kern.
I N V E S T O R P I T C H · 2 0 2 6 kern. Find your direction by doing real work. Manuel Di Paolo · Founder T H E P R O B L E M Capable people are unsure, and the door in is narrowing. 2 in 3 of 18 to 30 year-olds are unsure about their career path Tallo, May 2025 (US): nearly 2 in 3. 74% of young people lack access to a mentor Big Brothers Big Sisters / Harris Poll, 2025. −35% entry-level job postings si W H Y N O W Employers want proof of skills. AI lets a beginner make real work. 70% use skills-based hiring for entry-level roles NACE 2026. Yet under 1 in 700 new hires at firms that dropped degree rules lacks a degree. 43% of employed new graduates are underemployed IBISWorld and secondary summarie T H E S O L U T I O N Three contrasting real missions end in Your Kern. 01 Build from zero An open brief. Tests your energy in starting. 02 Improve what exists A closed task. Tests polish and finishing. 03 Work with someone Tests solo against paired work. AI is a smart friend, not the author. You wr T H E P R O D U C T It already works. Designed and built by Manuel with AI tools. Installable web app English and Italian Accounts and sync Explore several paths Signs from people before you Dare a friend Shareable Kern card Works offline Installable and working, not launched publicly yet. Missions M A R K E T Bottom-up, Italy alone is a first market of about €33M a year. ITALIAN FIRMS WITH 10 TO 249 PEOPLE 212k ISTAT 2023. Plus 100 universities (MUR/ANVUR). SAM · FIRMS THAT HIRE GRADUATES, AND UNIVERSITIES ≈ €33M / yr About 10.6k firms × €3k a year for 3 missions, plus 100 universities × €10k B U S I N E S S M O D E L Partners pay. People are free. Partner companies Post a featured mission, see the best answers and a shortlist by working style. € kern. Missions, reflection, Your Kern. Every profile is built from real work. free People 18 to 35 Try real work, find their direction, get see C O M P E T I T I O N Nobody starts from “I don’t know what I want.” Forage (2M+ learners) and Parker Dewey prove companies will supply real tasks. They start from a role you already chose. Quizzes and chat AI start from you, but you make nothing, so there is no evidence. KERN is the person-first lo VA L I D AT I O N We test before we build more. 3/5 finish all three missions Pass mark for Gate 0. 3/5 say “that feels right” The signal lands. 2/5 recommend it unprompted They pass it on. Pilot results Starting soon. As soon as it ends, we share finish, fit and referral rates. kern. GATE 0 · START G O T O M A R K E T · A G E S 1 8 T O 3 5 F I R S T Growth is built into the product. Signs on the trail People who finished before you leave a tip for you. Dare a friend Send a mission; compare answers side by side. Share your Kern card A card made to be posted. Mission of the week A public best- a F O U N D E R One founder who ships fast with AI. M Manuel Di Paolo FOUNDER · PRODUCT, DESIGN AND BUILD Designed and built all of KERN with AI tools. Background in psychology: studies how people decide, then builds for it. Lived the problem first-hand. Works fully remote. 33 GitHub repositories crea T H E A S K €50k Pre-seed · 12 months · 15% equity The product is built. This round proves demand: 45% goes straight into growth. 15% at a €333k post-money is an early- believer price, with a clear step up to the seed round. U S E O F F U N D S Growth: street sessions, paid social, partner outreach