Sometimes the news agenda throws up stories at the same time, which then sheds light on the need for something else which is coming along.

Sylvester Lewis
Sylvester Lewis Sylvester Lewis

Earlier in 2023, Rick Singer, the man at the centre of the US 'Varsity Blues' scandal was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for his part in accepting bribes for top university places.

Furthermore, a BBC story about exam cheating in India recently caught my eye, a tale of leaked papers to gain advantage in the highly competitive world of applying for coveted government jobs. This is only the latest of a string of scandals in the country, where sheer demographics makes for white hot competition. Even in the UK, that so-called bastion of propriety, academics have warned that increased competition for the best places will lead to skullduggery.

Add to this the recent launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing-bot ChatGPT, where students have already been caught using it, and the horizon for those looking to get into the top universities - and subsequently the more highly prized careers - looks dark.

However, a new company called Coachcube is looking to use AI for different means - it's mission is to help those without access to the right networks and 'ins' to prestigious universities and professions.

The methodology is to match candidates to compatible courses and careers, then pair them with mentors for live stream coaching sessions. What's more, Coachcube is run as a social enterprise, with 95% of session fees going to a charity of the mentor's choice, with the remaining 5% reinvested into the platform.

Coachcube is a covid baby - South London entrepreneur Sylvester Lewis gave up a job as an investment banker in order to follow his passion for equality of opportunity.

Sylvester says the eureka moment of the platform's creation was a chance one: "I had a conversation with a friend's younger brother who wanted to go into finance. He didn't know anyone who'd worked in the sector so his brother put him in touch with me. We had an hour long conversation about different roles and my experience and insights. I gave him pointers on how to secure internships, books to read, application processes and testing and so on and so forth.

"I found it really interesting and rewarding. He stated on multiple occasions how much he appreciated the call and how useful it was. You wouldn't think twice about the information and experience you have. But to someone who is younger and hasn't got the experience or built the network or had the opportunities to be able to reach out and ask those questions, it's invaluable."

The start-up already has an active membership of over 500 mentors and mentees, raised £250,000 in seed funding and aims to secure £1m for initial crowdfunding. Coachcube has also been selected by the Mayor of London to help deliver the 'New Deal for Young People' initiative.

Mentors hail from a list of blue-chip institutions which reads like a Who's Who of the current corporate landscape - Google, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, Meta (formerly Facebook), Amazon, J.P. Morgan and Allen & Overy amongst many others, as well as the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics.

Sylvester doesn't believe that just the odd piece of well-connected advice will secure that Ivy League admission or dream job contract. He believes firmly in the breaking and remaking of habits (which can take up to six months), that too much screen time is detrimental and calls social media 'the ultimate procrastination tool'.

He says: "For younger people, the world of work can feel like a different universe in which they have no way of accessing it or tapping into it.

There are certain education institutions, jobs and sectors which are associated with a certain socioeconomic background. As such, they are inaccessible to or unknown by a significant proportion of the UK population.

Coachcube is keen to lead the way in reducing these barriers and make industries accessible to all.'

Coachcube is certainly not a magic wand or instant panacea to success, but there is currently no one-to-one mentoring platform of its kind - and with all its associated advantages, including helping myriad good causes - Coachcube definitely feels like the honest way to get one foot on the ladder to academic and professional success.