric Isolica of Orlando Hospitality Partnership.

Both companies benefit from Sobel’s expansive connections, many of which he made during his time as a business management major at UCF.

When Sobel was not studying for exams, he was disc jockeying at several UCF-area nightlife venues. He then evolved from deejaying on the weekend to creating KnightLyfe LLC, a company that photographed students in bars around campus and posted them online. He then sold that and started social networking firm UniversityLyfe LLC, which was accepted into the UCF Business Incubation Program. After two years, UniversityLyfe folded, but not before Sobel had made hundreds of long-lasting professional relationships, which ultimately led Three21 Creative to increase its annual revenue by more than 1,350 percent since he partnered with founder Joe Boutin in late 2013.

In addition, he’s a partner at business brokerage firm Boss Group International, where he represented the seller of Friendly Confines at Waterford Lakes and the buyer of Orlando Hospitality Partnership, crediting his UCF connections with helping him close such deals.

Here, he shares how he and his professional ventures have benefited from networking:

How did you end up in Orlando? My family relocated to South Florida in 2004, where I finished my senior year of high school and then moved to Orlando to attend UCF. I graduated in 2009 with a degree in business management with a concentration on entrepreneurship.

How did you get into the marketing and business brokerage industry? I have been in marketing my whole life. I have a mix of experience with business ownership and operations in marketing, advertising, hospitality, food and beverage, and entertainment. I’ve owned my own entertainment business since I was 15.

When did you form most of your business relationships? I started deejaying in 2005 at UCF at all of the local bars. I met just about everyone who had a social life from 2005-2010, primarily through my deejaying and the business I ran through my tenure at UCF, KnightLyfe. I participated in many on-campus activities, like the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the UCF Joust New Venture Competition.

How did KnightLyfe evolve to UniversityLyfe? For KnightLyfe, we had a website that posted photography of people in nightlife venues and drew 18,000-24,000 unique visitors per month around the UCF area, generating 20 million-plus page views. We then raised $500,000 in venture capital for UniversityLyfe, and grew the business in the UCF incubator for over two years before folding the company due to a lack of completed software.

Did the marketing agency present any unique opportunities? My marketing firm wrote a business plan for a restaurant I became a managing partner of, Terrace 390, in downtown Orlando. After selling that business, I joined Three21 and Boss Group.

What benefits do you reap from your current business relationships? On the marketing side, I love the diversity in creative and strategic thinking from all of our clients. On the brokerage side, I get to hear so many stories of how each business came to be, the driving forces of success and, again, ways to be innovative.

How have your business ventures benefited from your business relationships? In my first year of Three21 Creative, as a team, we went from $110,000 in annual revenue to $1.6 million, and 2015 is projected at $2.5 million in revenue. In my first year of business brokerage at Boss Group, I achieved $1 million in sales volume. Without UCF networking advantages, I would be with a much smaller network of friends and professionals.

To what do you credit your success? My hands-on experience and commitment to always network

What is your advice for other entrepreneurs? Do not let failures bring you down. Always take someone up on an invite to connect, meet or talk, as you never know what will come of one conversation or connection.


Three21 Creative

Description: Digital marketing agency

Owner: Carey Sobel

Contact: (407) 734-5215; Three21Creative.com

Twitter: @CareySobel

Boss Group International

Description: Business brokerage firm

Partner: Carey Sobel

Contact: (407) 329-3273; BossGI.com

 

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Orlando Stands for Opportunity

March 30, 2014 General Business, Personal, University of Central Florida

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UCF: Stands for Opportunity”.  If you have any affiliation with UCF, you have probably heard this slogan before.   For me, I can relate to these words on a personal level.  I’ve always been proud to be a UCF Alumni, and as time goes on I gain more respect and admiration for my Alma Matter.  Not until taking a step back did I realize how far my school has progressed in the past few years.  UCF recently received tons of national recognition for their athletics program when the UCF Knights Football team beat Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Undoubtedly, this achievement alone arose questions such as, “What and Where IS THIS UCF school?” and “What is it all about?” in the minds of many across the nation.

As a lot of people already know, UCF is in Orlando Florida, a detail I will touch on shortly.  However, a few many only know that this “up-and-coming school” (ranked 5th best in the nation for this category) is the 2nd largest University in the United States.  UCF is a leader amongst other universities in the research field alone.  Not to mention, they have recently opened their own School of Medicine, they have a wide array of regional campuses, and are ranked as a “Top Tier National University” and a “School To Watch” by US News & World Report.  The development of infrastructure on UCF’s main campus from 2005 when I arrived, until today stands alone as a true testament to the school’s prosperity.  As a wide-eyed freshman 9 years ago, new to Orlando and Florida in general, I’ve watched an insurmountable amount of advancements and growth occur here and I could not be more proud.

While working on my undergrad at UCF and participating in some extracurricular programs, I developed an outstanding relationship with an influential woman named Carol Ann Dykes who is part of the UCF Business Incubator.  Carol Ann invited me to an event that I attended last week called “Speed Dating Startup Style”.  This function was hosted by UCF’s Launch Pad.  Aside from offering me the great experience to network with young UCF Entrepreneurs and hearing their ideas, I was also able to catch up with an old professor of mine- Dr. Cameron Ford.  He enlightened me to some of the exciting advancements he has made in the development of UCF programs centered on entrepreneurial activity. Learning about the evolution of the UCF Entrepreneurship opportunities, such as the CEL (Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership), and the Blackstone Launch Pad was invigorating, and only reinforced my faith in UCF and Downtown Orlando’s prosperity and synergetic relationship.

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One of the main reasons why I constantly recommend UCF to those looking into pursuing education is because of the unique community that the city of Orlando has to offer.  The constant & continuous growth occurring in East Orlando is analogous to the growth of the University.  I believe that the University’s growth comparably affects the growth of Downtown Orlando as well.  To me, East Orlando’s close vicinity to Downtown Orlando makes attending UCF that much more opportunistic for those considering schools.

I like to think of Downtown Orlando as a little big city.  It has so much to offer essentially any type of lifestyle.  Not only was a brand new, state-of-the-art Amway center finished a few years back, but the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts along with a few new high-rise buildings are currently in the works as well.  Even though the former things I consider to be outstanding advancements, the talk of a few additional major development projects and economic influx into Downtown Orlando and its surrounding areas, that gets me even more excited for this city.  One in particular is the Creative Village, in which the vision states “focusing on creating a true ‘live, learn, work, and play’ urban destination through a development plan that supports a synergistic and dynamic mix of uses including office/creative studios, higher education, K-12 education, mixed-income residential, retail/commercial, and hotel.”  In addition to the ‘Creative Village‘ project, is the general project to expand commercial and residential development towards the Citrus Bowl.  The city plans to achieve this through the gentrification of the Paramore District (which you can read about it here).  This is all very exciting to me as I live, work, and play right in the heart of Downtown Orlando.

Orlando as a city is very diverse as is the array of businesses and cultures that exist within it.  Orlando is a fantastic place for the entrepreneurial spirit.  Many of my peers, myself included, own and operate businesses in the Orlando area.  We have all utilized Orlando as a stepping stone to launch ideas and watch aspirations come to life.  It is through my experiences at UCF that I learned what I needed to know to be able to get the most out of Orlando as not only a creative platform, but also as a gateway for my high ambitions.

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I wrote this blog as a reflection from an article I read a few days back titled “UCF may expand its downtown presence in a big way“, as seen in the Orlando Business Journal.   Another article on MyFox35, “UCF considers expanding presence with large Downtown Orlando Campus” provides some more information as well.

This video is a great testament to my viewpoints about “The City Beautiful”, and reafirms the ‘uprise’ that I describe in this blog:  ORLANDO RISING TRAILER

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