Before the pitch came the prayers.Then came the push-ups.
The Dev Difference’s Jovanay Carter huddled together with her cofounders, Jolene Bernagene and Myosore Okeremi, and teammate Kate Kim to pray and let out nervous energy. The team was poised to pitch to the judges in the finals of the 2024 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC), the social impact track of the University of Chicago’s nationally ranked business launch program.
It turned out to be a winning formula. The Dev Difference won the top prize of $70,000 at the Edwardson SNVC. Jointly hosted by the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation and UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the SNVC has helped jump-start more than 200 social ventures that have collectively raised more than $168 million.
The Dev Difference’s cofounders, who met at Dartmouth as undergraduates and who all have technical backgrounds, are acutely conscious of the lack of diversity in the tech sector, and its impact on products and services. Technical interviews, which test technical, behavioral and communication skills, are often the biggest hurdle for candidates with limited access to networks or training. The Dev Difference team says qualified candidates from underrepresented backgrounds get interviews, but often lose out on offers.
The Dev Difference provides AI-driven personalized mock interviews, building candidates’ confidence and improving the odds of an offer. Beyond the initial offers, the team’s vision is to build a pipeline of technical talent with diverse perspectives that can ultimately help shape products and drive strategic decisions in the industry.
Read the rest of the story at the website for Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, here.
