New video follows 13-year-old CEO’s journey to build fashion brand

Thirteen-year-old entrepreneur Trey Brown is already the CEO of his own clothing business, but rest assured he also values the importance of learning from the ground up. 

In the latest installment of “Investing in Greater Possibilities Together,” Invesco QQQ’s six-part original film series in partnership with WarnerMedia’s Courageous Studios, Brown is paired up with Ernie Talbert, director of global brand marketing at Under Armour. Talbert’s mentorship provides the aspiring fashion mogul with indispensable lessons for moving his Philadelphia-based company, SPERGO, from a homegrown name into an international brand.

Since he was first profiled for the “Investing in Greater Possibilities Together” series, Brown has seen a steady growth in his business. But this ambitious teen is just getting started: “I want SPERGO to be a global, billion-dollar brand,” he says. For that to happen, Brown knows that he must constantly ask himself, “What can I do better?” 

That’s where Talbert comes in. First, the marketing executive hosts Brown at Under Armour’s global headquarters in Baltimore so the young businessman can learn about the company’s newest innovations. Then they move to apparel manufacturer Fashions Unlimited, where Brown is schooled in fabrics, machinery—and the importance of using local partners. 

The final stop on Brown’s mentoring tour is Howard University in Washington, D.C. Here the teen receives some valuable words of wisdom: “Coming to college will help you grow and network,” says Talbert. “It’s going to take you from here to global overnight.” 

Brown is well aware that the path to success won’t be easy, but thanks to mentors like Talbert, he’s getting an excellent education in how to bring SPERGO to the next level and beyond. “To become a global brand, you gotta work hard,” says Brown. “And I’m gonna work hard to get there. That’s what big brands do. I’m ready to be a big brand.”

“Investing in Greater Possibilities Together” is a series of documentary-style stories of early-stage entrepreneurs and innovators created by a partnership between Invesco QQQ and WarnerMedia’s Courageous Studios. Invesco QQQ is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that allows investors to access the Nasdaq 100—including some of today's most dynamic companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla and Google—all in one place. Courageous is CNN’s in-house brand studio dedicated to creating premium, cross-platform content for brand marketers across CNN, HLN and Great Big Story. The partners’ mutual goal of “Investing in Greater Possibilities Together” is to promote Invesco QQQ while creating an audience connection through real-life stories. It is Invesco QQQ’s belief that innovation should be celebrated at every level.