The Spark

In the hyper-competitive corridors of Yale, Nathaneo Johnson noticed a paradox: students were surrounded by brilliant minds but remained siloed from the specific mentorship and opportunities they needed to scale their ambitions. While LinkedIn felt like a digital resume graveyard and Twitter was too noisy, the “warm intro” remained the gatekeeper of the elite. Johnson, a student-founder with a background in engineering and a vision for decentralized networking, saw an opportunity to bridge this gap using AI. He set out to build Series, not as another social network, but as an intelligence layer for professional growth that prioritizes high-signal connections over vanity metrics.

The Climb

Building a social platform as a student is a classic “cold start” problem, but Johnson leveraged the collegiate ecosystem to iterate quickly. The tension wasn’t just about code; it was about proving that a platform could facilitate genuine mentorship at scale without losing the human element. The struggle involved balancing the rigorous demands of an Ivy League education with the high-stakes world of venture fundraising. The breakthrough came when Series moved beyond being a directory and started acting as a matchmaker. By the time he went out to raise his pre-seed, he had built enough momentum to secure $3.1M, a massive signal of confidence in a “student-run” venture.

The Model

Series operates on an AI-driven social graph that maps user skills and aspirations against a network of mentors and industry opportunities.

  • The Wedge: Targeting high-intent university ecosystems where the need for mentorship is a daily pain point.
  • The Hook: An AI-powered matching engine that suggests connections based on “career trajectory alignment” rather than just shared keywords.
  • The Moat: As more users find tangible opportunities (jobs, funding, or advice) through the platform, the data flywheel creates a barrier to entry that generic social platforms cannot replicate.

The Future

With a fresh $3.1M in the bank, Johnson is focused on scaling Series beyond the initial Ivy League pilot. The goal is to move from a “social platform” to an “opportunity infrastructure.” By integrating deeper AI capabilities, Series aims to predict the resources a founder or student will need before they even realize they need them. For Johnson, the browser and the mobile app are just the delivery mechanisms; the real product is the democratization of the “old boys’ club” network, made accessible to anyone with a vision and the right Series profile.