Neurodivergent Individuals Face Employment Challenges
Neurodivergent individuals often encounter more difficulties in securing jobs compared to their non-neurodivergent peers. Current statistics reveal that unemployment rates among neurodivergent adults can reach between 30% to 40%—a worrying figure that is three times higher than that of individuals with disabilities and eight times greater than those without disabilities, according to findings from UConn’s Center for Neurodiversity and Employment Innovation. Factors such as inadequate social skills for navigating rigorous interview processes and a lack of confidence in job applications contribute to these challenges.
However, many neurodivergent individuals possess specialized skill sets that not only qualify them as excellent candidates but may even make them better suited for specific roles than their non-neurodivergent counterparts. Studies indicate that when supported in the right environments, neurodivergent professionals can enhance team productivity by as much as 30%.
Introducing Mentra: A Neuroinclusive Employment Network
Enter Mentra, a groundbreaking startup based in Charlotte, North Carolina, co-founded by three autistic entrepreneurs. Mentra is creating an AI-powered "neuroinclusive employment network," designed to assist large companies in hiring talent with cognitive differences, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, TBI, and PTSD.
Mentra's innovative idea garnered early support from OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who invested $1 million in the company through his venture firm, Hydrazine Capital, in February 2022. The startup also secured an AI for accessibility grant from Microsoft. This year, it raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Shine Capital, with participation from Altman’s fund, Verissimo, Full Circle, the Charlotte Fund, and angel investors like David Apple and Dawn Dobras.
“Diversity of thought is vital for addressing humanity’s most intricate challenges. The most progressive companies have embraced neurodivergent thinkers,” Altman observed. “Mentra serves as the bridge that companies need to tap into this underutilized talent pool.”
Since its inception, Mentra—whose name creatively fuses "mentor" and "mantra"—has gained traction, partnering with notable organizations including Harvard Business Publishing, Trellix, and Auticon. The platform has established cooperative relationships with over 30 universities and over 200 service providers in the U.S., and its talent pool has expanded from 300 neurodivergent job seekers in March 2022 to over 33,000 today.
Revolutionizing Job Matching
What differentiates Mentra from other platforms is its unique approach to determining job fit, according to co-founder and CEO Jhillika Kumar. The platform utilizes advanced AI to go beyond merely analyzing keywords in résumés, considering each candidate’s neurotype, abilities, and environmental sensitivities. Remarkably, Mentra boasts a retention rate of 97.5%.
Kumar conceived the idea for Mentra during her studies at Georgia Tech while researching tools to aid her non-speaking autistic brother, Vikram, in communication. Inspired by his progress in learning to communicate via an accessible letterboard after years of being unable to express his thoughts, Kumar became determined to develop supportive tools for others facing similar struggles.
“Initially, I wasn’t aware of my brother’s intelligence because he seemed so disconnected—living in his own world,” she recalls. “However, I later realized he could effectively use an iPad and navigate YouTube, showing clear evidence of intelligence.”
Mentra harnesses AI to ensure job descriptions are cognitively accessible and consistently formatted, making them more inclusive. An algorithm evaluates job seekers on the platform to identify the best fits based on their neurotype. For instance, some candidates may excel at hyper-focusing, attention to detail, or strategic thinking, matching their skills to specific job requirements.
Over 70% of the data Mentra collects differs from what is gathered by traditional job platforms like Indeed, enabling more effective job matching.
A Scalable SaaS Model for Neuroinclusion
With one in every seven individuals being neurodivergent, many remain under- or unemployed, often reliant on family support. Kumar recognized the critical importance of employment, noting that while an individual's cognitive uniqueness can contribute to their talents, masking neurodiversity limits their potential.
To address this, Kumar, along with co-founders Conner Reinhardt and Shea Belsky, established Mentra to promote neuroinclusion beyond mere diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. They advocate for integrating neuroinclusion into the core of a company’s culture, which may require significant cultural shifts.
“We firmly believe that every organization will benefit from diverse thinking,” Kumar stated. “By embracing neurodiversity, companies unlock the full potential of their workforce.”
Mentra has transitioned from being primarily a services organization to a “scalable” SaaS model. Initially profitable with a traditional per-hire pricing structure, the new subscription model allows employers to access Mentra’s talent pool and capabilities directly. Since this pivot earlier this year, the company has generated a significant stream of SaaS revenue, with 67% representing annual recurring revenue.
“While focusing on enterprises and our economical SaaS offering may lead to a longer path to profitability, we’re witnessing strong market adoption and are in discussions with over 40 enterprise clients,” Kumar shared. “Our aim is to achieve $3 million in SaaS ARR by the end of 2024.”
Mentra as a Unique Force in DEI Initiatives
Although demand for Mentra is robust globally, particularly in the UK and Asia-Pacific, the team is concentrating on solidifying its presence in the U.S. market. The revenue model allows neurodivergent job seekers to access the platform for free while charging enterprise clients an annual subscription. Mentra is also developing a neuroinclusion marketplace for consultancies and training firms to offer complementary services alongside the core platform.
In the future, Mentra plans to extend this marketplace to provide neurodivergent individuals with access to tailored services throughout their careers, including boot camps and job coaching.
Mo Koyfman, founder of Shine Capital, highlights Mentra’s distinctiveness, emphasizing that it stands apart from other startups. As someone who has supported various successful brands, Koyfman appreciates Mentra’s focus on ensuring that individuals with various learning styles are matched to roles in which they excel.
“Rather than simply aiming for DEI quotas, Mentra prioritizes placing candidates in the roles they are best suited for, ultimately empowering them to outperform conventional candidates,” he noted. “The opportunity presented by this market is vast and largely overlooked by standard recruiting platforms, which is part of what attracted me to this concept.”
Koyfman concluded, “Mentra is not just promoting social good; it’s creating economically viable solutions, an incredibly rare find in today’s landscape.”
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