BEDFORD, N.Y. - Austin Frankel has earned his seat at the table.
For the past two years, the high school senior from Bedford has spent his nights glued to his computer, teaching himself how to code and building something special. That dedication has now paid off with the launch of Seat Maker, a new iOS app designed to take the stress out of planning seating arrangements at parties, weddings, and other events.
“I remember being at social events where no one knew where to sit,” Frankel says. “It always felt awkward—someone would end up left out or at the wrong table. I thought something as simple as a seating chart could solve the problem. But the ones I found online were confusing and hard to use, so I decided to build my own.”
Frankel began working on the idea as a sophomore, slowly learning Apple’s programming language, Swift.
“I didn’t know anyone who could help me, so I relied on sites like Stack Overflow,” he continues. “By junior year, I finally had a version running on my phone. That was the moment it felt real.”
From there, the project took off. Frankel recruited a small team of interns to help with marketing and logistics, wrote business plans, and even navigated Apple’s strict approval process, which required several revisions.
“When Apple finally accepted the app this summer, it was one of the greatest days of my life,” he recalls. “I kept refreshing my dashboard and watching downloads come in—first from friends, then from people I’d never met.”
Within days of launching, Seat Maker climbed into the top 20 in its category on the App Store, eventually reaching number four. To date, the app has been downloaded more than 1,000 times—an impressive feat for a paid app.
What makes Seat Maker different is its focus on simplicity and fun. Users can upload contacts, import spreadsheets, and generate seating charts instantly. The app also includes playful features like randomized seating, colorful themes, and profile notes to make planning less of a chore.
“I didn’t want it to feel boring,” Frankel explains. “Even something like a family dinner can be more fun when you mix up the seating. And for bigger events like sweet sixteens, weddings, or office parties, it’s just a fast, easy way to get everyone organized.”
Balancing schoolwork with app development wasn’t easy.
“Junior year is tough for everyone, and I was taking rigorous classes,” Frankel says. “I’d split my time in half—part for studying, part for coding. My friends were shocked I could manage both, but I just kept making the app 1% better each day.”
Now, Frankel is looking ahead to college, where he plans to study business with a minor in computer science.
“AI is changing everything, and I think having both business and coding skills will be really valuable,” he concludes. “Down the line, I want to start my own company. Seat Maker is just the beginning.”
For now, the young entrepreneur is savoring the moment—and the success of turning a simple idea into something that’s making events a little easier, and a lot more fun, for people everywhere.
Seat Maker is available now on the App Store.
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