Genevieve Ryan Bellaire x Realworld
“Social Entrepreneurs are leaders who are making meaningful change through their work… [and who] utilize business as a powerful tool for social change.”
In 2017, Genevieve Bellaire, Founder and CEO of Realworld, created an online platform to empower young people. It provides them with access to the critical knowledge and practical real world skills they will need to navigate the critical decisions of adulthood. The one-stop-shop platform provides customizable “playbooks” as user-friendly tutorials and manuals about paying off student loans, health-care options, understanding taxes, financial/workplace forms, what is a 401k, lease management, renter’s insurance, credit, debt, as well as saving money for retirement.
“[RealWorld] is about making sure people have enough information to make smart decisions.”
After graduating with a dual JD/MBA degree and working as an investment banker and lawyer, Bellaire came to the realization that while she was very educated, she was definitely under-educated regarding critical life skills. For several months, she conducted research with the goal of becoming a "subject matter expert" on life decisions. Through the process of interviewing thousands of college students, workers, parents of students, and employers, she began to observe a pattern in those who shared her perspective. It became clear that regardless of someone’s educational or cultural background, the fact that young people were not exposed to practical information about the real world, and thus left to figure it out on their own upon entering adulthood, was a societal problem.
Currently, Realworld provides product licensing directly to universities which enables the students to access the information and public access on a subscriber basis. Realworld is in the process of making its platform available to corporations as an employee resource. And, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Realworld has introduced a “Coronavirus Survival Guide" and made this education package available free to graduating seniors for several months. Ultimately, Bellaire’s mission is to create a community of users by democratizing information and providing a generation of young people with knowledge tools to make life changing decisions about their security, wellbeing, and future.
In reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey, she highlights the importance of working with good people, focusing on execution of one idea, and providing value for consumers.
A message for all our college seniors!
Below are instructions on how to access the Realworld Ready program for free:
Visit https://ready.realworldplaybook.com/p/real-world-ready-bundle and click “Enroll Now"
Where it says “Add Coupon,” type in code RWPDEMO
Create an account and enjoy free access until May 15(there is no payment required to enroll)