Jeff Laub (CAS ’06), Co-Founder of Blind Barber, Shares How His Quarter-life Crisis Helped Inspire his Expanding Business

Jeff Laub is passionate about creating experiences and building communities. He opened Blind Barber in 2010 as an East Village neighborhood barbershop with a hidden speakeasy bar. In the past ten years his business has grown to 7 locations across the country in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami Beach and Philadelphia and includes a line of signature grooming products. We sat down with him to find out what drives him and what advice he’d like to share with NYU students.


What did you study at NYU?

I was a History major. I thought I was going to be a lawyer, so History seemed like the appropriate subject matter. Prior to social media, creative endeavors and options other than becoming a doctor or a lawyer weren’t as prevalent. Pursuing a career in law was something I thought I should do, even though I didn’t have a real passion for it. 


How did your education at NYU shape what you do now?

NYU was transformative for me and pushed me to be the person I am now. The city itself, the energy and the diversity at NYU were the most impactful for me in shaping who I am now. The community that was fostered within NYU was exceptional. It felt like everyone was there with the intention to meet new people and to really open their minds. The university encouraged us to explore our passions together. It was refreshing to be in an environment that encouraged that type of collaboration and community. Now my entire business is based off of building community.

Jeff Laub: his story continues

Emilia Klayn (GSAS ’08), the Voice of the Bulgarian Award-winning Short Film “Tasks of the Day”

Credit: Tuk-Tam

Emilia Klayn has leveraged her passion for cinema, literature, the arts, culture, and media into a career in voiceover work, acting, interpreting and translating. She voiced the Bulgarian submission for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film this year, “Задачи за деня/Tasks of the Day” which won the IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival in 2019.

Emilia also works in the communications industry in Bulgaria, in corporate communications, public relations, public affairs, media relations, employer branding, event management, sponsorship and CSR. She is currently working as a Communications and Communities Manager for Tuk-Tam, the biggest community for Bulgarians who have studied and worked abroad. 

What did you study at NYU?

I graduated with an M.A. in French Studies and French from the Department of French Literature, Thought and Culture and the Institute of French Studies at the Graduate School of Art and Sciences, which is the most comprehensive American academic complex devoted to the culture of France. The program takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of modern and contemporary France and francophone countries through the lenses of culture, language, literature, history, art and society.

Emilia Klayn: her story continues