I didn’t think that joining BBYO would lead me to build a top-ranked iOS app, but that’s exactly what happened. I’m the creator of (Seat Maker), a seating chart arrangement app that helps people contact their friends with preplanned seating charts at events. Here’s my story...
My name is Austin Frankel, and I am a rising senior and Mazkir of the Hudson Valley Region. I first joined YO in 9th grade because my parents forced me to find a connection with Judaism. I agreed to go, once. Then I went, again. And again. The moment I met my brother Alephs and sister BBGs, I fell in love with a community which I now refer to as my second family.
I still remember my first winter convention like it was yesterday. Specifically, though, I remember meals - they were absolute chaos. Everyone was texting, yelling across the room, and circling the dining hall trying to find their friends. At that moment, I thought to myself, what if there was an app that created a seating plan in seconds? I knew there were websites out there, but they were impractical and way too complicated. I didn’t have the time or patience for that.
That night, sitting in my hotel room, I pulled out the pen from the nightstand and sketched out the first version of Seat Maker on the hotel notepad. I barely knew how to code, and had never built an iOS app before, but I was ready to learn.
BBYO helped me more than I can explain. As Rakkaz and an International Convention Steerer, I learned how to plan big events, market ideas, and actually make things happen. From Mossad AZA members, who were future computer science majors, to people I met from around the world, BBYO gave me the confidence and community to foster relationships to help me succeed.
This week, I just launched my Seat Maker app and, to my surprise, within the first twenty-four hours, it ranked #4 in the country for Lifestyle apps. Aside from the rankings, I had just achieved a feat that I would never have been able to do if it were not for BBYO. This community taught me how to think creatively and how to believe in myself. And now, I am positive, this is only the beginning.
Austin Frankel is Aleph from Mossad AZA #2558 of the Hudson Valley Region and created a top-ranked iOS app called Seat Maker
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
