#24: Divine - The journey from going in and out of prison to Breaking Into Tech
Breaking Into Startups7 Helmi 2017

#24: Divine - The journey from going in and out of prison to Breaking Into Tech

A Newport-native, Divine started dealing drugs at 13, got incarcerated at 18, and found himself not only locked up physically in federal prison, but also, in a psychological cycle of recidivism. Always knowing he was bound to be more than that, Divine tapped into his spirituality, fortitude, and his quick grasp of knowledge and turned his 7-year sentence into a self-development workshop. Along with some help from his mentor, Divine was finally able to break out of his destructive pattern going from incarceration to innovation. From crack to rap to tech, Divine currently provides financial literacy and entrepreneurship education to people through his new startup BLAK Fintech (where BLAK stands for Building Leverage Acquiring Knowledge).

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#13: Elaina Koros - Content Strategist who hustled her way into Facebook

#13: Elaina Koros - Content Strategist who hustled her way into Facebook

With a huge appreciation for writing and journalism, Elaina Koros majored in Government and English Studies while attending Georgetown University. Today, Elaina works as a Content Strategist at Facebo...

3 Tammi 201737min

#11: Richard Purcell - Sales Director who worked his way up from an entry level role

#11: Richard Purcell - Sales Director who worked his way up from an entry level role

An East Coast native, Richard Purcell travelled cross country and courageously took the risk of taking an entry level job even though he was overqualified because it meant a chance to break into tech....

1 Tammi 201743min

#10: Melanie Araujo - Designer and Founder of Front & Center that helps people break into tech

#10: Melanie Araujo - Designer and Founder of Front & Center that helps people break into tech

A Boston-native and freelance designer, Melanie Araujo is the Founder of Front & Center, a company that helps underprivileged people break into tech through design. Prior to design, Melanie has a prof...

28 Joulu 20161h 4min

#9: Ben Creasy - Alaskan Government Official turned Software Engineer

#9: Ben Creasy - Alaskan Government Official turned Software Engineer

An Alaskan-native, Ben Creasy wanted to pursue engineering since a young age but due to health issues, he ended up getting a degree in Economics and Philosophy in Oregon. At 24, Ben held elected offic...

27 Joulu 201637min

#8: Neil Shah - Quit his Finance job to help Homeless folks get Jobs

#8: Neil Shah - Quit his Finance job to help Homeless folks get Jobs

A South Californian native, Neil Shah would never have thought that a walking tour of Tenderloin with Del Seymour could practically change his life forever as well as the many lives of homeless people...

21 Joulu 201656min

#7: Max Rencoret - Deep dive into Growth Marketing and building a product

#7: Max Rencoret - Deep dive into Growth Marketing and building a product

Max Rencoret grew up in Chile where he first got exposed to its education system, startup culture, economic climate, government and other things that led him to a career in Growth Marketing, where he ...

15 Joulu 201657min

#6: Nico Roberts - Consultant who became Head of Customer Success

#6: Nico Roberts - Consultant who became Head of Customer Success

Nico Roberts is the Head of Customer Success at OnboardIQ. Customer success is a highly important in any startup. It not only ensures client satisfaction and handling customer complaints, but it also ...

14 Joulu 201646min

#5: Meghan Schofield - How she became a UX designer coming from a traditional background in art

#5: Meghan Schofield - How she became a UX designer coming from a traditional background in art

Meghan Schofield is an Ohio-native who has an impressive knack for creative problem solving. Prior to her current role as a UX/Product Designer at infrastructure startup, CoreOS, Meghan worked in the...

11 Joulu 201650min