By: Jason Streiter ’17 and Andrew Vester ’17

Standing at an average height of 5’7” with short brown hair, Gary Perelberg ’18 might not stand out physically in the hallways, but he certainly stands out in his achievements. Perelberg is the founder of EasyCop, a computer program designed to give avid sneakerheads a leg up in purchasing limited edition shoes upon their release.
“There are limited sneakers and there are lots of people that want them. However, they make a lot less pairs than there are people that want them,” Perelberg said. “So my software simulates a human shopping online so that users can purchase shoes online faster than the average person could. In this way people can get shoes that would normally sell out in seconds; so I just sell licenses for it and I currently have over 3,000 customers.”
Perelberg got his start in programming as a freshman when he took Intro-to-Programming while concurrently teaching himself C-Sharp, a different coding language than the one taught at school. He later went on to take Web Programming and AP Computer Science in his sophomore year.
Nicholas Morgan, Perelberg’s computer science teacher for Intro-to-Programming, noticed Perelberg’s skill while he was in his early stages of learning, noting that he was a “strong programming student” and was “definitely in the top of the class.”
EasyCop combined two of Perelberg’s loves — sneakers and programming — into a business.
“As long as I’ve known Gary, he’s been a sneakerhead and loved programming,” Brynn Schumacher ’18 said. “His program combines two things that he loves and is having a ton of success with it.”
But passion alone is not what’s driven his success. Perelberg’s work ethic has been hailed by those who know him.
“Gary is a really smart guy who has definitely earned his success,” Alejandro Perez-Elorza ’18 said. “To me, and probably to most of Staples, whatever language he uses would be impossible to learn. He really deserves everything he has because of the immensely hard work he’s put into everything.”
Dylan Diamond ’17, creator of the myHAC and iStaples apps, added, “It’s great when people can make a difference through programming.”
Despite all his success, Perelberg still only sees his program as a stepping stone to later successes, calling EasyCop the “first-step” in becoming acquainted with the business world.
And although Perelberg might drive the most recognizable car at Staples—a BMW i8 that he purchased with his EasyCop money—he remains humble.
“I have a pretty cool sneaker collection,” Perelberg said. “I’m not special. I’m just a kid who’s worked really hard.”