The entrepreneur turning phone-free parties into a business

Silberman’s business model emerged from a moment of parental frustration. After successfully collecting phones from her son’s friends at his own bar mitzvah—a move that proved easier for a neutral third party than a parent—she realized the demand for a curated, screen-free experience. She positioned the service not as a disciplinary measure, but as an elegant upgrade to the event experience. To soothe parental anxiety, she provides an emergency contact number and offers disposable or digital cameras to guests who surrender their smartphones.

The venture has expanded from Miami into New York and beyond, covering everything from celebrity gatherings to school dances. Surprisingly, the strongest advocates for the service are often the teenagers themselves. While they struggle to set boundaries with peers, they recognize the social strain of screen-obsessed gatherings. Silberman recalls a simple moment at a quinceañera where two boys played catch with a water bottle, laughing for the duration of the event. She maintains that these small, analog interactions define the success of her work, proving that guests are often relieved to trade their digital tethers for genuine engagement.