Bronx Science student entrepreneur helps connect small businesses to merchandise producer – Bronx Times

Sebastian Merkatz caught the entrepreneurial bug at an early age and has launched a company that connects small businesses in the Bronx and across the city to a producer of custom merchandise.

Merkatz, soon to be a senior at Bronx High School of Science, was destined to be a business owner. As a child, he sold baked goods and lemonade to save up for things he wanted to buy, he told the Bronx Times. At age 7, he started a YouTube channel for sports news — and kept it up for three years. He resold shoes and clothes in middle school and hawked water bottles out of a cooler in Central Park.

Those early experiences instilled a “hustle mentality,” Merkatz, 17, said — which included a lot of learning along the way and “embracing failure.”

The idea for MerchMojo was inspired by the Bronx Science lunch period, Merkatz said. He and his fellow students loved Jay’s Food Truck, which sits outside the campus and was given a tribute in the school newspaper in 2023. Students wanted merch to show their support, but the business didn’t have anything, Merkatz said. 

Merch can be a hefty investment, especially for new owners, he said. Most are forced to buy a large number of products in a variety of colors and sizes without knowing how much of each they’ll actually sell, he said. Not only is this risky for owners, but unsold products may end up in landfills. 

MerchMojo’s brand ambassadors engage with business owners, who sign up for their “merch on demand” model — nothing is created until someone orders it. His company pays for blank items and printing costs and can also help businesses create a design or add to an existing one. 

They enter into a profit-sharing agreement for merch sold thereafter — and the business owner gets a larger cut of the profit, said Merkatz. The business receives a QR code for their online storefront and customers buy items from there. 

Today, Jay’s Food Truck is one of MerchMojo’s two Bronx clients — the other being Jerome’s Pizza and Pasta in Bedford Park — joining 14 more in the greater New York City metro area. 

The Bronx is “an ideal market for us,” said Merkatz — and small business in the borough is experiencing a strong post-COVID rebound compared to other parts of the city, according to a 2023 report by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. 

With more time to dedicate to the business this summer, Merkatz and his team are looking to scale up to more businesses throughout the city and surrounding area. He is especially interested in taking on farmstand clients, which he called a “really unique market” with loyal customers but typically no merch to offer. The team is also streamlining its signup process and reaching out to artists for potential collaboration.

Running and expanding a business as a high schooler is no easy feat — but Merkatz credits his supportive family and hardworking team for helping him manage the responsibilities. 

And with graduation coming in less than a year, Merkatz is looking to a future in politics, not entrepreneurship. He has interned with City Council Member Shaun Abreu and is now busy with college applications in addition to devoting himself to MerchMojo. 

Building a business is a “great creative outlet for me,” Merkatz said.

Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes