About
Meet the people behind the table.
YEC is a founder peer council, established in 2012. Jessica Aiello and Drew Golub lead it today. Both sat at the table as members first.
Person first. Business second.
Since 2012
A council with history, built for who founders are now.
YEC began in 2012 as the Young Entrepreneur Council.
Its members grew up, and so did their companies. YEC needed to grow up with them.
Age is not a requirement. Where you fit depends on your company's stage, not age. YEC Next is for founders under $1M in revenue, YEC Core is for founders at $1M+ in revenue, and YEC Fellows is for members who have outgrown Core.
Jessica and Drew met here as members, years before they ran it.
In our words
Why YEC is built the way it is.
Somewhere in years of building, we both learned to perform the role: the face that says everything is handled. What we missed was not a better network. It was a place to be a person again, and not only an operator.
So that is what YEC is for. A table of founders carrying the weight you carry, who become your counsel and not your contacts. The work stays the work. You just stop doing the hard part alone.
If you know the quiet that comes with the altitude you have reached, you know why this exists.
Jessica and Drew
The people behind it
You join people, not brands.
Jessica Aiello
Head of Community and Vision
Her work has always come back to one idea: belonging. She has spent years building services for the deaf and hard of hearing community and serving on the boards of communities she believes in. She was part of YEC long before she led it, and she met Drew at the table as a fellow member. At YEC, she leads community and vision and co-facilitates YEC Next, holding the monthly check-ins with its founders. She shaped this version around a simple conviction. The best things are not built alone.
Drew Golub
Head of Strategy and Technology
An attorney by training, he has built and run companies across automotive parts, business liquidation, and tech, with nonprofit work alongside. He is the person who turns an idea into the thing that actually runs. He joined YEC as a member years before he helped run it, and met Jessica at the table. At YEC, he leads strategy and technology and co-facilitates YEC Next with Jessica, holding the monthly check-ins with its founders. He likes building, and of everything he has made, he says this one is a favorite.
Dragana Marković
Head of Member Experience
Dragana has spent her career bringing people together and making sure the experience lives up to the promise. From producing international gatherings for entrepreneurs to building teams and running her own business, she's always been drawn to the people side of operations. At YEC, she oversees the member experience, making sure that joining the community is just the beginning of something genuinely valuable. She believes the best communities aren't measured by how many people belong to them, but by the relationships they build and the reasons people choose to stay.