The entrepreneurial spirit shared among the YULA Boys Division student body has been on full display since the beginning of the pandemic. From concession stands to tech startup companies, YULA students are launching their own businesses to much success.

As YULA boys spread out across the Robin Family Plaza at breakfast, students are faced with a long line in front of Etai Turgeman’s (‘22) grilled cheese stand, set up near the school’s front gates. Each morning Turgeman sends out an online order form to the students and operates four grilled-cheese makers at the center of the Robin Plaza. Throughout break-fast time, Turgeman can be seen fulfilling special, grilled-cheese orders with jalapenos, tomato paste, tuna, and sriracha sauce. “The more work you give the computer, the less work you do yourself,” Turgeman says. “That lets me focus on making as many sandwiches as I can to serve student customers.”

On the other side of the Plaza, students will find Yosef Levi’s (‘22) bagel business. Bagels, cream cheese, Nutella, fresh veggies, three toasters, and occasionally lox leave students with deliciously difficult decisions to make about how best to enjoy their breakfast. “I saw a great opportunity to capitalize on the breakfast rush, so I took it without hesitation,” Levi says.

In addition to the breakfast entrepreneurs, Aidan Stephen (‘22) and former YULA student Eli Plotkin (‘22) founded YapPolitics, a political debate platform. The duo’s creation won second place at YULA’s L’Chadash Innovation Challenge at the onset of the pandemic. This past summer, Stephen and Plotkin raised over $80,000 for the company and beta tested their app on a large scale. Stephen describes YapPolitics as a “platform which provides users with a new way to debate politics online by bridging the divide between the diverse affiliation sets that make up the American political spectrum.” They continue to expand their company by developing new features for the app and making the user experience as friendly and welcoming as possible.

YULA also encourages students to engage in entrepreneurship through various academic courses. Brendan O’Malley, a new member of YULA’s faculty, teaches the Creativity and Business Innovation class, where he helps students work towards making their dream business idea a reality. Of his students’ projects, O’Malley is most excited about “Dan Dan’s Foods, a line of vacuum sealed, local, Kosher certified packed lunches; and MD Productions, a visual arts business with over 100 clients in Los Angeles & New York. [They] have hit the ground running going to market.”

If a student wants to create a tech-related business, YULA also offers an Advanced Programming with Business Application course. Students can create a business, but also gain the necessary skills for managing websites, apps, or any technical aspects of their business.