Media Release

Washington, Oct 3: Not too many 13-year olds have created their own websites. Yesh Naik, an eighth-grader at Pine Point School of America is one of the few.

Naik has had a longtime passion for business and economics, deciding to create a website that would assist those in his new London Country Community during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. His passion has bestowed over the past year, as he learned more about important economic concepts and engaged in discussions with teachers, classmates and family.

Naik attributes much credit to his school for its hands-on approach to education as well as a diverse curriculum. He pointed out that this is not a school project. Although his school may have influenced him, it was his own decision to start the project.

He tied all of these interests together by creating a website that assists small business owners and the self-employed in acquiring Payment Protection Programme (PPP) loans.

Naik first learned about PPP loans on the news, deciding to help because he realized that small business owners and especially the self-employed are in need of a loan but lack the financial literacy and connections with lenders to acquire one.

This sentiment is best reflected in the website’s mission statement of informing small business owners of the Paycheck Protection Programme in the time of the COVID-19 economic crises.

At first, Naik was worried that the business owners would not trust or want the advice of someone as young as him. However, he quickly realized that he could gain credibility and trust by providing enough information and making a strong enough pitch to gain their attention.

He got to work on designing the website using GoDaddy’s website builder, which allowed him to easily create the website. However, he faced some challenges in the customization of the website, as the software was slightly restrictive.

Naik hopes to build off his experience with his first website in order to be able to use more complex design software that will allow him more freedom in the design of the website.

In order to acquire the information needed to assist business owners on the website, Yesh began looking for strong sources. These included information released by the US Treasury and the Small Business Administration, as well as news articles from Forbes, CNN, NPR and other sources.

After around 100 hours of website development and planning, Naik was ready to launch his website. Information found within includes; a comprehensive PPP guide that gives accurate and detailed information regarding the PPP application as well as a database with news articles, government websites and FAQs.

Naik has gotten a few self-employed people their loans for an estimated total of $15,000. He began by reaching out directly to small business owners who were self-employed or sole proprietors who either worked or knew people who worked within him to work with people he knew and could easily meet in person or digitally.

One of these clients is Tim Grimes who lives in New London. Grimes calls himself 'a gardener on his (Yash Naik’s) family’s property. "I didn’t understand that there was money out there for my business.”

Another client is Art Cost of Cost Masorny LLC, who lives in Ledyard and comes from a family of stone workers. Some of his favourite jobs include building a large stone turtle and chimney for the Mohegan Sun retirement home and designing and implementing a large outdoor patio and fireplace at Mystic Indoor Sports.

Naik is not alone in this project. He has enlisted the help of local bankers and accountants to help advise him in his decisions, as well as answering any questions the clients have which he cannot answer himself. The team consists of Justice Wilcox from FML, a firm in Glastonbury, Yann Beaullan-Thong, an executive for Accsurant, a State Technology Solutions Company, and Rich Balestraeei, a commercial loan officer from Chelea Grotion Bank.

The feedback to Naik’s work has been mostly positive. Business owners have been appreciative of the information, forms and checklists that are provided within the website. He is currently working with five to 10 business owners.

What is next he states, “I am considering making a non-profit organization that helps small business with their finances better and help them use technology to organize, market, and increase overall productivity.” Naik’s website can be found at pppguide.org