Darrah Brustein

Brainstormer, Business adviser, Business leader, Business mentor, Change Agent, Connector, Entrepreneur, Event planner, Finance professional, Global soul, Idea generator, Jewish, Photographer, Social entrepreneur, Startup, World traveler, Writer/Editor

I’m Darrah and in the simplest of terms, I’m a connector. Few things give me more joy than putting together the puzzle of people and making valuable introductions for others. Fortunately, my career revolves around this gift. In 2009, I founded a merchant services brokerage with my twin brother to help connect businesses with the best credit card processing solution for their needs. We’ve been fortunate to grow into 38 states because of our relational approach and reliable solutions (which is not a small feat in this shady industry). Ever-connecting, in 2011, I founded Network Under 40 to help friends from college make friends in their young adult lives. Due to its overwhelming success in Atlanta (now selling out monthly events for 500+ people, where young professionals can connect in a non-salesy and non-singlesy environment), we expanded into Network Over 40, as well as brought Network Under 40 to Baltimore, DC, Nashville, and Birmingham with other cities to come! As if that weren’t enough of a challenge, I saw a pressing need for financial literacy education in general, but specifically for children to start early at forming positive financial habits. As a writer, it felt natural to help with this problem by writing a kids’ book series called Finance Whiz Kids, which works with elementary-aged kids to teach basic financial lessons through fun and engaging stories. There’s even an appendix in the back of each book to help adults institute the lessons into their homes with ease. A highlight of my professional life was being invited to attend the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos to represent about youth financial literacy. I was fortunate to be asked to be a contributing writer for Forbes, Thrive Global, and Entrepreneur, which has allowed me a platform to highlight the great work of others who might not be easily spotlighted, and connect them with an audience. I’ve also been featured, and/or written, in other global outlets like The Huffington Post, Inc, CNN Money, Fox Business, and Mashable. On the media tip, I’m a hired speaker who loves to talk and train about networking and relationship building. I love to connect with and invest in my community. I’m a founding member of the Atlanta Global Shapers (a division of the World Economic Forum), sit on the Emory Alumni Board, am a former ambassador for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, am a member of LEAD Atlanta and the Young Entrepreneur’s Council, and was named one of the Atlanta Jewish 40 Under 40. Additionally, I founded the social movement #GiveItForward, which aims to empower 1,000,000 people to intentionally give to one person in some way every day, with no strings attached. When not working, writing, or volunteering, you’ll most likely find me traveling, hanging with friends, eating dill pickles, reading a non-fiction book, doing acroyoga, and/or taking black and white photos. I look forward to connecting with you!

Connection. Curiosity. Travel. Acroyoga. Black and white photography. Non-fiction reading. Personal growth. People. Entrepreneurship. Dill pickles. My cat, Chairman Meow :)

I founded the social movement #GiveItForward, which aims to empower 1,000,000 people to intentionally give to one person in some way every day, with no strings attached. www.GiveItForward.co

Community Building/Design, Connection, Credit Card Processing, Entrepreneurship, Events, Lifestyle Design, Merchant Services, Networking, Relationship Building, Speaking, Startups, Writing, Youth Financial Literacy

Listening. Acroyoga. Tap dance. Black and white photography.