Unveiling Protégé: Be heard. Get discovered.
Talent is distributed globally, but opportunity is not
The reality of life is that we are all born into a lottery of where we grow up, who our parents are, and what connections we have.
Hard work and grit matter, yet many industries still have gatekeepers who control access to the elite opportunities — especially in music, entertainment, and business. To break into these fields, you need some form of introduction or connection.
The most successful people have a story about a mentor who changed their life. Someone who showed them the ropes or took a shot on them. But it can be hard to find those people if you don't have access to the right networks. This is why we created Protégé.
Meet Liz Lokre, a 27 year old aspiring singer who used Protege to get her big break.
Protégé - get in touch with anyone in the world
Our mission is to democratize access to your dream career. We help students be heard and get discovered. We believe that every person deserves a shot at proving themselves.
For the first time ever, you can submit a 60 second video to the best experts in the world and get a guaranteed video response and a shot at a life-changing opportunity. You can send DJ Khaled a hip hop beat for his next album; Bebe Rexha a vocal melody you are working on; or Jason Alexander your monologue you've been trying to perfect.
Check out this up and coming music producer Aaron Green who sent his track to DJ Khaled on Protégé.
With a diverse group of experts from multiple industries, our platform is like American Idol meets Project Runway meets Shark Tank. But unlike those mass-market shows, we are able to go so much deeper, creating opportunities in the narrowest of categories, from R&B to Comedy, and forging real relationships between experts and students.
Application fees range from $10 to $200 depending on the expert. If you can't afford the fee for the feedback video, you can apply for a scholarship by getting upvoted by your friends and family.
If you're an expert and want to learn more about how to join Protégé, email us at experts@protege.app.
Full circle
We both struggled to be heard and get discovered. Jackson put his music aspirations aside when it seemed impossible to break through. Mike struggled to break into the start-up world coming from enterprise tech. We consider ourselves both lucky and persistent enough to find mentors who believed in us and helped set us up for success.
Now, as founders, we have a chance to build the platform we needed earlier in our careers. We are building a more open, accessible world—where no matter how out of reach an expert may seem, anyone can get 60 seconds of their time to prove themselves, disrupting the traditional power systems that have historically held many back. And it's working! The stories of our students are deeply inspiring.
Thank you so much to all of our early experts, investors, and teammates who have helped us bring this vision to life.
If you are struggling to be heard, if you have a dream but need help getting there, or if you want to help us build this company, come join us at Protégé, where anyone can be heard and get discovered.
Sincerely,
Jackson and Mike
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