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After graduating from Westhill High School in 2016, Sebastian Ramirez decided that having a formal education from college wouldn’t be necessary. Instead, he became a graduate from what he described as “YouTube University.”

Ramirez was recently included in the Yahoo! Finance’s “Top 15 Young Entrepreneurs of 2020” list. He has launched multiple businesses under Sebby LLC.

Since then, he has built up his personal brand “PartyWithSebby,” which hosts social events around Syracuse. He utilizes his passion and talents to benefit not only his own business but Syracuse itself.

His businesses include The Squeeze 315, an event-coordinating company in which he rents out facilities such as bars and other venues to host parties. While The Squeeze 315 is on pause due to COVID-19, Ramirez is currently working on a company to expand business in Syracuse and does media relations for Syracuse businesses.

For Ramirez, consistency is the key to success.

“In Syracuse, a lot of things pick up and there are a lot of phases. You’ll see a lot of companies pop up, have a hot summer or hot minute, then they’re nowhere to be found,” said Seth Colton, a friend of Ramirez. “Sebastian’s very consistent.”

Raised in Syracuse since he was 2 years old, Ramirez began his entrepreneurial career with a candy business in his sophomore year at Westhill High School. He also had his own food delivery service and sold cars.

Ramirez created his first official company, The Squeeze 315, in October 2019. It was inspired by the Greek life parties Ramirez would attend at Syracuse University. He decided to host parties of his own at local bars such as Harry’s and Orange Crate Brewing Company. Soon after, he expanded out of Syracuse and began hosting parties in Miami and Tampa, Florida.

Sebastian Ramirez (far right) was listed as a “Top 15 Young Entrepreneurs of 2020” by Yahoo! Finance. Courtesy of Sebastian Ramirez

During the coronavirus pandemic, Ramirez has worked at his office in downtown Syracuse. He isn’t able to host parties because of social distancing restrictions. But, to help the city that raised him, he began doing marketing and media for local businesses, such as Sweet On Chocolate, Gold Tenders, and Café Kubal, through a media agency called Sebby Media.

“I sat around for about a week and a half. Then, the second week hit,” Ramirez said. “I’ve always been good at marketing, branding and social media, so I just decided to start a social media business.”

One of Ramirez’s aspirations is to not only bring more business to Syracuse, but also to his friends. He has been doing this through collaboration with other local creatives.

Robert Bryant, a videographer who is a friend of Ramirez, believes his friend’s personal mission is to draw attention to the city of Syracuse. Ramirez said he continues to maximize his efforts in building up the Syracuse community.

Despite all his success, Ramirez has no plans of abandoning Syracuse. Currently, he is working to build a local non-profit that helps with mentoring at risk youth. In the future, he also plans to open a local car dealership. And even with his business expanding and dreams of owning homes in Florida and Toronto, Ramirez said he won’t ever sell his house in Syracuse.

“My biggest thing is I always say ‘no problem.’ People lose their businesses all the time. One day, I could lose everything,” Ramirez said. “Realistically, you should be fine overcoming anything. People do it all the time.”

Published on September 7, 2020 at 8:39 pm

Contact Taylor: tmcontar@syr.edu