Every week, the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute elects a Startup of the Week. We then invite the founders of these startups to share a blog post with our community. These posts can be inspirational, educational, or entertaining. Founders can share founding stories, resources, lessons... anything they want, as long as it's from the heart.
---------
My name is Joshua Pierce and I am the founder and CEO of an education company called The Diversity Org.
I created this company, expanded it to 15 schools and partnered with YouTube’s “Creators For Change” initiative during my time at NYU. In the past, we were a company that facilitated high school assemblies focused on unconscious bias training. Our goal was to educate the next generation of college goers and workforce so that they can understand marginalized communities' struggles and consciously create more equality.
This was effective and inspirational work. However, during my entrepreneurial journey, I realized that although we were doing powerful work and that there was a demand for our programs, it was hard to measure the lasting impact of this. Plus, we were missing an entire demographic of students who needed programs the most, which were low-income schools who couldn’t afford our programs.
Therefore, we transitioned from an LLC to a nonprofit. We changed our target demographic to low-income students. We also changed our business model to be more measurable and sustainable. This will allow us to bring in substantially more revenue and make a more significant impact.
What Do We Do Now?
The Diversity Org hosts high school assemblies that educate low-income students on how to obtain corporate and high-income careers. We partner with nonprofits that provide college readiness, have students engage in skill based workshops at large corporations, and obtain internship placements with our corporate partners.
What's The Need?
Low-income students statistically choose college majors that lead to lower paying jobs and graduate college less often, thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty. - Georgetown University Center on Education and The Workforce
What Makes Us Unique?
We Are Them.
According to Forbes, Gen-Zers are influenced to make decisions by their peers. Our diverse team of accomplished and relatable millennials have influence online, are close in age, and come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds as the students we are reaching. - Forbes "Reaching Gen-Z With Influencer Marketing"
We Are Teaching Students:
- In-Demand Careers Of The Future
- How To Match Their Career With Their Personality
We teach the "Big 5 Personality Trait Model" and how to choose a fulfilling and high income career that best aligns with their personality. Behavioral scientists found that the better an individual’s personality fits with her or his occupation, the higher their income. - Association for Psychological Science
This work is not only more measurable, but most importantly, it's even more impactful. I was once a low-income student and I know if I had these types of resources and information I would certainly be more successful. Therefore, my team and I are using our knowledge and resources to partner with large corporations and make a positive change. I can't imagine leading a better and more fulfilling cause.
For more information about The Diversity Org and if you'd like to donate please visit our website.
If you'd like to know more about me, Joshua Pierce, the Founder and CEO, please follow me on Instagram @JoshuaPiercex
