Nibletz Staff
1) What’s your startup called?
Raise Your Flag
2) What’s your big idea?
Approximately 45% students in Canada and the US go to work as their primary post-secondary destination. These kids leave school feeling like they failed the system. What if we celebrated the school-to-work pathway the same way we celebrated opening a college acceptance letter?
Raise Your Flag helps work-bound students find a job that’s connected to a career path they’re excited about and helps them find companies that could hire them.
Raise Your Flag allows work-bound students to declare their post-secondary pathway and celebrate the possibilities.
3) What’s the story behind your idea?
For the past 8 years, I’ve been traveling speaking to high school students (over 750,000 to date) and wrote a book to help them make decisions about their post-secondary lives (http://www.amazon.com/Make-
3 years ago I was speaking at a conference for work-bound students. After my presentation a student named Michael came to introduce himself. Chin-quivering, he thanked me for being there and then told me that none of his friends or family knew he was at the conference. When I asked “why?”, he responded, “do you have any idea how embarrassing it is when all of your friends are opening college acceptance letters and you’re the loser in the corner not knowing what you’re doing with your life?”
Raise Your Flag is built for Michael and the MILLIONS of students just like him.
Michael deserves to be excited about his pathway.
4) Who are the founders?
Ryan Porter + Scott Walkinshaw
5) Where are you located?
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
6) What’s the startup scene like there?
Strong. We have some great companies up here doing great work and building companies that are changing the way things are done. Toronto was ranked world’s 8th Most Active Startup Scene: http://www.betakit.com/
7) What milestones have you reached?
Accepted and completing JOLT accelerator program, v2.0 launch, confirmed our first major national employer partner (announcement coming soon), earning revenue.
8) What are your next milestones?
Announcement of more major partners, US expansion, hiring employees 1, 2 and 3 and raising a round of funding.
9) Where can people find out more?
Kyle
