What inspired Porter Braswell to start Jopwell?

Porter Braswell was inspired by his own unusual path into finance, realizing that many others from similar backgrounds lacked access to such opportunities. Witnessing the lack of diversity stats revealed nationally in 2014 solidified his belief that a technological solution was needed.

How did Jopwell get its first customers?

Before building a platform, Jopwell's co-founders created a pitch deck and presented it to companies, securing tentative commitments (letters of intent) based on their proposed solution to the diversity recruitment challenge.

What was the initial team like at Jopwell?

The initial team consisted of Porter Braswell, his co-founder Ryan, and the first engineer hired from high school, alongside another additional hire. Notably, the first four employees were African American, reflecting a diverse founding team.

Why do underrepresented professionals need a platform like Jopwell?

For underrepresented groups, the odds of knowing someone within a company, especially in fields like tech with low diversity, are slim. Jopwell acts as a 'referral at scale,' providing a foot in the door and flagging candidates to companies that value diversity.

What changes has Porter Braswell seen in the diversity hiring landscape?

He notes that while conversations around diversity have increased, companies often lack specificity, calling it 'noise.' The intentional companies that align diversity with business sense and acknowledge demographic shifts are the ones making progress.

What is the key lesson Porter Braswell learned from Y Combinator?

The most significant lesson was that 'funding is an outcome of building a good business.' Focusing on traction, customers, and product value rather than solely on fundraising eliminates distractions and naturally attracts investors.

What are the biggest challenges for a CEO in a growing startup?

As a startup grows, the CEO must transition from being a peer to being a leader focused on clear vision, KPIs, and culture. This involves carefully managing relationships, providing feedback, and protecting their time to focus on strategic growth.

Key Moments

Funding Is an Outcome of Building a Good Business - Porter Braswell of Jopwell

Y Combinator

Science & Technology5 min read50 min video

Mar 21, 2018|3,857 views|78|3

YC Y Combinator Porter Braswell Jopwell Podcast Interview Hiring Recruiting Black African American Latino Latinx

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Jopwell CEO Porter Braswell discusses building a career platform for underrepresented groups and emphasizes that funding follows business success.

Key Insights

Jopwell is a career advancement platform specifically for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals to help companies diversify their applicant funnels.

The founders were motivated by the frustration of companies claiming a lack of diverse talent, believing they could create a scalable, for-profit solution using technology.

Porter Braswell's personal journey, from a childhood emphasizing specific careers to experiencing early access in finance, highlighted the unusual nature of his path and the broader problem.

Jopwell's initial 'testing' involved creating a pitch deck and securing 'flimsy yeses' from companies before building the platform, raising initial funds from friends and family.

Being a founder of color, especially in fundraising, presents unique challenges and requires a deep understanding of the problem to assert expertise and flip the script in investor meetings.

The core lesson from Y Combinator is that funding is an outcome of building a good business with strong traction, prioritizing customer needs over fundraising itself.

THE MISSION OF JOPWELL

Jopwell was founded to address the persistent issue of companies struggling to find diverse talent, particularly among Black, Latinx, and Native American professionals. The platform serves as a career advancement tool, enabling organizations to diversify their applicant funnels before hiring. The founders were driven by a firsthand understanding that the talent exists, countering the common excuse of a 'pipeline problem' by providing direct access to a significant pool of qualified individuals.

PERSONAL JOURNEY AND MOTIVATION

Porter Braswell's own path, influenced by his father's career and his own early exposure to finance through internships at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, revealed the privilege of his access. Despite a successful career in currency trading, he recognized how unusual his trajectory was. This realization, coupled with the growing national conversation about diversity in tech in 2014, spurred him and his co-founder to create a solution that leveraged technology to connect underrepresented talent with opportunities, aiming for both societal impact and a profitable business model.

FROM CORPORATE LIFE TO STARTUP LEAP OF FAITH

A profound personal experience, the passing of his cousin, served as an awakening for Porter, prompting him to re-evaluate his life's direction. He decided to leave his stable role at Goldman Sachs to pursue this vision. This decision was met with skepticism from his parents, who questioned his lack of technical and business experience. Driven by conviction and a belief in the solution, he took a leap of faith, prioritizing his passion and the potential for impact over traditional career security.

TESTING THE MARKET AND INITIAL FUNDING

Lacking technical expertise, the initial strategy focused on creating a compelling pitch deck to present to potential client companies. This approach, while unconventional, proved effective. By securing 'flimsy yeses' and letters of intent from interested employers, they demonstrated demand. This groundwork allowed them to raise $500,000 from friends and family within six weeks, enabling them to hire their first engineer and begin building the platform, effectively validating the business concept before significant development.

NAVIGATING APPLICANT DIVERSITY CHALLENGES

Jopwell acts as a referral at scale for underrepresented communities, bridging the gap where individuals may not know anyone within a company. By partnering with organizations that value diversity, Jopwell ensures that candidates are visible in the hiring funnel, moving beyond the 'black box' of traditional applications. This approach helps companies achieve a more diversified applicant pool, aligning with the growing business imperative for diverse workforces, which McKinsey and BCG studies show correlate with better financial performance and innovation.

IDENTITY, INNOVATION, AND BUSINESS IMPERATIVES

The conversation around diversity must be specific; simply stating a 'diversity challenge' is insufficient. Companies need to identify particular underrepresented groups, like Black, Latinx, and Native Americans, who remain highly underrepresented in corporate America. Embracing diversity, including differences in background, experience, and perspective, is not just a social good but a business necessity for innovation, relevance, and future growth, especially as demographic shifts make people of color the majority in the U.S. by 2040.

THE FUNDAMENTAL LESSON OF BUILDING A GOOD BUSINESS

The most critical takeaway from Y Combinator is that funding is a direct outcome of building a good business. Porter emphasizes a focus on traction, customer needs, and developing a product people want, filtering out distractions like the obsession with Demo Day. By prioritizing business fundamentals, companies naturally attract investor interest. This approach simplifies the fundraising process, turning it into a conversation about a solid, growing business rather than a desperate plea for capital, which is the true engine for long-term success.

EVOLVING AS A LEADER AND COMPANY CULTURE

As Jopwell scaled, Porter learned the paramount importance of company culture and leadership. Initially, managing smaller teams felt natural, but transitioning to larger groups required a shift from being a friend to being a CEO. This involved setting clear visions, defining KPIs, and making tough decisions while keeping the team motivated. He learned to protect his time, structure his schedule intentionally, and realize that his primary role is to guide the company's direction and maintain its cohesive culture, not just to be involved in every operational detail.

THE EXPERIENCE OF FOUNDING WHILE BLACK

Porter candidly discusses the distinct challenges faced by Black founders in securing VC funding, citing dismissive attitudes and a lack of representation in investor circles. He advocates for founders to leverage their deep knowledge of their target communities and problems as a source of power and credibility. By framing the discussion around the business opportunity and demonstrating expertise, founders can shift the dynamic, even in intimidating settings, turning investor skepticism into partnership.

THE SWEET SPOT: ENTRY-LEVEL TO MID-CAREER TALENT

Jopwell's platform excels in connecting entry-level to mid-career professionals (typically those with under 12 years of experience) with opportunities. While executives are present, the core strength lies in helping individuals at earlier stages of their careers. This focus allows Jopwell to guide candidates toward roles they might not have realized they were qualified for, broadening their career horizons beyond traditional paths and enabling diversification across industries like tech, finance, and consulting.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

Common Questions

Jopwell is a career advancement platform designed for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals. It aims to solve the problem companies face in finding diverse talent by diversifying their applicant funnels and connecting employers with qualified candidates from these underrepresented groups.

Topics

Business & Entrepreneurship Society & Philosophy Company Culture Talent Acquisition Startup Growth Venture Capital Diversity And Inclusion Founder Journey Recruitment Platforms

Mentioned in this video

Companies

Morgan Stanley

A multinational financial services corporation where Porter Braswell participated in a diversity internship program during high school.

Y Combinator

A startup accelerator program that Jopwell applied to and eventually participated in, providing valuable lessons on building a business.

Jopwell

A career advancement platform specifically for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals, designed to help companies diversify their applicant funnels.

A professional networking platform that candidates might use to apply for jobs, contrasted with Jopwell's approach of providing a more structured referral system for underrepresented communities.

Goldman Sachs

A global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm where Porter Braswell worked before founding Jopwell.

Organizations

Techstars

A global network of startup accelerators that Jopwell applied to but did not get into, which the founder reflects on as a fortunate setback.