Knoxville-Based Internet Startup Placing Principle Over Profit by Paying Student Interns 3x Minimum Wage

Soon-to-Launch Startup Will Provide a Level Playing Field for Middle Class Consumers

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Nov 14, 2013, 10:45 ET

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- They practice what they preach. Knoxville-based Internet startup WeScore.com has a mission – to equalize the financial playing field by forging a new approach to evaluating financial instruments for middle class consumers through transparency and crowd-sourced intelligence. As part of its ideological commitment, the company has taken an unusual step. Inspired by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren's analysis that, given the rate of productivity the United States has experienced since 1960, the true minimum wage should be around $22 (http://youtu.be/mwAQwItEjUo), WeScore has chosen to do just that – pay its more than a dozen University of Tennessee student interns $22 per hour, or 3x the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

"It's pretty much a cliche of academia – the unpaid student intern," said WeScore CEO Jacqueline J. Stanfill. "We certainly could have gone the route that so many companies do and offer 'experience' rather than fair compensation for student labor. But it would have been hypocritical for us to be launching a site dedicated to helping the middle class while taking advantage of middle class students." And you get what you pay for. It seems that by paying well and providing a challenging work environment, WeScore has cultivated experienced personnel for its upcoming launch with two former interns already hired on as full-time project managers. Ms. Stanfill explained, "We operate on the understanding that no good work goes unnoticed. The interns are held to the same expectations as thirty-year-old professionals, and they understand that their work product should reflect this."

Every year, twelve million American students must resort to borrowing money for the increasingly high cost of school, frequently leaving graduates owing five figures. But while the debate continues over exploding student loan debt and its damaging effect on the middle class, an alternative has become a reality for the students working at WeScore. Here, they're getting real-life business experience, and they're not being forced to financially sacrifice for the opportunity. Basically, it has become a never-ending "carrot & stick" situation – students need internships to find good jobs because they'll need to pay their debt burden, while at the same time the shrinking availability of jobs means that businesses are taking advantage of the pressure by only offering unpaid positions. The result is often that it is painful or impossible for struggling middle class students to take those internships.

"It's really tough," said WeScore intern Lyssa Wiles. You have to already be financially stable in order to find a job so you can become financially stable. You have to choose between paying your living expenses and not doing an internship or work for free and go deeper into debt hoping you'll get a job later." Employment experts estimate that undergraduates work over one million internships a year, and research firm Intern Bridge finds that almost 50% are unpaid. And more disheartening, studies indicate that only 4% of some students in the South will be able to become more financially secure than their parents.

Aiming to launch in early 2014, WeScore will provide consumers with a fresh, unbiased opinion on financial information. Its goal is to resolve the vast information gap within the industry, where a select few have long controlled access to full disclosure and details. WeScore's customers will be able to double-check their financial advisors' choices and receive trusted, third party opinions on their financial information, providing a whole new level of transparency in the financial industry and giving middle class consumers an advantage they never had before.