With the first semester of the academic year already in full swing, it’s easy for students to feel overwhelmed. Maybe their problems stem from miscommunication with teachers or peers. Or perhaps they’re interested in studying abroad, but find the application process daunting. It could even be that they want some real world experience sooner rather than later and are itching to find the right mentor.
We spoke with three WeWork members who founded their companies with similar missions: helping students succeed and get the most out of their education.
WeThrive
What it is: WeThrive is an “entrepreneurial mentoring program” that connects college students with middle-school students in low-income areas. These teenagers get a taste of entrepreneurship by launching their own companies and donating profits to charities in their communities.
Who is behind it: Two years ago, Daquan Oliver was recognized as one of “Five Black Student Leaders to Watch” by the Clinton Foundation. Based in WeWork Promenade in Los Angeles, Oliver was born and raised in New York in a household headed by a single mother. When told he couldn’t have a certain toy when he was seven years old, he sold a stack of newspapers to neighbors. “Mind you, these newspapers are ones you get for free,” says Oliver. “Everyone in my community, they bought it for whatever price they could. So I did buy my toy. I remember thinking in my head, ‘I don’t really know what that was, but I’m gonna keep doing that.’” His next entrepreneurial effort? A “Pop-Tart franchise” Oliver started his freshman year of high school after selling his Halloween candy to a fellow student headed to the vending machine. “I should be the vending machine,” Oliver recalls thinking. He ended up selling $250 worth of Pop-Tarts a week, financing his cell phone, clothes, and dates. “That kind of approach—this is all that went into WeThrive,” Oliver says. “It made me aware that something like this could assist an individual in an under-resourced community to get from point A to point B.”
Biggest achievement to date: “Literally living a life that I could have barely imagined as a kid,” says Oliver. “As a kid, there was no one that I knew that was able to run a company full-time right out of college.”
Clientbucket
What it is: Clientbucket is an online platform that helps students, teachers, and colleagues share information. Whether it’s relaying details of an event, collecting answers for a survey, or writing, publishing, and exchanging articles, Clientbucket’s got you covered.
Who is behind it: Chinedu Chukuigwe is a Nigeria-born entrepreneur based in New York’s WeWork Chelsea, and he completely embodies that “early to bed and early to rise” mantra. He goes to bed by 10 PM most nights, waking up around 4 AM the next morning so he can accomplish his most important tasks by noon. He has to, with the ambitious goals he’s set for himself. “We’re going to transform the way colleges and universities do business,” Chukuigwe says. “In doing so, we’re going to make higher education truly attainable. We’re building tools that help universities provide access and support to students who wouldn’t otherwise get them.” Chukuigwe has a degree in biomedical engineering, but he looks at education as a lifelong pursuit. “You can get education inside and outside the classroom,” he believes. Case in point: only one of his college courses had to do with programming, so he didn’t remember much. To learn this skill, something he was dead set on, Chukuigwe says he “picked up programming through books.”
Biggest achievement to date: “I’m proud to be making an impact,” Chukuigwe says. “When all’s said and done, my work touches thousands of students across the U.S.”
Stage-Global
What it is: Stage-Global is an internship and traineeship provider for international students. In other words, it’s a “one-stop shop” for European students wanting to study in the United States, helping them lock down their internship placement, housing, visa, insurance, and more.
Who is behind it: Andries Bonneur, based in New York, is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 finalist. Originally from the Netherlands, Bonneur spent a year and a half abroad while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in international business, dividing his time between the Caribbean island of Curaçao, Minnesota, and finally Florida, where he launched Stage-USA, his first company. “This gave me the ability to experience firsthand just how difficult it is to intern abroad,” Bonneur explains. “Students are a major part of our future, so we open doors, making the world a lot smaller and much more accessible to them.” From WeWork City Hall, the Stage-Global team has even helped other WeWork members find great interns. What’s next? “We are going to create extensive international exchange programs in North America, Australia, and throughout Europe,” says Bonneur.
Biggest achievement to date: “There isn’t one specific thing because I am really happy every single time that we are successful at placing someone at a company,” says Bonneur. “I can say with confidence that the service that we provide to customers is extraordinary.”
Photos: Katelyn Perry