The “Linkedin for youth”.
By Jessica Schimm (Digital Audience Engagement, Women 2.0)
Our HowTo conference is less than 18 days away! The full lineup of PITCH finalists has been released, but we wanted to introduce you to each finalist and their co-founders. Our next finalist is helping connect youth with the workforce.
Meet Rock Your Block.
Company Description
Rock Your Block is a job and career development platform for youth ages 13 to 24 years old, working to become the “LinkedIn for youth” and crush youth unemployment around the world. Globally, there are 75 million unemployed youth. In the US alone, by 2025, 50% of our workforce will be of the millennial generation, yet they currently have record high unemployment rates today. We are changing this by connecting youth with meaningful job experiences in their communities and helping them build their first resumes.
Meet the Founders
Sarah Young, CEO
Sarah grew up working every odd job and part-time job imaginable: walking dogs, babysitting, working at a local bakery…you name it! As she grew up through the evolution of the Internet and watched services like LinkedIn and Monster emerge that were targeted toward adults and professionals, she wondered why there was no solution for the most tech savvy generation of job seekers–youth! She saw a huge market opportunity, and decided to pitch the idea at Startup Weekend Twin Cities 2010, where the company got its jumpstart. Sarah is passionate about working with youth and giving them the opportunities they need to begin a successful career path. She is very involved in the entrepreneurial tech community in San Francisco. Her experience in the technology industry includes mobile marketing, B2C applications, SaaS applications, M2M solutions, and channel management for technology products. She graduated from the Carlson School of Management in 2010.
John Hibscher, CTO
John has over 25 years experience as a senior programmer, with previous roles at MindWare, and Apte, Inc. He has built games and interactive tutorials on Windows, MacOS and Wireless platforms. John is the founder and organizer for the Twin Cites iPhone Developers Group, which has over 500 members. His development skills include PHP, .NET, SQL, HTML/CCS, JavaScript, Objective C and an array of other programming languages. John graduated from Northwestern University in Computer Studies.
Caryn Evans, Community Outreach Director
Caryn brings over 20 years of teaching experience to Rock Your Block. Caryn has taught both typical students and children with special needs, ranging from infants all the way to college level students. Caryn is proficient in teaching American Sign Language. After earning a degree at Emerson College, where she studied children’s theatre for the deaf, Caryn found herself drawn to educating children. Today, Caryn works hands-on as the liaison between Rock Your Block’s young job seekers and with our community partners and employers.
