What does the name Hineni mean?

Hineni (הִנֵּנִי) is Hebrew for "Here I am." It is the answer Abraham, Moses and Samuel each give when they are called, in Genesis 22:1, Exodus 3:4 and 1 Samuel 3:4. The product takes its name from that answer, because saying yes to serve is what every volunteer does when they raise a hand.

Hineni was founded by Hayden Trepeck and Will Evans, two lay leaders at Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, where the idea was incubated. They and the innovation and technology experts working with them built it to remove the friction between people who want to help and the needs that go unmet. It is designed so lay leaders can carry the follow-up without adding work for staff.

CompanyAbout

Built by lay leaders who answer the call

In short

Hineni means "Here I am." It was incubated at Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, Florida, and designed and built by lay leaders and innovation and technology experts who are passionate about connecting people around meaningful Jewish experiences. Hineni is volunteer management software for synagogues, churches and community organizations, and every sign-up goes to a named lay leader who owns the follow-up.

Last reviewed 9 November 2026 by the Hineni team

Where did Hineni start?

Hineni was incubated at Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, Florida, a Reform congregation of about 2,100 households.

Its founders are lay leaders and volunteers at Temple Beth El, and they serve on task forces that advise on the congregation's mission. They saw willing people offer their time and expertise while community needs went unmet, and the tools they found recorded sign-ups without assigning anyone to answer them. They designed Hineni around the congregation's volunteer tables: each table has its own QR code, and every sign-up goes to the lay leader for that area. The same design serves any synagogue, church or community organization whose volunteering depends on lay leaders.

Who founded Hineni?

Hineni's two founders bring commercial strategy and design innovation to the problem of answering every volunteer.

Hayden R. C. Trepeck, MBA

Hayden is a Senior Vice President at DEX Imaging, where he leads commercial strategy and private equity value creation. His work centers on what he calls Integrated Commercial Operating Systems, which connect how an organization chooses its market, creates demand, converts it, delivers value and learns. He holds an MBA from the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. At Temple Beth El he serves as Brotherhood President. He lives in Boca Raton with his wife and their two sons.

William (Will) Haas Evans

Will is the founder of Fugue Strategy Advisors, a strategy and design innovation practice that advises boards and executive teams, and of ForesightOps, a publication and method for strategic foresight. He has spent about 30 years in strategy design, foresight and innovation. Earlier he was managing director of TLC Labs, a lean design innovation consultancy, Design Thinker in Residence at NYU Stern, and a co-founder of the LeanUX NYC conference. He is a Theory of Constraints Jonah and studied at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At Temple Beth El he serves as Hubbetzin.

What does "Here I am" ask of the person who says it?

In each of the three passages, "Hineni" is a person's answer to a call, given before they know everything the call will ask of them.

Abraham answers when God calls him in Genesis 22:1. Moses answers from beside the burning bush in Exodus 3:4. Samuel, still a boy serving in the sanctuary at Shiloh, answers in 1 Samuel 3:4 before he understands who is calling. A member who raises a hand at a volunteer table makes a smaller version of the same answer. The software is named for that moment, and it is built so the person who says it hears back.

Questions about the team behind Hineni

Sources

Genesis 22:1; Exodus 3:4; 1 Samuel 3:4
Founder profiles on LinkedIn, November 2026

Last reviewed 9 November 2026 by the Hineni team.

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