Letter From The Founders: Unlocking Opportunity

As we kick off 2019, we’re excited for the year that’s ahead. As a company, we feel that it is our mission to give people the opportunity to thrive, showcase their talent, and achieve something they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do because of lack of access. We’re trying to move the barriers that have historically been in place so that when there are all the required underlining attributes, skill sets and interest, there’s a clear path to flourish.

That’s why we’re focusing on “Unlocking Opportunity.” To us, it’s a reminder of what we’re seeking to do via our products, services and technology. It’s all that we work towards as a company, our North Star to understanding that if we do our jobs well, if we execute and deliver, we’re really impacting the course of people’s professional careers and hopefully their lives. The obvious opportunities we’re unlocking as a company are internships and jobs, but beyond that, there’s a psychological and emotional element, this idea that you can’t be what you can’t see. So by showcasing individuals who look like us, we’re allowing an “Aha!” moment of opportunity in general.

As for Jopwell, this year we’re trying to take on smaller companies who are starting their diversity journey and introduce diversity to them at their early stages as they scale. We’re excited and humbled by the opportunity to inject diversity into growing startups so that people of color have a voice in shaping the companies of the future.

When we started Jopwell, we would’ve loved to have more direct access to investors and people who could invest in the business. More direct access to mentors who could show us the ropes in terms of what it’s like to start a company, a network of people who’ve done it before, especially people who have done it before and look like us. We would’ve loved for there to be more exposure to a variety of careers so we wouldn’t have to follow a specific path early on without exploring our interests and strengths. The earlier you begin exploring career opportunities, the quicker you can start to narrow down what you’ll really thrive and be good at. It’s not just about trying to graduate from college and finding a job, but the sooner you start just by throwing your head in the ring for opportunities and applying for things that maybe have nothing to do with long term interests, the better position you’ll be at in each successive year, because that experience adds up.

That experience will make you more attractive to companies down the line, and hopefully there’ll be a thread that you can pull that will be the direction that you do want to explore. It would be a missed opportunity to not try to put yourself out there to be an entrepreneur, to be a freelancer, to be anything where you are taking ownership and creating something, and hopefully, being rewarded monetarily for that, especially in the early years of your career in college. It’s a huge missed opportunity because there’s no real risk if you “fail.” You’ll still be a student, or you’ll still have your day job. Think of yourself as an entrepreneur no matter what your career path is. However, make sure that before you dive head first, there’s some sort of support system that can help make you successful.

Here’s to a year of “Unlocking Opportunity,” more representation in the workforce, and pushing out of our comfort zones to achieve great things.