Let’s be real — the hiring system is broken. High school and college students are being handed diplomas and a “good luck!”… but when it comes to actual career support? Crickets.
Enter: StarterU — a new platform built to bridge the gap between young talent and real job opportunities.
🎙️ In a recent episode of The Sports Hangover: Business Edition, Michael Benatar sat down with Michael Berlingo, the founder and CEO of StarterU, to talk about how they’re tackling one of the most outdated systems in education: career development.
Here’s the breakdown:
🧭 The Mission: Fixing the Early Career Mess
StarterU isn’t just another ed-tech platform. It was born from a simple idea:
“What if we made it easier for students to connect with companies that actually want to hire them?”
Berlingo saw the disconnect firsthand — students stuck without internships, schools offering outdated advice, and employers struggling to find young, motivated talent. StarterU steps in as the middleman: a curated platform that links high school and college students with internships, apprenticeships, and local job opportunities.
🔑 Networking > Everything
Forget job boards. The real flex? Networking.
“Networking is the greatest asset,” Berlingo says.
“You might not get hired from your resume… but you will get hired from who knows your name.”
StarterU puts networking front and center. Think: warm intros, real relationships, and community-building tools designed to actually move the needle.
🏫 Schools Need a Reboot
One of the biggest hurdles? The schools themselves.
A lot of career centers are still stuck in the 1990s — handing out paper resumes and telling kids to “follow their passion” with no real direction. StarterU is giving schools a chance to plug into the 2025 workforce.
Schools license the platform.
Employers pay to post jobs.
Students? Totally free.
Win-win-win.
🌆 First Stop: Tri-State Takeover
StarterU is launching in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) with exclusive school and employer partnerships.
Why local? Because the magic happens when a school in Newark can partner with a business in Brooklyn. It’s not about going global — it’s about going deep in the community.
💰 The Business Model (a.k.a. How It Makes Money)
Schools pay a licensing fee.
Employers pay to post jobs or scout talent.
Students get full access for zero dollars.
StarterU isn’t trying to sell courses or gatekeep career resources. The whole idea is:
👉 make early career access a utility, not a luxury.
🛠️ The Future of Work Starts
Before
College Graduation
StarterU is betting big on one simple truth:
If you help students start earlier, they’ll go further.
“It’s literally a win-win,” Berlingo says.
“We’re bringing awareness to the biggest opportunity in hiring that’s being totally overlooked.”
And they’re not stopping anytime soon. With plans to scale nationally — while staying hyper-local — StarterU might just be the career rocket launcher the next generation has been waiting for.
🔥 TL;DR:
StarterU is here to kill the dusty old guidance counselor model and build a smarter, connected path from classroom → career.
🎓 Students win.
🏢 Employers win.
🏫 Schools win.
Yeah… it’s literally a win-win.
💡 Bonus Insight:
If you’re building a startup in the ed-tech or hiring space, take notes:
Build for the underserved (in this case, high schoolers).
Make it free for the user.
Let networking do the heavy lifting.
Want more convos like this?
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