Young Entrepreneur Institute was founded by Greg Malkin in 2005 and launched its initial activities at University School in 2006. 

Greg Malkin, a serial entrepreneur who began his entrepreneurial journey in high school, founded his first major venture in 1983. He served as the president of this company, Technical Software, Inc., until selling the business to a public company in 2000. Greg was an Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist and for seven years in a row his company was a Weatherhead School of Management Top 100 Growth Company.

Greg believed that future generations’ success rests with experiencing entrepreneurship early in life, and that entrepreneurship education and experience can make subjects such as math and writing more relevant to students. He also believed that the intangibles necessary to become a successful entrepreneur – perseverance, hard work, managing adversity, overcoming failure, problem solving – directly mirror characteristics necessary for success in life.

With the generous support of University School, community foundations and organizations, Young Entrepreneur Institute expanded beyond University School in 2008 and now has partnerships hundreds of schools and organizations throughout the region and across the country. Most importantly, Young Entrepreneur Institute provides thousands of children with access to entrepreneurial education and experience.

Greg won numerous awards for his work with entrepreneurship education including the Teacher of the Year by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship; Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator by the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education; Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist; National Federation of Small Business (NFIB) Entrepreneur Educator of the Year; and the Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education by the Freedoms Foundation.

He retired as Executive Director of YEI in 2021 and continues to act as an advisor to the organization, serving as Chair of the Advisory Council.