The Resource for Growing Companies

Current Issue

Slideshows

	Self-Made American Entrepreneurs Meet our winner and eight other entrepreneurs whose stories inspired us to create a list of honorable mentions.
	Self-Made Entrepreneurs See 10 entrepreneurs who faced incredible odds and rose from humble beginnings to start their businesses.
	Entrepreneurial Presidents Discover past presidents who exhibited great entrepreneurial acumen to rise to their positions as leaders of this nation.

Quiz

Test your Lincoln knowledge by taking our interactive quiz.

Self-Made in America

Steal The Street !

Sean Sylvester
Voler La Rue Inc.
Miami - FL

Its only fitting that my mother was the one who brought the "self made in America" contest to my attention seeing as how it was her who gave me the name at birth that would spark my idea for a business some twenty years later. My name is Sean Rue Sylvester. My mother gave me the middle name Rue because my brother said my mother looked like a kangaroo when she was pregnant. Skip twenty two years later and now I am an entrepreneur. A little more than a year ago I created a clothing line called Voler La Rue. The name Voler La Rue is French and literally translated it means "Steal the Street." It is an urban upscale brand with European influence that incorporates and is inspired by things like graffiti, hip-hop music, pop culture and the streets of the city I live in, Miami. The whole concept is that I want to steal the attention and love of people in the street who appreciate dope clothes. Currently I make men's t-shirts but I plan on making VLR a full blown life style brand in the very near future. I sell my shirts in a hand full of local skate shops and urban boutiques around the Miami area that are nationally known. The whole concept behind the brand is that I get my ideas from the street. I started going door to door selling my shirts and currently I still follow that practice. One of the best feelings in the world is when I sell my product and receive hard cash for something I created in my mind, but it has not been easy creating a business completely from scratch with no prior experience. I constantly face financial constraints, self doubt, and creative criticism but I can truly say without hesitation that it has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in life and I'm just getting started.

Comments that readers have made about this submission:

LOVE...LOVE....LOVE...LOVE THIS LINE!
Tonie - MIami, Florida
keep up the awesome work sean!!
tatiana - miami
Voler La Rue is an impressive clothing concept with an amazing down to earth yet upscale style, much like the mix of people who walk the streets that it represents, Miami. The designer really knows what real people like and holds great potential for large success.
Alexis - Tallahassee
i have known Sean since he started. we talked a number of times bouncing ideas off eachother. he helped with my line mothermayiclothing.com -KaL MichaeL president
KaL MichaeL - Miami
great article
Sergei Hagley - miami
These shirts are awsome!!!!
Elaine Rodriguez - Miami
He sounds very motivate, and I just happen to have bought a couple of VLR shirts and I absolutely love them. I get at least three comments about how fat the shirts are every time I wear one
Justin - 305
Very impressive entry. Sean's brand will, in the not too distant future, be worn by famous Hollywood stars and celebrities. His persistence and vision serves as a paramount example of what it takes to be a twenty-something entrepreneur facing all of the obstacles launching a new business creates. If vision, perseverance, class and a marketable product or service are what a winner of this contest must posses, Sean would be an excellent selection to win this competition.
Thomas Lovell Williams - Lake Forest, Illinois
I am a young entrepreneur myself and I gotta say Sean is gonna make it big, he already can. He could easily get a major distribution deal but he is smart about his business decisions and won't just sell out, he's passionate about what he has created and he should be its hot!
Jonathan Milton - Torrance, California
Love his style
Susan Montes - Miami
Well written. The simple fact that a young person has the deisre and drive to be a self made person has alot of merit specially in todays society. Being creative does not cost anything but to get the ideas converted into reality you need capital. Good luck!
Mariano Soto - Miami
it represents people like myself, who i love to see make something good by starting from scratch.
Joe Frank - Orlando
Great enrty...great idea...I love the concept of translating the Miami lifestyle onto clothing to represent the way we live and do things here in Miami. I can't wait for women's clothing!
Nicole Gonzalez - Miami
ive had the pleasure of meeting Sean Sylvester. Its rare to see a young man as head steady and about business as he is. Voler La Rue continues to put out quality and catch designs and will continue to grow as time goes on; i have no doubt in my mind about this. The sky is the limit with this one.
Kyle Thompson - Redondo Beach, CA
Great new apparel
David Grubbs - Miami
VLR is one of the hottest new lines out! Sean works very hard, and I respect his drive and dedication.
Pat Altine - Miami
We need more homegrown people like this to run businesses 'cross America; people who want to change standards in which corporations are comfortable with.
James Partridge - Miami, Florida
Adversity breeds character. Keep up the good work
Rey Sylvester - Sanford, FL
Great Story
Elissa De la Pedraja - Miami
I love this line! Very original
Jackie - miami
great idea, great company concept
Jay Wakabayashi - Los Angeles
Love it! Le Boss rocks!
Andrea - Los Angeles
VLR has really great apparel with creative design. Sean is very motivated; he has gone and will go a long way with his product
Jean-Paul - Miami
Dope mang... your on the your way.
Lio Belt - Jacksonville, FL
I have no doubt that this guy will make it to the top! I'm a proud owner of 4 of his T-shirts & they're hot! You've got all the support you need from Feddy Entertainment homeboy...Good luck!
Fadi Bahri - Miami
I admire Sean's drive and desire to make it big. This story is a testament of why Sean will be a successful entrepreneur.
Hector Mendoza - Miami
An amazing product. Every time I wear a VLR shirt people want to know where i got it. I believe we will be hearing about VLR and Sean for years to come.
Daniel Lopez - Miami
VLR represents a life style that young people lead.You ware these clothes, the clothes dont ware you. Its a great concept and im sure sean will make it big on this one.
Chris Burke - Cayman Islands
God job Sean - not just the talk but made the walk and that means everything. Gregg Watkins - London
gregg watkins - London
keep it up!
Shannon - Michigan
I've seen the shirts, but I'm not sure where to get some... It would be nice to have them everywhere!
Stephanie - Miami
Quality, great designs!!! VLR number one.
Lore - Miami
lovely!!!!
k - wi
puffy aint got nothing on you!
Hco Lou - miami FL
Wish I could have the potential of this guy.
Justin Ghalayini - Dubai, UAE
love it.
andy - miami
awesome stuff
eline - amsterdam
Coming soon to a town near you! Keep up the hard work Sean.
Nick Gonzalez - Gainesville ,FL
The vision behind VLR is unique and has great character, setting it apart from the crowd. Good luck!
Natalia Maldonado - Miami, FL
sean is good people and his shirts are dope...Miami is the hottest city in the world and its about time that someone takes the time to give us a way of showing our pride for our city without having to wear a plain white t-shirt that our mom patched 305 on. Big things....
Tony Ginzo - Miami
A wonderful idea. Hope it can be available in other parts of the country
S. Mary Jones - Paterson, NJ
The concept for the clothing line is very new and exciting. i haven't seen this style of clothing in the stores, but i have seen the product in person and i love it.
Tracy Galya - Miami
Mark my words, this guy is gonna be big.
Richie Bhangu - Miami, FL
Let's give it up for the REAL success story to come out of the University of Miami in recent years!
Jaafar "PAC" Choufani - Boston, MA
The spirit of our country is born from leaders and entrepreneurs. Keep up the great work.
Elizabeth Bazan - Miami, Florida
year of the dog...
Louis Joachim - Miami Florida
keep hustlin
ben j - jacksonville florida
Love the originality behind the name as well as the style. Keep working hard and it will all pay off. Good luck!
Thara - Miami
awsome awsome ,man well done!!!!
micheal wells - southafrica
sean has done an outstanding job in a very short period of time and with his drive and determination he will take this to the next level without a doubt.. steve feinberg vice president trends international
steve feinberg - miami florida