As the late famous Austrian American businessman Peter Drucker once put it, “the best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Being an entrepreneur is not easy. If it was, everyone would do it. Yet the idea of entrepreneurship still plays a pivotal role in the idea of living out the “American Dream” and being “self-made” is still idolized today. It seems as though we have two choices in life: either to work for an entrepreneur or be an entrepreneur. While most of our society today falls within the first half of that sentence, there are still a select few that have decided to do things their own way.
The art of entrepreneurship has evolved immensely over time, especially in the last decade as people have become more connected through widespread communication on the internet. The social media boom which began in the early 2000s set a new precedent in what was possible and brick and mortar business have fallen way to online e-commerce.
As the landscape of business changed to a more web based marketplace, new opportunities arose within a new business ecosystem. No longer do you have to be grandfathered into success, rather a great opportunity is around the corner for anyone who is bold enough to go after it. This new landscape has made way for modern day social media entrepreneurs who have accumulated their wealth online as success seemingly is more attainable.
One entrepreneur who has seen success and been afforded great opportunities in the digital marketplace is Christian Anderson, better known as his online alias and artist name “Trust’N”. Branded as “The Lost Boy” across his social media, Anderson’s story is an example of success in our modern business ecosystem. The college dropout turned millionaire’s story is a unique example of how wealth can be built untraditionally in today’s online era. Here’s how starting at a young age, networking, faith and self belief have played major roles in the marketing guru’s success.
Starting Young
Anderson’s entrepreneurial journey began when he was just 16 years old, writing and recording music in his parent’s basement. Under the stage name Trust’N, Anderson gained traction in his music career early by posting original tracks to Soundcloud and by hosting parties in his city, including throwing parties in the cabin of a parked train. Using his local celebrity status, Anderson started gaining the attention of his peers and even sold merch out of his backpack in his school with one of his cover arts on the front. Anderson still remembers the early hustle to this day. “I just ordered embroidered hats with one of my Lost Boy logos on the front and I would let my friends customize their hat color. Eventually everyone started wanting to buy my hats and I was just selling them right out of my backpack. That was really my first business was selling those hats,” explained Anderson. His other hustle was being a party promoter with hundreds of guests attending at a time, sometimes even in cramped spaces. “We would throw parties in people’s basements, or in an Airbnb, but the best ones were our train parties,” recalled Anderson. Anderson organized live music performances inside of a parked train, making profit from charging entry. “I just remember hundreds of people would come in and out of that train every night we threw a party,” said Anderson.
Under the stage name “Trust’N” amassed his early fan base while releasing his first 5 songs on SoundCloud, but began building a more national fanbase with the release of his EP “Lapse”. The extended play was critically acclaimed by major music platforms like Lyrical Lemonade among others. “Lapse” paved the way for other charting releases and viral moments as Trust’N has amassed an international listener base in the millions. And while Trust’N has had a successful music career it isn’t at the top of his priority list.
Networking
Despite living in the midwest and starting with no real connections in the entertainment industry, Anderson used his Instagram page @trustn to build a personal brand known by many across the online marketing space. His Peter Pan esc cartoon character that sits as his profile picture on social media has been branded into the minds of anyone who’s come across his profiles. The entrepreneur Anderson’s passion for writing music transitioned into writing feature stories and marketing columns alike for major news outlets. Anderson began his freelance writing journey in 2019 when he became the youngest contributor ever on Forbes’ Communication Council. His bylines at Forbes would pave the way to landing writing gigs at other major publications including RollingStone, Entrepreneur, and Newsweek. Some of Anderson’s biggest pieces are interviews with major celebrities on TikTok and Netflix.
Anderson’s most impressive venture to date is Lost Boy Entertainment LLC, an industry leading public relations and digital marketing powerhouse. “The Lost Boy” started the marketing firm with his college roommate Bryce Vander Sanden when the pair was studying at the University Of Wisconsin La Crosse. What began as a dorm room hustle quickly scaled into a multi million dollar operation. “I still remember when Bryce and I met with a lady in the small business center at school who helped us get our LLC paperwork filled out,” recalled Anderson. “To think we’ve gone from that point to here. It’s honestly crazy to think about” said Anderson.
Anderson’s success in music and as a businessman began to be noticed by his college’s newspapers and he was interviewed by the area’s local TV station more than once. However, Lost Boy Entertainment LLC didn’t start scaling into the millions until Anderson dropped out of college and moved to LA, a decision that seemed difficult and risky at the time. “I remember telling my mother I wanted to drop out. My parents are both educated and my education was very important to them. But I think they realized how passionate I was about what I was doing and they supported me,” said Anderson. Anderson packed his things and moved west out to LA to scale his company. His time there allowed him to grow his network and conduct in person interviews with celebrities growing his notability across the entertainment space, as well as his business.
To date, Lost Boy Entertainment LLC boasts a broad but stacked list of clientele including major celebrities while also servicing the needs of Fortune 500 companies alike. The firm recently announced a new partnership with Sony Music Group as a trusted marketing partner. Anderson credits his network for his success. “Sometimes my mind is blown by the different marketing campaigns that come across my desk. I have to ask questions to my business partners like “how do you even know this person”. But my network is the reason I’ve had the opportunity to work with those clients,” stated Anderson. The saying: “it’s not about what you know but who you know” seems very fitting in this situation.
Faith
From dorm room beginnings to Fortune 500 clients, Anderson continues to grow and monetize his network, including his more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. Showcasing a life of luxury traveling the world driving sports cars, wearing expensive clothes and jewelry, Anderson has worked hard for what’s his, building wealth well beyond his age. His drive and desire to prove others wrong, passion for people, and most of all his faith have been the cornerstones of his success. “I’ve been doing this for almost 6 years now. I’ve made millions of dollars. A lot of people didn’t believe in me, made fun of me and honestly hated my success. But I knew in my heart this was what I was meant to do. And I’m just thankful that God had these plans for me. A lot of my life, it’s unexplainable. There are so many moments that are unexplainable and all my success is a reflection of who God is and what he is capable of,” explained Anderson. “I know I wouldn’t be here without him,” Anderson finished with.
Self Belief
Maybe the most outstanding quality that Anderson possesses is his undeniable self belief. That confidence and demeanor was something that took time for Anderson to grow into. “I wasn’t always the most confident kid. Actually I used to be picked on in grade school,” Anderson annotated. It wasn’t until high school that Anderson began to believe in himself. “Some of my peers would make fun of me for making music but after a while I guess I just stopped caring,” said Anderson. When “The Lost Boy” began to believe in himself, others around him followed suit. “I don’t really know why but when I just decided to go for it and really embody being an artist it seemed like more people respected me. I remember during a performance at school everyone packed the auditorium. And I sold like 500 hats my senior year of high school. Everyone wanted them,” Anderson recalled while telling the story.
Although he started to see success as a musician in high school, it wasn’t until college where Anderson began to feel like a rockstar. “I remember once my song (Lucy) went viral on TikTok everyone knew who we were. I would just skip the lines at the bar because the bouncers were wearing my hats and would just let me do it,” described Anderson. Since the beginning, Anderson has been on a never ending journey of self discovery and development.
While the success of his career has fostered confidence, it’s been the times of turbulence that have defined Anderson’s character. “On this journey, I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. I’ve learned so much, traveled the world, I’ve been able to experience so much. But it’s been really hard, like really taxing, to the point where there’s been times I wanted to give up,” confessed Anderson. The low points have built his confidence the most. “When I think about my journey, these 5 past years, and when I really started going after it. The moments when I wanted to give up, how scary they were, like I’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time and had to come back from that. Those moments are what has defined me most. No question. Because I know if I lost it all tomorrow I could wake up the next day and get it all back,” instructed Anderson. Confidence and self belief fully exemplified through a few sentences.
Final Thoughts
Anderson’s next steps include expanding his PR and marketing powerhouse Lost Boy Entertainment LLC, releasing more music, and enjoying the life that his hard work has afforded him.
Anderson’s journey and powerful story from a Midwest college student without any connections to playing a pivotal role in the digital marketing and entertainment spaces is a wonderful example of how far getting started early, networking, faith, and having strong self belief can take you.