How Buffalo rallied around a budding tech entrepreneur

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Lori White is the first person to tell you that In Your Neighborhood still lies somewhere between a concept and a pilot project.

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But listen. That’s the sound of something coming to life.

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The first version of her product, which will be an app that connects middle schoolers to opportunities for career exploration, is expected to go live in the fall. Think of it as Duolingo for the career curious.

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Based partly on her daughter’s experience at the Northland Workforce Training Center’s Girls in Manufacturing event, which uncovered a hidden passion for welding, the app will create hyperlocal opportunities for tweens and teens to connect and learn from local businesses.

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But something funny happened while White, a career sales and business development executive, was socializing the idea.

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She found a system of buy-in and support across the community, pushing her to continue developing the idea and planning to build the app.

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“It’s been incredible to see the support from the community to develop something that could be really meaningful for middle schoolers and their families,” White said. “We have all the resources and connections anybody could possibly need. It’s just a matter of showing it to people and helping them understand where the opportunities are.”

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Some points:

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• A host of recognizable staple businesses – including Kreher Family Farms, Cheesy Chick, Brothers of Mercy; Cortese Construction Services; and Emerling, Floss, Murphy & Associates – have agreed to become founding partners that showcase their work to interested students.

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• White has lined up meetings with local K-12 education, chamber of commerce and youth bureau personnel to explore how to administer, promote and deliver the app.

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• And White attended Startup Wednesday, the Buffalo-based crash course in startup building, where she found an accessible community of entrepreneurs, engineers and designers. She’s now pursuing the idea with the support of local software engineer Dan O’Malley, who is building In Your Neighborhood’s first app. .

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White plans to start in her hometown of Clarence, figuring out how to align the interests of teenagers, families and local businesses into one platform built around career exploration. She’s hoping to develop a system that gamifies the experience.

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And if she can figure that out, suddenly Clarence is just the starting line. Certificates, micro-credentialing, pathways to shadowing and summer jobs are all on the table.

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“We’re using our connections to open doors in the community, but our pilot will be a replicable program that other chambers and school districts can adopt,” White said. “The goal is to expand.”