Quarterly Publication - Ed. 02-May6 - Flipbook - Page 15
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CRESCENDO:
MAKING
TECH
MORE
INCLUSIVE
Sage Franch (Next 36, 2018),
Co-founder and CEO of Crescendo
P
rior to joining Next 36 in 2018, Sage was no stranger to the tech ecosystem. After studying
Computer Science at Dalhousie University, she paved her way through Microsoft from
Intern to Technical Evangelist while building her personal brand on The Trendy Techie
blog. Being a female in STEM and often subject to the associated tropes and biases, her
blog often recapped her experience with discrimination. Enter her passion for making
tech more inclusive. After turning her passion into a business model, Sage, alongside her cofounders Daniel “Tuba” D’Souza (also a Next 36 alumni) and Stefan Kollenberg, had a whirlwind first
year building their venture Crescendo – building it from idea to launch while cohabitating in two
apartments in two cities, and living and breathing their company’s mission: to build technology that
makes the world more empathetic.
14
GRIT
PROBLEM
Discriminination and inclusivity in tech
SOLUTION
Crescendo: Connects employees with digital
resources inside of Slack, personalized to fit
their learning needs and workplace context,
helping employees understand, communicate
with, and interact with people who are different
from them.
IMPACT
1,000s of professionals across 15 countries using
Crescendo to develop cultural competence.
COVID SUPPORT
Crescendo has released a free guide
to tackling diversity and inclusion in
the context of COVID-19.
The guide includes learnings around:
care-giving, xenophobia, and mental
health. Learn more
GRIT
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