Mentra

Mentra operates a neuroinclusive employment network that matches neurodivergent jobseekers — including people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, traumatic brain injury and PTSD — with employers. Rather than relying on résumé keywords, the platform builds a profile covering a person's cognitive strengths, aptitude, work style, environmental sensitivities and workplace preferences, and uses an algorithm to recommend roles that align with that profile. Recruiters at partner companies view this expanded profile alongside a candidate's resume.

The company's products include the web platform for jobseekers and employers and Manatee, a mobile career app (iOS and Android) positioned as an AI job-coaching "sidekick" that provides personalized check-ins, daily job recommendations, bite-sized upskilling content, live events and workshops, and messaging with recruiters, mentors and other neurodivergent jobseekers. Mentra also runs training tracks such as the Salesforce "Mentraship" Program, a 12-week machine learning and AI curriculum, plus tracks in data analysis, software engineering and cybersecurity delivered with engineers and mentors from large employers.

Mentra emphasizes design choices aimed at neurodivergent users, including sensory-friendly and low-cognitive-load interfaces, user control over what profile information is shared (diagnoses and traits are not shared without consent), and transparency about why a job was recommended.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Jhillika Kumar developed the idea while studying at Georgia Tech, where she researched the nonspeaking community while seeking communication tools for her nonspeaking autistic brother, Vikram, who learned to type using an accessible letterboard after 27 years of being unable to communicate his thoughts. That experience led her to focus on employment for neurodivergent people. She co-founded Mentra with Conner Reinhardt and Shea Belsky; all three co-founders are autistic. The name combines "mentor" and "mantra."

Business model

Mentra is free for neurodivergent jobseekers and charges employers. It initially operated largely as a services organization with a traditional per-hire pricing model and was profitable, then transitioned in 2023 to a SaaS model in which enterprise employers pay an annual subscription to access Mentra's talent pool and recruiting product.

Annual enterprise subscriptions for employer access to the talent pool and recruiting product, replacing an earlier per-hire fee model; the jobseeker side is free.

Traction

Talent pool grew from 300 neurodivergent jobseekers in March 2022 to over 33,000 by September 2023, with users across all 50 states and more than 100 fields of expertise. More than a dozen employer customers had signed on, including Harvard Business Publishing, Trellix and Auticon, alongside partnerships with over 30 universities and more than 200 service providers. One-year retention of placed candidates was reported at 97.5%, and the company said it was in conversations with more than 40 enterprise customers, targeting $3 million in SaaS ARR by the end of 2024. The company's site cites more than 10,000 neuroinclusive jobseekers for the Manatee app.

Latest developments

Mentra has launched Manatee, an AI-assisted career app for neurodivergent jobseekers available on the App Store and Google Play, offering daily job recommendations, upskilling content, events and messaging, and is running the Salesforce "Mentraship" 12-week machine learning and AI program along with tracks in data, software and cybersecurity.