Risk-Taking Entrepreneur Stephen Orso Sets The New Standard

Stephen Orso is the embodiment of hustle. When everyone bobs, Stephen weaves. The investor, entrepreneur has never been one to take the traditional route. As early as high school, Stephen was involved in various entrepreneurial endeavors. In high school, Stephen started a high end sports memorabilia company; he used drop shipping and online marketing techniques before they were popularized in order to make over 200K before he graduated. At the young age of 17, Stephen illustrated that he was a force to be reckoned with by negotiating a deal with one of the largest sports memorabilia dealers in the world, JL Sports.

Beyond the fact that Stephen was on the front end of some of the most useful internet era sales techniques Stephen has always shown an ability to adapt and adjust. Growing up, Stephen was a baseball phenom, mastering the notoriously complicated knuckleball at a young age. Stephen’s unique talent secured him personal training sessions with the great knuckleballer RA Dickey as well as a spot on the University of Maryland’s Division 1 baseball team. Despite this great opportunity, Stephen saw a larger opportunity off the field. At the young age of 19 Stephen decided to forgo his baseball destiny and move back to NYC so he could pursue business opportunities while going to school.

Photo Credits: BFA

Stephen quickly become both an entrepreneur and investor. In terms of entrepreneurship, Stephen started his own events management company and began partnering with prestigious clubs and restaurants all over the city. Before he was even 20 years old, Stephen solidified his brand as an essential NYC tastemaker, making a small fortune while doing so. During this time Stephen worked with Cipriani, 1 Oak Night Club, Tao Group, Marquee Night Club, Catch Restaurant & Club, and many more elite New York City brands. Stephen then leveraged his newfound network and legitimacy to into the independent music industry. Investing his own money, Stephen began discovering and helping artists develop their sound, pay for costs, and market their music. By starting his own record label, Stephen’s, knowledge of online marketing, and access to elite NYC social networks gave him a unique ability to provide value in every aspect of an artist’s creative and business process. Stephen helped start the careers of Bryson Tiller and producer phenom KBeazy, just to name a few.

As an investor, Stephen wanted to honor his life-long dedication to health and athletic performance. As an investor, Stephen was ahead of the curve with high quality yet health conscious food products. Stephen’s been a long-time investor in Barely Bread, an artisan quality bread company that is certified non-gmo, gluten-free, paleo.. Stephen is also an investor in Flow Water, an 100% naturally alkaline spring water company, making him co-investors with Gwyneth Paltrow and Shawn Mendes. Despite Stephen’s commitment to health conscious companies, Stephen likes to diversify his portfolio. He’s producing a new mini series focusing on fine dining, influential chefs, and unique food creations. This project has actually received some recent press in the London Daily Post. Despite being a newcomer to film and tv, Stephen’s experience investing in the food & beverage industry as well as his business acumen all but guarantees his future triumphs in the culinary & health film world.

When asked about the current climate and his next moves, Stephen responded, “you have to be able to be flexible. Right now our artists are utilizing tools like IG Live, Twitch, and Periscope to develop a closer relationship with their fans.” Beyond helping his artist seize the moment, Stephen is seizing the moment in his personal life as well. It has been reported that Stephen arned major profits by shorting the stock market before the economy shut down he won big on bets like buying stock in Peleton, Zoom, Netflix, and Starbucks pre-shut down.