Johnny Cupcakes talks branding and business at CSUEB

• January 11, 2011 5:17am

Johnny Earle (a.k.a. Johnny Cupcakes) will speak on the Cal State East Bay Hayward campus on Wednesday, January 12 at 6:00pm. The event is sponsored by ASI and the CSUEB Marketing and Entrepreneurship department.

Businessweek magazine selected Earle as a finalist for its “America's Best Young Entrepreneurs” issue in 2008. The magazine wrote, “… Earle dropped out of music college in 2001 after just two weeks. On a lark, he made a T-shirt with an image of a cupcake atop a pair of cross bones. The trenchantly iconic design got noticed and people started asking to buy his tees. Earle began selling them out of the trunk of his '89 Camry and later at what he calls his "cupperware parties" and trade shows. "Guys think it's funny and girls think it's cute," he says.”

Earle's lecture will focus on the importance of branding, starting a brand and business (both web-based and retail) with little to no startup money, entrepreneurship, small business management, product development, marketing/communication, and graphic design.

Click for more information. Event will be start at 6:00pm on Jan 17 in the multipurpose room of the new University Union. It is free and open to the public.

1/19/11 Update: Read Johnny Cupcakes's blog entry about his experience at CSUEB.

KL