Why Futurista?
Even with supportive environments, deciding on a career path as a teenager is challenging. Often, teen girls are unaware of the different opportunities that exist for them. This could be due to lack of access to mentors, limited resources, peer or parental pressure, or just general overwhelm. Futurista will expose girls to a variety of potential paths they can follow in a fun and guided way.
Early exposure to role models with varying backgrounds & career paths not only provides a powerful opportunity for girls to explore a range of career options outside their family and peer networks (aka the Network Gap), but it also encourages them to dream big.
“It only takes one story you can personally relate to - to change your whole life. At Futurista we strive to expand girls’ view of what’s possible by providing them access to accomplished women role models with diverse and vibrant backgrounds, careers, and outlooks on life.”- Polina Marchenko (founder of Futurista)
Futurista believes all girls should feel confident in their choices, own selves, and paths. The platform will be a safe space to explore their interests, learn from others, and develop their skills.
What is Futurista?
What started as an idea less than 9 months ago, is already a growing and flourishing community of role models and Gen Z girls.
Futurista currently features...
- A podcast where we interview today’s role models in business, STEM, art & design, sports, and more!
- A robust and growing Ambassador Program that teaches teens valuable skills they can apply to their career and personal development.
Futurista is the first professional platform of its kind. It’s not just built for teens, it’s built together with them. It’s a major enhancement to current offerings for career planning which consist of online programs created by adults, limited school counseling and informal discussions with parents and peers. Moreover, information on the internet is very scattered and most often not designed for this age group.
Meet a few of our Fabulous Futurista Ambassadors!
What is Futurista’s Future?
The Future of Futurista will be a mobile app for teen girls A place where girls can find inspiration and authentic advice from role models, learn new skills through bite-sized courses and network with like-minded peers. The app will be a support system for teens outside of their families and friends.
After implementing the role model interviews as our core feature, we are planning to develop additional features such as social features and fun career quizzes.
We have already started testing an early stage prototype and have received positive feedback from teen girls. Our roadmap and building process will be fully transparent and community driven. We’ll publish our roadmap within our community and generate new feature ideas together with teen girls.
What the Futurista App will offer?
A home base for all our content: We love sharing interviews with role-models and resources publicly, but want to provide one space for teens to get it all and have the ability to connect with one another directly or in groups.
Stories of Inspiring women in Exclusive Formats: The app will feature personal stories of today’s role models in the form of short-format articles and audio formats (since Futuristas are on the go)! Futurista role models have varying and vibrant backgrounds and careers with different perspectives and outlooks on life. Success isn’t usually a linear path, there are many ups and downs that aren’t often talked about. We get to the deep, raw, and moving moments in the journey to success and happiness. Our Futurista guides are paying it forward for generations to come by volunteering their time to share their experiences, advice, and mentorship.
Curated Paths and Courses: Life paths are not one-size-fits-all. We believe you can be interested in both art and engineering, science and sports, baking and law. Who says you can’t have it all? We know you can and want to show you how it’s possible. We curate custom paths for girls by blending their personal and professional interests then take them through relevant stories and courses by women who have been there before. Girls will feel empowered by advice that resonates with them and will feel truly connected to a community that understands and supports their dreams.
Community and Social Features: Sometimes our own peer groups don’t get it when we’re striving for new levels. We want to make sure Futuristas are supported by a community of other teens on a mission to chase after their dreams.
We also want to make discovering a career path a joyful experience and believe having fun is a crucial piece of the process. One of the ways we'll foster fun is by proving interactive content and quizzes throughout the app.
Our story
We are an all-female team spread across the globe, with expertise in product development, illustration, user experience design, and marketing. Any gaps in professional experience are made up for in our life experience. We want to use our superpowers to help girls discover their career dreams and live an overall fulfilling life.
We are on a mission to build a future where girls know they are worthy and are empowered to make a difference in the world.
Do you remember the awkwardness of growing up? We do too. We all have our own story for why Futurista is so dear to us and we all share a common goal to make the transition from girlhood to womanhood easier for the next generation.
The Creators
I am Polina, I am a product manager and a serial entrepreneur from Ukraine, living in the USA. I have worked in the tech industry for over 8 years and am a mom to a little girl. I started Futurista because I want young girls to have an opportunity to learn from female role models in various fields so they are empowered to pursue their passion in life.
Fun Fact: I am a certified Zumba Trainer and I did folk dance for over 6 years!
Hi, I’m Tanya. I’m an illustrator and designer based in NYC. Growing up, I was very creative, but I didn’t have anyone around me who would have an inspiring career in arts or design. So fearing the “starving artist” fate, I gave into my family’s suggestion to go study Electrical Engineering. After some twists and turns, I eventually made my way to becoming an illustrator, and even though my path was beautiful and it made me who I am now, I do wish sometimes I had the clarity about my profession earlier on. I believe that starting Futurista can make a difference in the lives of many young girls who are looking for inspiration in their future careers and personal development.
Fun Fact: I’m a big Star Wars fan but I absolutely can’t watch horror films (I tried many times, but I hate being scared, so I usually turn it off or leave the theater).
Hi! My name is Jessica. I’m a designer and digital strategist from Berlin. When I was growing up I had a lot of interests which still hasn’t changed today. Arts & culture, environment, business, economics and technology… finding a career that would bring it all together was challenging for me. Creating my own career that combines my strengths and interests however gave me a huge freedom. I want to change the way we view career paths and encourage young girls to create their perfect profession.
Fun Fact: I’m the youngest of 6 kids and my brother used to call me "onion" because I'd make him cry!
Lucy here! I’m a west coast native but now live in NYC. Throughout childhood and even into adulthood my answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up?” varied from a to z - actress to zoologist. After college, once I started working in tech and entrepreneurship, my mind was blown by the number of careers I didn’t previously know existed. It would have impacted my life greatly to have been exposed to more potential paths and inspiring women before college as there were many times I questioned my choices and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else. There’s so much to be grateful for on the journey to womanhood but I also hope to make it easier for girls to come by helping them gain confidence in their paths, choices and own selves.
Fun Fact: I’m fine speaking and dancing in public, but I'm absolutely terrified of singing in public!
Hi, I’m Marwa! I’m a Product Designer based in the Bay Area. I was born to two immigrant parents who had no clue how to navigate the education and career space. Growing up, I didn’t know where to look for help or guidance when it came to my future. All I knew was that I had to go to college and get a job. Because of this I spent the first bit of my post-highschool years confused and frustrated. It wasn’t until I started taking more diverse classes in college and associating myself with experienced leaders that I realized I could actually pursue my interests and hobbies as a career. Like my younger self, many girls in today’s society are unaware of the vast opportunities that exist in the career space. With Futurista, I strive to give these young women the tools, education and inspiration they need to confidently steer their career and personal development journeys.
Fun Fact: I hate donuts, they literally make me sick. I love snowboarding though!
Meet Our Gen Z Team!
Hey! I’m Alivia, a high school junior living in upstate New York. On my journey navigating the daunting world of growing up, I’ve changed possible careers probably a million times, trying to not only please my parents but also my personal idea of a “successful” career. Furthermore, at school, I never was told I could have multiple career interests in different fields, which made me feel constricted to a tight box. With Futurista, I hope that every girl is able to explore the extensive world of different careers so that they can not only feel secure in a career, but also feel like they are supported on their path for their own personal growth.
Fun Fact: I naturally wake up whenever the sun comes out - so when it’s summertime I get up super early (6am!) but during wintertime it is such a struggle to get out of bed!
I'm Lauren, a college freshman at Northwestern University! As someone who has been surrounded by people with the same career (doctors and lawyers), I always wished there was someone who did something different. Futurista has provided me the opportunity to meet with inspiring women across multiple fields who are all working to empower the next generation of female leaders.
Fun Fact: I figure skate every morning at 6 AM. There is nothing like starting your day in the cold.
Rewards
Where will the money go?
Through a successful campaign, we'll be able to hire and pay a developer, cover some server costs, and produce inspirational and educational content. Content creation includes conducting and editing role-model interviews and making stories available in both written and audio formats.
How long will it take?
Here's our estimated timeline, from conception to the launch of the Futurista app.
