{"id":219429,"date":"2026-05-04T16:42:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219429\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T16:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:42:34","slug":"get-the-puck-up-by-jarrett-yousefzadeh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219429\/","title":{"rendered":"Get the PUCK Up by Jarrett Yousefzadeh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jarrett Yousefzadeh is a Great Neck resident, holding the middle spot between two sisters. Their parents. Michele and Shawn own and operate the very successful Michele Lynn Jewels (ML Jewels) at 79 Middle Neck Road, in town.<\/p>\n

No surprise, Jarrett has plenty of business and design savvy in his DNA.<\/p>\n

Jarrett\u2019s background fits a recognizable pattern, but with his own spin. As a second-generation Persian American, like many children of immigrants, Jarrett observed his older family members building a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching my parents at work definitely shaped me,\u201d he said. \u201cNot in a pressured way\u2014just seeing what\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given all the attention to AI, Jarrett is aware that where previous generations leaned toward stability, he and his peers are sometimes compelled to move in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cA job you grind for today might not exist in two years,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cWaiting for stability feels riskier than building something now.\u201d<\/p>\n

This perspective feels increasingly common among younger founders. They\u2019re less interested in traditionally linear paths and more willing to experiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need a head start, said Jarrett, \u201cYou need a mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are an era obsessed with optimization\u2014sleep scores, cold plunges and morning routines. But -the first and biggest obstacle to start the day might be just this: getting out of bed.<\/p>\n

Back in October 2025, Jarrett\u2019s routine as a Hofstra University freshman was a daily stress test: To be on time for an 8 a.m. class required a 7:15 a.m. departure from home, predicated upon a 6:30 am alarm that was routinely ignored.<\/p>\n

Like many, Jarrett negotiated with (against) himself, barely awake when his alarm sounded to snooze and delay. Then he would get on his apps and social media. The term used by experts, describing teens through their twenties inability to get off their phone and \u201crise and shine\u201d is doom scrolling.<\/p>\n

Get this: the natural extension of that is called bed rotting. It has come to this, humans.<\/p>\n

To be clear, though, it\u2019s not just laziness or lack of discipline\u2014there are a few powerful forces working together that make it genuinely hard to stop sleeping and\/ or scrolling and get out of bed. First, the brain is getting rewarded by dopamine, apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are designed to trigger dopamine, the brain\u2019s reward chemical.<\/p>\n

Also, unlike a TV show with an ending, there\u2019s no natural stopping point. Teenagers naturally have a later body clock. Early school start times often leave them sleep-deprived, making it physically harder to get out of bed. When kids, in particular, wake up, especially during deeper sleep cycles, they experience something called sleep inertia\u2014a sluggish, foggy state. Scrolling is easier than getting up, so they default to the low-effort activity.<\/p>\n

And get this: If a student is anxious about school, social pressure, or workload, staying in bed scrolling becomes a form of avoidance. It\u2019s not
always conscious\u2014it\u2019s just easier than facing the day. All the above become a cycle, called a habit loop.<\/p>\n

Unable to bounce out of bed in a single bound, Jarrett set out to fix his mornings. \u201cMy inability to get up and out the door was affecting everything,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cNot just my mornings\u2014my entire day.\u201d As he looked around, he came to the realization that it wasn\u2019t a personal failing. Many of his contemporaries faced the same problem.<\/p>\n

So Jarrett did what comes naturally to his family: he identified a concept, then designed the solution. Namely, an app that allows its users to score the first real win of the day. Wouldn\u2019t you know, Jarrett\u2019s app is backed by science.<\/p>\n

Jarrett invented PUCK, an app you can download to your iPhone that pairs with a small puck, a device placed away from your bed before you retire to sleep. When your alarm activates in the morning, it won\u2019t stop ringing until you actually walk over to the PUCK, and tap your phone against it.<\/p>\n

The physical act of moving rewires your brain to get out of the habit loop. Resulting in: No snoozing. No shortcuts. No negotiations.<\/p>\n

Aside from its alarm function, PUCK also helps build a real morning routine, assists with sleep hygiene, tracks your bedtime and monitors your patterns over time. There is also a Learn function that dims your alarm volume and serves you a fun factoid or quote to ease you into the morning.<\/p>\n

It took Jarrett five months of back-and-forth and plenty of endurance to get PUCK just right. There were stretches where progress stalled and motivation dipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment I fixed one thing, something else would break,\u201d he says. \u201cFeatures I thought were completed had to be rebuilt from scratch,\u201d leaving Jarrett scratching his head. Still, he kept going: \u201cQuitting wasn\u2019t an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with PUCK, the whole point is personal accountability and Jarrett stayed on track. \u201cYou can\u2019t cheat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, balancing a full-time student schedule and the startup life was rough. \u201cThe biggest sacrifice was, ironically, sleep. There were nights I couldn\u2019t shut my brain off,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cAll I could think about was researching, beta testing, and getting this out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, support from several Hofstra faculty helped steady the process. They were engaged, encouraging, always offering to lend a hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of validation, especially from people who have seen countless student ideas come and go,
mattered.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis started as a passion project,\u201d Jarrett said, \u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking about revenue, but that changed as the product matured. \u201cI want PUCK to be recognized. I want to build something that lasts.\u201d PUCK is live on the App Store, with a growing fan base of actual users. Jarrett is proud that PUCK has a content creator affiliate program in place, active sales partnerships, targeting corporate gifting channels for larger scale distribution.<\/p>\n

To learn more about PUCK, visit <http:\/\/puckalarmclock.com ><\/p>\n

To take a page from Jarrett and be the next founder, ask ChatGPT for some tips and pay attention to the entrepreneurs around you.<\/p>\n

Remember, to be a successful entrepreneur, it takes grit and a deep understanding of the problem. While a compelling backstory helps, a strong business model is required to resonate with the masses and turn a profit.<\/p>\n

Be mindful too that sales numbers and growth trends matter most to scale a business. So, did you understand the assignment, young grasshopper? Identify a need, and then go fill it. You just might be onto the next big thing. If you must convince people they need it, though, you\u2019re already in trouble!<\/p>\n

Janet Nina Esagoff founded Esagoff Law Group PC, at 100 Middle Neck Road (2017). Prior to the practice of law, she created fashions for girls and teens at Party Girl, 3A Bond Street (1997\u20132005). In 2021, she launched Destination: Great Neck Ltd.. a 501(c)(3) dedicated to unifying and celebrating the Great Neck community. Follow @greatneckbiz on Instagram, Facebook, and other\u00a0media\u00a0platforms.<\/p>\n

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