CHYE Founder’s Circle Celebrates 10 Years of Service

By Zev Gotkin

Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs (CHYE) hosted their annual Founder’s Circle dinner Tuesday at Bison & Bourbon restaurant in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Marking CHYE’s 10-year anniversary, this invitation-only “Founder’s Circle Business Networking Evening” attracted a massive turnout of business owners, professionals, and supporters from the Crown Heights Lubavitch community.

“Over the past decade, it has been CHYE’s mission to inspire and foster a spirit of entrepreneurship and a can-do attitude in our community,” said CHYE founder, Rabbi Yehoshua Werde. “We’re grateful for our sponsors and to everybody who has supported us over the past ten years and this event was a great way to come together as a community and express our appreciation.

The flashy affair began with networking over hors d’oeuvres and tropical cocktails in Bison & Bourbon’s heated outdoor courtyard and large indoor space. A who’s who of Crown Heights business was in attendance rubbing shoulders, talking shop, and making connections.

The networking was followed by a stirring keynote speech delivered by Menashe Horowitz, CEO of B&H Photo, in which he shared wisdom from his years growing a majorly successful and internationally known brand.

The crowd listened, spellbound, as Menashe Horowitz shared interesting personal anecdotes, lessons he learned from retail and real estate and what each taught him about the other, and valuable take-home advice for all entrepreneurs.

Horowitz emphasized the importance of being obsessed with the customer and the value of doing the right thing that will benefit you for the long term even at the expense of short-term gains. He also reminded the audience that the Rambam taught the highest form of tzedaka is helping others earn a parnasa.

CHYE has played an instrumental role in helping people earn a living for over a decade.

Following the keynote, attendees were treated to a lavish Bison & Bourbon buffet dinner, featuring many of their signature dishes, such as BBQ chicken, brisket, tacos, salmon, desserts, and more, alongside an impressive array of colorful cocktails.

An award ceremony followed, which honored Crown Heights business leaders for their service to the community and their commitment to giving back.

Craig Swimmer, COO of Tilebar.com was presented with the Mentor of the Year award and Rabbi Moshe Wiener, Executive Director, Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (JCCGCI) was honored with Visionary of the Year.

Both honorees graciously accepted their awards, thanking everyone in attendance to much applause.

The evening concluded with a panel discussion entitled: “Building Wealth” featuring Saul Friedman, CPA, founder of Saul N. Friedman & Co, CPAs, Ruvin Levavi, Esq., Principal Advisor, and founder of Power Forward Group, and Aaron Pinson, CFA, founder of Equinum Wealth Management, moderated by Ari Marinovsky.

The panelists spoke about time-tested wealth creation strategies as well as common pitfalls to avoid. During the discussion, each of them deftly fielded questions about investing, the stock market versus real estate, interest rates, tax policy, investing in a down economy, the value of having a Financial Advisor versus relying solely on a computer algorithm, and putting one’s savings into a managed investment account.

Everyone in attendance walked away from the evening with inspiration, salient advice about business and financial planning, and hopefully some new connections as well.

Here’s what some in attendance had to say:

“CHYE is important to me because it’s the only organization in the community that supports people who need help and assistance with furthering their careers,” said Shaya Gorkin, founding partner of Ainsworth Gorkin PPLC, a commercial and civil litigation law firm based out of Lower Manhattan. “It’s an amazing organization that I’ve been following since the beginning when it first started. It’s been amazing to watch it grow and succeed, and to witness how many people it’s been helping within the community. Anybody who has the opportunity to help their community has an obligation, and a zechus to do so. CHYE is doing a great job of it and deserves your support.”

“There’s the idea of giving charity or putting food on somebody else’s table, but I find it valuable to support CHYE, because you’re helping people put their own food on the table,” said Levi Eckhaus, founder/CEO of Stock Your Home. “CHYE is creating young entrepreneurs and future business leaders, and to me, that is the greatest kind of charity you can give.”

“CHYE is about connecting people, bringing successful business leaders together with people just starting out so that those who have become successful can share their secrets with the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Yosef Levine, Managing Principal of Tech Par Group, and a sponsor of the evening’s festivities. “CHYE provides mentorship that opens doors for people, allowing them to progress in their careers and creates an ecosystem of goodness and wellness that supports the community.”