Brioxy
B. Cole was the first person in her family to go to college. But when she arrived at Mills College in Oakland, California, she realized that being accepted to a school is just the first step. Hanging in until graduation and setting yourself up for a career means staying organized and applying for the right scholarships, fellowships, and internships.
Cole did well for herself, receiving a prestigious Harry S. Truman Foundation scholarship and going on to attend the London School of Economics. But she knew that other people of color were missing out on important opportunities. “[The scholarship] opened my eyes to this whole world of privilege that I had no idea about,” she says. “At the same time, it made me realize that there was this whole group of people who had been groomed their entire lives to participate in this world.”
Since graduating from Mills a decade ago, she has spent much of her time helping students navigate the education and career landscapes, but this type of one-on-one mentoring doesn’t scale that well. That’s why she helped create Brioxy, a life-planning tool for people of color that combines task management with social networking.
‘It made me realize that there was this whole group of people who had been groomed their entire lives to participate in this world.’
Unlike a conventional task management or goal setting app that helps you keep track of a big list of things you need to do, Brioxy connects users with peers and mentors who can help them figure out how to do it. Instead of just adding “look for internships” to your task list, you could use the tool to find the perfect internship.
The idea is to break down some of the barriers that have kept people out of high-growth fields like the technology industry, which is notoriously lacking in diversity. One of the many problems facing Blacks and Hispanics is that they don’t know anyone who already works in these fields who can mentor them or help them get their foot in the door.
What You Need to Do First
This is a self-perpetuating problem, but by connecting people of color with people from similar backgrounds who have been successful, Cole hopes Brioxy can help break this cycle. “We want to create networks that not only connect people of color with people in power, but also to bring more power to the network itself,” she says.
From left: Brioxy founder B. Cole with Carla Zamarripa, Tiff Thompson, Joy Messinger, T.J. Jourian, and Erica Woodland. Anna Min
Cole and company have big plans for the social networking component of the site, which she wants to eventually be something along the lines of a special interest group for young people of color, not unlike what the American Association of Retired Persons provides to senior citizens. She says site membership will eventually include “discounts that young people would want, everything from travel to food to entertainment” as well as a digital magazine.
But for now, the task management system is the core of the service. Much like the popular project management app Trello, you can drag and drop tasks into different categories. But it’s even simpler than Trello, and that’s a good thing says Adrianna Hutchinson, a Mills College employee who started using Brioxy earlier this year after seeing Cole speak at a student retreat. “With Brioxy, I always know what I need to do first,” she says. “It streamlines my work.”
The Bigger Picture
But ultimately, Brioxy is about the bigger picture. “We want Brioxy to be a space where you not only get inspired but get practical hands on experience to lead a better life, have more joy,” Cole says.
The company is already doing in-person trainings at colleges, and their trainings, and the site, include a series of “lifehacks” to help students manage their time more effectively. Hutchinson says these tips have already helped several students at Mills.
While Brioxy is starting out by focusing on people of color, Cole says the company may eventually branch out. “When we work with first generation college students, there are white students,” she explains. “And when we’re organizing low-wage workers there are young white folks who are part of that community. We feel like it’s important to reach anyone who has been marginalized from power.”
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