Today we’d like to introduce you to Rejoice Jones.
Hi Rejoice, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, into a family of both blue-collar factory and social workers, I grew up at the intersection of labor and service. I watched my family navigate the final era of America’s manufacturing strength building with their hands, supporting their communities, and adapting as opportunities rose and faded. It taught me early how dramatically a person’s future can shift based on the systems around them.
That perspective fueled my path. For more than 12 years, I’ve worked as a workforce development architect, building Skills-First talent pipelines and connecting overlooked talent to world-changing opportunities. My academic journey Pre-Med and Political Science at Emory University, advanced South African politics at the University of Cape Town, and the Ralph Bunche Fellowship at Duke University shaped my global understanding of the future of work
Professionally, I’ve served with Teach for America and as Chair for Transatlantic Professional Development for New Bridge, a German-American fellowship building cross border talent ecosystems. Later, living abroad in Cabo, MX strengthened my understanding of the universal desire for economic stability and the shared barriers facing emerging workers worldwide.
But the problem was unmistakable:
Millions of entry-level workers remain locked out of opportunity, while millions of small businesses struggle to hire affordably and reliably.
So I built Vower to close that gap.
Today, Vower is the largest skills-first talent marketplace. With over 13k users, our platform combines AI-driven, real-time upskilling with gamified rewards, concert tickets, sneakers, crypto, gift cards—earned through training, reskilling, and completing gigs. This makes learning addictive while instantly matching workers to local entrepreneurs and small teams.
We now support thousands of users, have activated major partnerships with companies like SAP and Morehouse School of Medicine; partnerships across education, workforce, wellness and community organizations.
We launched in 2019 as a volunteer exchange platform and nearly lost everything during COVID-19. But rebuilding from scratch transformed Vower into what it is today: a company redefining how people start careers, access opportunity, and connect with meaningful work.
We’re just getting started—and so are the millions we serve.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. We launched pre-COVID and pre-AI boom, predicting that millions would need to reskill and upskill. What we didn’t predict was the investor landscape drying up from 2022-2024. That forced us to bootstrap, to earn every customer, every partnership, every bit of credibility. Through grit, we earned our place in this market and in hindsight, was exactly what we needed. At first, it felt like a setback. Now I see it as the foundation. I don’t believe in shortcuts anymore. The shortcut becomes the long way. We’re right on time.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Vower is the world’s largest earn-and-learn platform, designed to make upskilling fast, fun, and accessible for everyone. We specialize in helping early-entry workers build the digital skills they need in real time—and we reward them for doing it. Users earn points they can redeem for concert tickets, sneakers, crypto, gift cards, and more, all while getting matched with local entrepreneurs and small teams searching for skilled talent.
What sets us apart is our gamified approach to workforce development. Picture this: you’re riding MARTA with your phone in one hand, scrolling through matched job opportunities with the same ease as swiping through a social app. You complete a quick skill challenge, earn points instantly, and put those points toward something you love—like new sneakers or sports tickets. That blend of upskilling, real rewards, and seamless job matching is the world Vower is building.
We’re proud to support entry-level workers who are eager for opportunity but often overlooked, and to help small businesses find skilled, reliable, and affordable talent on-demand as they grow. Vower fills the skills gap while bringing energy, motivation, and dignity back into work. No other platform is solving the digital skills divide and making workforce development feel exciting, empowering, and culturally relevant.
Most of all, we want readers to know this: Vower is not just a platform—it’s a movement to redefine what work can feel like for the next generation.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Get insanely curious. Offer your services and help for free if you need to. Get the experience and treat every customer like the first customer
Mentors are all around. If you’re open.. everything is being used to churn and prepare you for maximum impact
Pricing:
- $250 internship (3 months)
- $300 SAP Certification and Learning Access
- $150 Job Placement Support
Contact Info:
- Website: www. vower.io
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevowerinc/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheVowerInc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rejoice-jones-64a269195/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TheVowerInc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevowerinc/shorts
