Contributed by Marina Byezhanova, an EO Canada Bridge member in Montreal and the founder of Brand of a Leader, a personal branding agency that builds and scales the personal brands of entrepreneurs who inspire and make an impact. Marina is delighted to introduce a new member of her chapter, Brandan Ranaldi—a former GSEA competitor and EO Accelerator—who is now one of the youngest members in EO. Here’s what she shared:

(Photo: Marina prepares to toast the newest and youngest member of her chapter, Brandan Ranaldi.)

It’s a proud moment for EO Canada Bridge—the coolest chapter in the region, as we so proudly call it! We are excited to welcome our youngest chapter member yet, and I feel compelled to share his incredible success story with all of you globally. 

Meet Brandan Ranaldi, a 23-year-old student entrepreneur. We first met Brandan when he competed in a local GSEA competition. We then welcomed him into an EO Accelerator class. And we are now thrilled to call him a peer as he joined EO as a member, not only meeting but vastly surpassing the qualifying criteria. 

Here is his story. 

Brandan Ranaldi always had a passion for being outdoors and working with wood. He, along with Justin Szekely, started building decks when they were only teenagers. Since they were too young to drive at the time, they biked to their job sites, balancing bags of tools on their handlebars.