Our Founders

Mordechai and Chaya Mushka Ben-Shabat

Who are we? Very simply, we’re parents who grew tired of an outdated educational system.  We are entrepreneurs at heart, business owners who have traveled the world to conquer near and far.  But all the success in the world means nothing if your own children are struggling. We are grateful for everyone who has worked to support our children.  This isn’t about trying to make sure your kid has a good teacher. This mission is about shaking up the entire system and helping to usher in a new era in education.  We are no longer willing to allow antiquated educational philosophies to fail our children.  It’s time to think outside the box.  It’s time to live outside the box.  No, it’s time to realize that children were never meant to be in a box to begin with.

And how come, in today’s world, where resources are so readily available, and Jews are experiencing abundance like we haven’t seen in 3000 years…how come thousands upon thousands of parents feel forced to send their kids to non-Jewish schools in order to get an excellent education?!  We are on a mission to create a reality where Jewish education is the benchmark for the rest of the world.  Why?  Because G-d’s chosen people should have the best in order to become their best.

 

Chaya Mushka’s story:

Chaya grew up in Texas with no connection to Judaism and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing.  After a few years in corporate banking, she was accepted to a prestigious private school in Dallas and started her post-graduate studies.  But driven by a hunger to rise above the status quo, she began to examine other possibilities.  She realized that if she could overcome the peer pressure of conformity, she could actually take control of her life and shape her own destiny.  So, despite criticism and peer pressure, Chaya left her MBA program halfway through completion to pursue life as an entrepreneur.

In the few years that followed, she built a successful business of her own in sales and marketing and began to coach other female entrepreneurs to do the same.  She held workshops and seminars throughout North America, produced personal and professional coaching resources, and wrote a weekly eColumn to over 12,000 personal clients.  But as her professional life took off, her personal life began to crumble.  Her 11-year marriage ended, and she became a single mother to her then three-year old son.  At the same time, she was led on a roller coaster journey to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, where she discovered her Jewish roots.

In the few years following, she turned her life completely upside down to become a Torah-observant Jew amidst rebuilding her personal and professional life from the ground up.  This season of life forced her to really hone the skills of positive thinking, abundance mentality, creative problem-solving, resilience, and refusing to settle for anything less than your ultimate life vision.  Chaya then remarried and spent several years traveling the world with her husband and son to help run a global family skin care business.  She has extensive experience in marketing, sales training, communications, branding, leadership, professional development, and strategic planning.

Amidst her travels and business ventures, Chaya Mushka began devoting a good portion of her own time to teaching, coaching, and mentoring young women around the world in personal development.  She helps them to learn and master the critically important, yet often grossly underestimated life skills that are required to thrive in today’s environment. Time management, emotional management, communication skills, goal setting, nutrition, and long-term planning are just a few of the topics she teaches.

Chaya first became involved in grade-school education while trying to find solutions for her own son who was quickly labeled as an “out of the box” learner.  She began digging in to the global educational landscape and was appalled at the extreme disaster that is modern-day schooling.  After six years of searching for solutions, researching the industry, and trying her best to stay comfortably on the sidelines, she realized she could no longer remain a bystander.  She feels it is her basic moral obligation to help revolutionize education for all children, simply by bringing together a global tribe of like-minded people who insist on excellence for the next generation.  Chaya says that the inner dimensions of Torah still change her life daily, and she is passionate about empowering others to shine their own special light.

 

Mordechai’s story:

Mordechai was born and raised in Israel, then moved to the USA after finishing his service as paratrooper in the I.D.F (Israeli Army). He immediately went into business for himself and built several successful partnerships very quickly.  He is a founding partner of Seacret (www.seacret.comand www.seacretdirect.com), a global skin care and nutrition company that operates in over 40 countries around the world. Under his leadership, Seacret has grown to $1.7 billion in sales over the past twelve years, and over $200 million last year alone.

Among other ventures, he also founded a real estate development company with a group of partners, and from 2005 to 2007 they bought over 2000 apartments, over 100,000 square feet of office space, and a PGA-rated hotel and golf resort.  But after the real estate crash of 2008, their development company was forced to sell most of the properties, and the partners were forced to rebuild everything from scratch. This massive blow became the motivation that fueled much of the global expansion through their skin care company.

Mordechai has a proven track record in starting new businesses and building them from a seedling idea into a profitable operation. He also has extensive experience in international expansion and global operations, including accounting, finance, compliance, legal negotiations, IT management, and strategic planning.

In 2010, after a divorce and massive life evaluation, Mordechai began his journey back to Torah.  He worked very hard to expand his global businesses while still investing hours upon hours learning Torah extensively.  He has learned that life isn’t intended to be one versus the other.  Instead, he embraces the commandment to make a point of bringing godliness into the daily activities of business and family dealings, and not sacrificing one for the other.

He now splits his time between overseeing his business ventures, spending time with his family, learning Torah, serving others with a big smile, and sharing his passionate love of Hashem and the Rebbe with everyone he meets.

 

With great privilege comes great responsibility.  We have a lot of work to do.  Come join us and let’s change the world together, one awesome kid at a time!

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