To become a successful businessperson, you don’t always need to have years of specialized education and a lot of start-up capital. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration, a lot of desire and the support of your friends. This is the story we’re going to talk about in this article. We will tell you how a 17-year-old student from the Bronx founded a profitable business, inspired by an ordinary school food truck. Follow us on bronx1.one.
The young man’s entrepreneurial talent
Sebastian Merkatz is a future graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by history and math. At school, he has always loved statistics, problem solving and various calculations. Sebastian always wanted to have his own money and be independent. So from an early age, he was constantly looking for ways to earn and save money. Among Merkatz’s first startups were selling homemade pastries and lemonade, a YouTube channel with sports news, selling clothes and shoes and selling cold water in the park in the summer.
Sebastian enjoys spending time with his family, writing and playing music at the DJ booth and walking his dog. In the future, he sees himself working in government and business, striving to change NYC for the better and achieve significant success in his career. He is not just dreaming but confidently moving toward these goals. At the age of 17, Sebastian already interned in the office of New York City Council Member Shaun Abreu and became the owner and CEO of a successful and profitable company.
A business idea during a school break
For 14 years now, Bronx Science students have been fed by the always smiling and friendly Jay from his unchanging food truck. Every day, he parks near the school and prepares their favorite dishes for the children all day long. All the kids just love Jay. Despite the heavy workload and the chaos around his truck at every break, he never argues or yells, always tries to ask how everyone is doing and even remembers the special taste habits of many students. Some of them need their wings to be fried more, some like their burritos without sauce and some always take a double portion. Teachers run to Jay’s for coffee, and kids crowd the truck after every class bell. Everyone knows that even if you forget your money, you will always be fed and cheered up here.
Sebastian also enjoyed running to Jay’s house between classes to get some treats. He saw that every year it was getting harder for Jay to work. After all, such work, on the street, among children’s noise, in constant hassle, is very exhausting. He started thinking about how he could support Jay and help him earn more money. One day, he came up with an interesting idea, what if he made branded merchandise with his favorite food truck? He was sure that many children would want to get some kind of memento of their delicious school lunches. Moreover, it would be great to keep something in memory of Jay even after school.
Read more about the Bronx High School of Science in the article.
Project implementation
Sebastian started thinking about a business plan. He wanted to bypass the standard merchandising scheme, where business owners have to invest heavily in purchasing different products and branding. Even if you take the minimum set: cups, T-shirts and caps. This means that you need to buy a set of dishes, several items of clothing in different sizes. There is no guarantee that anyone will buy it at all.
So Merkatz decided that he should become an intermediary between the business owner and his customers who want to buy branded products. No one buys or prints anything in advance. Each merch item is made to order. How does it work in practice? The business owner signs a contract with Sebastian, or rather with his company, which Merkatz called MerchMojo. The entrepreneur receives a special barcode. If someone wants to order any branded item, they scan this barcode and place an order online.
After that, MerchMojo manufactures the product with the specified merchandise and delivers it to the customer (delivery and payment methods are also agreed upon in the online form). The profit from the sale is divided between MerchMojo and the business owner.
This way, entrepreneurs get additional sources of income, develop their brand and increase their company’s visibility at no additional cost. MerchMojo also earns a percentage. Sebastian’s first client was, of course, Jay. Stickers, T-shirts, long sleeves and hoodies with the legendary truck were flying like hot nuggets from the school food truck. At first, Sebastian barely had time to buy things and print images on them.
The second contract was signed with Jerome’s Pizza & Pasta. The following merchandise was chosen for them: caps, T-shirts and shopper bags.
MerchMojo has become a convenient merchandising platform that enables small businesses to develop their unique brands without increasing their costs.
Business expansion and future plans
The Bronx has become an ideal market for Merkatz’s new service. After all, small businesses in the borough are still recovering from COVID. These processes are slower here than in other boroughs, according to a report by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. There are also a lot of small and family-owned businesses in the Bronx, as large companies usually choose Manhattan or Brooklyn for investment.
Cooperation with MerchMojo does not require additional costs. That’s why Sebastian’s customer base expanded significantly very soon. Now there are 15 companies that order merchandise through MerchMojo. In addition to the aforementioned Jay’s Food Truck and Jerome’s Pizza & Pasta, the following companies work with Merkatz:
- Millport Dairy
Meat, dairy products, bakery products and organic eggs from their own farm.
- Greenpoint Fish & Lobster
Fresh fish and seafood, gourmet dishes from them, rare seasonings, sauces, as well as unusual dishes and various interesting accessories for cooking and tasting (for example, special bowls for shrimp and lobster scissors).
- Westsider Books
An authentic bookstore with high shelves that have to be reached by a special staircase. There are more than 40,000 books here, so everyone will find something to their taste.
- Lucien
It’s a small city bistro that’s always packed with people because the food is really good and reasonably priced.
- Mama’s TOO!
Delicious pizza and Neapolitan pies with a huge range of toppings and various additions.
- Chocolate Strawberry Co.
Delicious juicy strawberries in real Belgian chocolate.Â
- Casey Rubber Stamps
A unique shop with rubber seals and stamps that has been operating for over 40 years. Here you can make any product to order or choose something from a huge assortment.
- P.J. Clarke’s
An atmospheric pub with excellent cuisine and a refined interior in an old building dating back to 1884.
- Bigoi Venezia
A corner of real Italy in the middle of the Bronx. Here you can taste delicious pasta, pizza and other Italian dishes.
- City Coffee Bar
The cozy coffee shop, open from 7 a.m., serves aromatic coffee and delicious cakes.
- Union Pool
It is an interesting combination of a pool shop and a small bar. During the day, you can see a lot of athletes here, and in the evening a diverse crowd gathers to relax after a day’s work.
- Cubby’s
A small fast-food restaurant founded by a brother and sister. Delicious sandwiches and burgers, various snacks and ice cream.
- Jimmy Jims Deli
Another family-run cafe where a husband, wife and children prepare dishes based on their grandmothers’ recipes. They don’t use frozen food and make their own delicious pastries.Â
S. Merkatz is sure that this is not the final list of his partners. MerchMojo already has several employees: Jen Toth and Sophie Fain (artists-in-residence), Edward Powers and Oscar Allen (brand ambassadors) and Jack Boccara (vice president).
Read the article about business development in the Bronx in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries here.