Mahika Ralhan ’26
Over the past couple of years, three seniors have taken initiative to start their own businesses. These students have turned their hobbies, including barbering, reselling apparel, and making jewelry, into entrepreneurial endeavors.
Beginning in the summer following his junior year, Jaden You ’23 partnered with Miles Zhou, a senior at The Shipley School to create a barbering business called Joyocuts. Explaining how the idea came to fruition, You states, “One of our friends wanted to grow their hair out, but a lot of the times when you go to the barber, they cut off too much, so my other friend started cutting our friend’s hair and that just grew into cutting more people’s hair. Eventually, it grew into a business.”
To develop Joyocuts, You and Zhou promoted their business through social media. “The thing that’s helped us grow the most has been word of mouth. A lot of people have approached me talking about videos they had seen on Instagram or Tiktok. I think the student population is really open to it and really supportive,” comments You.
Photo courtesy of @joyocuts on Instagram
Ishan Bhattacharyya ’23, a client of Joyocuts, comments on the growth of the business, saying, “When it started, I heard that it was a hobby of theirs, but over time, especially through social media it became a huge business. They make Instagram posts for everybody, and they reach out to other schools as well. Just through social media and connections, interpersonally, I think that way of growing is how they’ve become so widespread.”
Fellow senior Alec Tsaturyan ’23 started his business of reselling shoes and clothes at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. He states, “I started doing some research on things that I could possibly do, and so I just went with my passion, which was clothing and shoes. I got really into that, and I started buying exclusive clothes and shoes that came out that were limited. I would buy them, and then I would mark them up for a new price and resell them.”
Similar to You, Tsaturyan leveraged digital platforms to publicize and expand his business. “I made a web page, Instagram account, and eBay account. I just kept going with what I was doing and started not only buying shoes from the websites, but I also started buying them from people as well as investments. I thought that it was really interesting, and it just kind of took off,” he adds.
Although he is the sole leader and operator of his business, Tsaturyan acknowledges the resources of EA and the support of the community, saying, “If I had wanted to reach out to faculty or my friends for help, I would have definitely done it, and EA is the perfect place for that, but my business was pretty self-explanatory and simple.”
Like Tsaturyan, Riley Thibodeau ’23 also developed her idea for a jewelry-making business called RKTjewelry over quarantine. Describing the growth of her business, Thibodeau remarks, “I decided to make an Etsy shop, and it was initially to fund more beads to continue my hobby. I started getting a bunch of sales, so from that, I started making more jewelry, and it became a whole business, and now it’s kind of my source of income. I make a bunch of different types of jewelry—necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.”
Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf ’23, a client of RKTjewlery, says, “It’s interesting to see her from the beginning to where she’s at now, where she’s making money and has a bunch of clients. I think it’s also cool because she’s a very artistic person, so it’s fun to see her channel her creativity into a productive business outside of school.”
Thibodeau’s business was inspired by her passion for several types of art forms, and she decided that jewelry was the “ideal art form” to pursue. She states, “I love creating, I love painting, and I was just experimenting with different types of art. My paintings were just going to sit in my room, and I can’t do anything with that, but I liked that when I was making jewelry; I could wear it out and kind of display my art and give it to other people that they could wear.”
Witnessing the development of these businesses, other students in the EA community feel motivated to start their own. Ryann Newcomb ’26 believes, “Starting your own business is a great opportunity to explore entrepreneurship. It is inspiring that these businesses are student-led, and it inspires me to want to take action on my passions.”
Steve Schuh, an Upper School Economics teacher and faculty advisor to the Economics Club, shares his perspective on student-led businesses at EA, saying, “I think it’s a great idea, particularly since high school students are at a time in their lives where they’re not influenced by some of the skepticism or cynicism of the real business world, and it provides a real opportunity to go carve your own path and find your own thing.”