The gap we lived through. The bridge we are building.
We were once students who could not get real experience. Now we are professionals who cannot find the right early talent. The problem never went away. It just switched sides.
Years ago, we were those students. Good grades, solid projects, a genuine desire to work on something real. But every door we knocked on either wanted two years of experience we did not have, or offered "internships" that were glorified data entry. The students who got ahead were not necessarily the smartest. They were the ones with the right connections.
We got through it. Built careers. Spent years shipping products, leading teams, and growing businesses. But when we found ourselves on the other side of the table, trying to find sharp, motivated people for project-based work, we ran into the exact same wall, just from the other direction.
Internship portals flooded us with applications but no signal. Freelance platforms optimised for transactions, not growth. And the few great students we found, we found through personal networks. That is not scalable. And it is not fair to the thousands of capable students who simply do not have those networks.
Employability is dropping every year. Not because students lack skill, but because they lack proof of real work. That is a gap worth closing.
The numbers are hard to ignore. Graduates are coming out more skilled than ever, with access to better tools, better courses, and more information than any generation before them. Yet employers keep saying the same thing: "They are not job-ready." The issue is not ability. It is exposure. Students are not getting enough chances to apply what they know in environments where the work actually matters.
At the same time, startups and early-stage founders are stretched thin. They have real work that needs doing but cannot always commit to full-time hires. They need people who can step in, contribute to a defined scope, and deliver. That is not a job listing problem. It is a structure problem.
Sprintz exists to close that gap. Not as a job board or a freelance marketplace, but as a platform for structured, short-term project engagements we call experienships. The founder defines the project, sets milestones, and reviews the work. The student gets hands-on experience and a verified credential that proves what they actually did. Not a certificate. Proof.
We see this as more than a product. When students get real experience early, they become more employable. When startups get access to motivated talent, they move faster. When the gap between education and industry shrinks, everyone benefits. That is the outcome we are working toward.
Sprintz is built by ThryvX. We have been on both sides of this problem. We are building the bridge we wish someone had built for us.
How we think about this
A few things we keep coming back to as we build Sprintz.
Real work over simulated projects
There is no shortage of "capstone projects" and case studies out there. But nothing replaces the feeling of shipping something that an actual user or customer will see. Every experienship on Sprintz is built around work that matters to a real business.
Structure is a feature, not a limitation
Unstructured "just figure it out" arrangements hurt both sides. The student does not know what is expected. The founder gets frustrated. We build in milestones, defined scopes, and check-ins so that both people can do their best work without the ambiguity.
Trust has to be designed in
A student is sharing their time and effort. A founder is sharing their idea and sometimes proprietary work. That requires trust. NDAs, clear agreements, and professional standards are not bureaucracy. They are what makes the whole thing work.
Show your work, not your certificates
We have nothing against online courses. But a certificate that says you "completed 40 hours of React" does not tell an employer much. A Sprintz credential says you built a specific thing for a specific startup, hit specific milestones, and the founder verified it. That is a different conversation in an interview.
We are building this in public.
Sprintz is pre-launch right now. If this resonates with you, get on the waitlist. We would love to have you in the first batch.