“I used to tell people, “I’ll never do entrepreneurship.” Something about it felt so far off to me that I thought I would never pursue it. Falling into the startup community at UT and greater Austin proved me wrong. The beauty of creating an idea is that it can never truly be a failure. The pace and breadth of learning is so great that—whether you work on your venture full-time after college or you decide to pursue other opportunities—it’s always a net win. I love the WEL Institute because it magnifies this learning and power of community to support its students and founders.”
Kenna Funk-Tanaka
Kenna Funk-Tanaka
Introducing Machi, a recruiting company that matches high school students with jobs and internships at young companies to help them reach their potential, network, and give them a head start on their careers and passions.
About Machi
Kenna grew up in Oak Cliff in South Dallas. During high school, she watched my friends work long hours at low-paying fast food jobs to provide for themselves or their family. Their jobs had no regard for the fact that they were students, asking them to work long shifts on school nights and close late at night. When Kenna came to UT, she met people who had internships at law firms or engineering companies in high school. Rather than harm them, their work experiences helped them get into college and pursue their professional careers.
Working at the right place can give students experience, compensation, and connections that help them years into the future. Simply put, opportunity changes lives. However, these early experiences are not distributed equitably.
Born from this idea, Machi connects high school students with startups for virtual internships. They currently work with students and companies across the country. Through hands-on screening and curated matching, Machi reduces the friction and time-drain of recruiting for both parties. Since completing SELL’s Incubator, Machi has gone onto the Blackstone LaunchPad Fe
Machi
Website:
Industry:
Recruiting
Mission:
We match high school students with jobs and internships at young companies to help them reach their potential, network, and give them a head start on their careers and passions.
Year Founded:
2020
