He fell in love with entrepreneurship at Carolina

Brice Connors ’20 pursued a degree in media and journalism and a minor in entrepreneurship. He started a digital marketing agency while he was an undergraduate student.

This story was written by Claire Cusick and was originally published on magazine.college.unc.edu.

Brice Connors ’20 entered Carolina with the goal of earning a degree that could help him get a “nine-to-five” job. That’s what he had watched his parents do; his mother was a schoolteacher and his dad, who died when Connors was 17, was a sports broadcaster.

“Growing up in Johnston County, I heard a lot about farming and agriculture, but not as much about commercial real estate, investment portfolios or business ownership,” he said. “When I got to Carolina, I didn’t even know entrepreneurship was something that you could study.”

During his first year, Connors attended an information session about the then-new Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship. Like many a student at many an information session, he went for the free pizza. “I tell people I wasn’t looking for a minor, I was looking for dinner. But that evening changed the trajectory of my life,” he said.

Instead of speaking about “getting a job,” the faculty at the information session spoke of solving problems and creating businesses. That message lit a spark for him. Instantly, Connors decided he not only wanted to study entrepreneurship, he wanted to become an entrepreneur.

“For the first time, I realized there was another path,” he said. He kept studying journalism at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, enrolled in the Shuford Program, based in the College, and approached 20 Franklin Street businesses, offering social media management as a service.

That walk down Franklin Street taught him one of entrepreneurship’s key lessons: managing rejection. Twenty businesses said no to Connors, but Trolly Stop — a small restaurant that sold hot dogs — signed him to a three-month contract to manage its social media. Connors officially became an entrepreneur. “That one yes hooked me,” he said.

Connors soaked up all of the entrepreneurship minor’s offerings, including making connections. Steve Malik, owner of the NC Courage soccer team and husband of Shuford Advisory Board Member Kathleen Malik ’90, visited class and spoke about his upbringing in Eastern North Carolina and how his father died when he was a teenager. Connors connected to both of those experiences. “Hearing a successful entrepreneur talk about life experiences similar to mine made me think I could be one, too,” he said.

Connors kept building his business. By the time he graduated, he decided to add website development and digital marketing in addition to social media management. He incorporated BluePrint Business Communications in Raleigh.

Entrepreneurship faculty introduced Connors to the idea of finding underserved markets with limited competition. “I realized in 2019 and 2020 that Eastern North Carolina was poised for a lot of growth, while few Raleigh-based marketing firms were focused on serving the region. I saw an opportunity to build BluePrint around that gap.”

BluePrint reached a turning point when the agency landed its first multiyear, million-dollar government contract in 2020. For Connors, the contract represented more than revenue: A government organization was taking a chance on the young agency. After the campaign produced back-to-back record occupancy tax collections, Connors said BluePrint began to earn a new level of credibility in the region.

That success helped BluePrint expand its work with economic development groups, airport authorities and tourism organizations. By 2025, BluePrint was generating $1.2 million in annual revenue and employed seven people. In January 2026, Connors accepted an acquisition offer for BluePrint from Atlanta-based Infinitee Communications. Employees kept their jobs, and Connors stayed on for seven months to ease the transition.

Reflecting on the last decade, Connors is proud of what BluePrint accomplished, and looking back, he sees another lesson in how it all started.

“There’s something to be said for just showing up. You never know where it might lead,” he said.