We kicked things off with a high-energy pitch competition featuring five incredible founders building the future of work—and we’re just getting started.
Huge congratulations to The Dev Difference co-founder Jolene Bernagene for taking the stage and taking home the win! The Dev Difference is an AI-powered mock interview platform is transforming how students and jobseekers build confidence and sharpen their skills—creating more opportunities for early career talent to land jobs in tech!
We’re proud to celebrate all of the incredible founders who took the stage:
This competition was hosted in partnership with the AnitaB.org Responsible AI Forum and made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsor William Blair. We’re so grateful to our partners, community members, and the audience who helped us kick off Season 5 with momentum.
🎤 What’s next?
We’re moving full speed ahead with two upcoming virtual competitions:
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FinTech – April 11
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CleanTech – April 18
Sign up for reminders and updates here: Tune into TechRise
🧠 Want to get more involved?
We're always looking to grow our community of supporters. If you're interested in mentoring a founder, judging a future competition, or supporting a workshop, fill out our Supporter Interest Form as an investor or ecosystem partner.
💡 Help us keep this momentum going.
If you believe in what we’re building, consider donating to help us fund more competitions and support more founders.
Scroll down to relive the energy from this event with a few of our favorite photos. And thank you again to everyone who showed up, supported, and made this launch one to remember.
Let’s keep building,
– The TechRise Team
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