Founding a Family Business

It is not often a person finishes a meal hungrier than when they sat down. However, Stevens School of Business senior Aron Dyadyuk walked away from one family get-together with an unsatiable appetite for entrepreneurial success.

“We were sitting with our family at dinner, and my brother mentioned that the college process was overwhelming and lacked transparency. Specifically, he needed help with building out his resume, and he asked for my advice. I showed him the resume I used, and he said it would be nice if he could see the resumes of students accepted into the other schools he was interested in. I remember thinking that would be a great addition to the market because there's nothing like it.”

A year after that conversation in their Glen Rock, New Jersey, home, the business and technology major and his brother have turned the idea into a fully baked business. GetYourAcceptance is an online platform where verified college students upload their high school resumes and earn money each time it’s downloaded. High school students can access these verified, successful resumes with all personal information removed to understand better what a successful college application looks like, giving them valuable insights into their academic future.

“High school students, middle school kids, parents and others looking for more transparency in the college process come onto the website to better understand what it takes to get into their dream university,” Aron explained. “They can filter by university name, major, gender, race and all the other important criteria in the application profile. They can then download the resume for just a small fee. The college student gets paid for every download, so we are helping college students earn passive income and high school kids find transparency in the college process.”

The upload/download format was always the plan, but fine-tuning filters and the user experience took thought and research. Aron and his brother spoke with recently admitted college students, students currently going through the admissions process, and high school guidance counselors to better understand what would be most effective and valuable.

“There was a lot of brainstorming that went into the specific information you see on the website and the criteria that you're able to buy from a profile,” he said. “What is essential to have? For example, when a university admits an applicant, they look into specific things like where the applicant is applying from and what high school they attended. Then, I just tested the market. I think every startup and every co-founder thinks they have a great idea until the idea hits the market. Is there a market? Is there a demand? There's been a lot of resume submissions, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now.”

Once the number of resumes has grown, the next step is marketing to the resume buyers, the high school students. If the early demand is an indication, Aron has created a powerful new tool for college-bound students.

“I reached back out to my high school, and they were super thrilled about the idea,” he said. “They shared it with their guidance counselors to use it as a resource with juniors and seniors. I sent it through a bunch of different group chats with friends and parents, and people were taken aback by how simple of an idea it really is and that there's nothing like it out there.”

Helping students is not a new concept for Aron. When the pandemic hit during his junior year at Montclair Kimberley Academy, he founded a non-profit tutoring program called TeenagersCanHelp, which provided free one-on-one tutoring to children of front-line workers.

“I thought that sitting idly would only increase my frustration and fear,” Aron said. “I was baffled with the question of what I could do to help, as schools were closed, and students were sent home. I have three younger siblings, and I was grateful that my parents could care for us as their jobs went fully remote. However, essential workers had to show up to work, and they risked their lives to help keep us safe. As a result, I attempted to motivate and recruit like-minded teenagers and offer free online tutoring to the children of essential workers that have kept our resilient country going among this mayhem.”

The program soon took off, and TeenagersCanHelp had 185 tutors working with 205 students across 12 states.

Idling isn’t in Aron’s nature. In addition to his academic and business responsibilities, he has worked in the Stevens Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) and completed two summer finance internships. Beginning in July, he will be a full-time investment banking analyst in New York City.

In addition to being a great location close to his parents and younger siblings, Stevens proved to be the perfect environment to foster Aron’s energy, enthusiasm and determination.

“I knew I wanted to work in NYC, and Stevens is fantastic because not only do employers in the city constantly see the logo across the water, but any time you reach out to someone on LinkedIn to grab a coffee, you can be there in ten minutes,” he said. “The business school is also on a huge upswing. Every professional I talk to has been saying how loud the Stevens’ name is ringing. They are super enthusiastic about Stevens’ combination of technology with quantitative finance and how core analytical skills blend with economics and pure finance. Everyone here is competitive and ambitious, and that motivation is contagious.”

“You're surrounded by people willing to help you,” he continued. “You have a bunch of masters in the space an email away. Every professor will answer your email in less than 15 minutes. It’s unique to Stevens. I travel to different campuses and see my friends in huge universities, but it's hard for them to reach certain professors because of the number of students. Here at Stevens, because it's a smaller campus, I can reach out to anyone and have a conversation at the snap of a finger.”