Success is about who you know and how you show up.

Learn the strategies for building career connections that lead to long-term success.

Video Poster Image

Did you know that 90% of young people don't stay connected to the individuals, organizations, and institutions that can help them build their careers. 

Show them how to secure better-paying jobs, higher-quality opportunities, and get hired faster.

GET SOCIAL CAPITAL SMART AND CERTIFIED
THERE IS HOPE

You Can Build a Better Future

Learn the formula to turning what you know and who you know into real opportunities that move you forward.

Yes, It Really Is Possible!

In Social Capital Smart Rising Stars featuring Cortez, you’ll  learn the strategies for creating opportunities through consistency, confidence, and connection.

ENROLL NOW

In The Next 6 Months, You Could…

  • Start connecting with people who open real doors
  • Land a better job or internship
  • Be on your way to earning and learning at the same time

The right connections can change everything. We’ll show you how in Social Capital Smart Rising Stars featuring Cortez.

INTRODUCING

Social Capital Smart Rising Stars, featuring Cortez

 

You Are Ready To Take Control of Your Future?

This 5-module course will show you how opportunities really work and how to move closer to the future you want. You’ll learn how to:

  • Map opportunity networks so you don't waste your valuable assets
  •  Connect with people who open real doors 
  • Turn every connection into a stepping stone forward
  • Build habits that attract better jobs and stronger opportunities

With a simple shift in mindset and consistent action, you can start shaping a future filled with access, progress, and purpose.

What’s Included in the Social Capital Smart Rising Stars

MODULE 1

What Is Social Capital?

Research is clear. Economic mobility is based on the quality of your social capital. This first module introduces social capital: the hidden advantage that helps you find better jobs, faster.

  • Understand what social capital is and why it’s the #1 factor in getting hired
  • Learn the process to measure who you know, not only what you know
  • Begin building your personal roadmap to opportunity through social capital

By the end of this module, you’ll see opportunity differently. It's less about luck, more about knowing how access works.

MODULE 2

Opportunity Fields

Every space you are part of, such as school, work, community, or online, holds access to something bigger. In this module, you will learn how to map those spaces and find people and pathways already within reach.

  • Identify your personal opportunity fields and the access points within them.
  • Discover hidden opportunities write in your own network, or the network of those closest to you.
  • Turn potential access into action with one simple, low risk ask.

By the end of this module, you will have a clear map of your opportunity fields and a plan to activate them.

MODULE 3

Centrality and Access

The closer you are to opportunity, the faster you move.

In this module, you will learn how to position yourself within networks and industries so that information and opportunities reach you faster.

  • Understand what centrality means and why it matters for your goals.
  • Measure how close you are to people who can open doors to opportunity.
  • Identify key individuals who connect you to jobs, resources, and industries
  • Create a plan to strengthen your position and become more visible in your opportunity field.

By the end of this module, you will know how to move from the outside looking in to the center of opportunity flow where access and advancement begin.

MODULE 4

Signals and Impressions

How you show up determines what shows up for you.

In this module, you will learn how to send the right signals through actions, updates, and follow ups that keep you visible, credible, and memorable to people who matter.

  • Identify three key signals that show you are reliable, ready, and engaged.
  • Craft and send your first professional update using the update methodology.
  • Strengthen your digital and in person presence with consistency.

By the end of this module, you will know how to position yourself so people want to open doors for you.

MODULE 5

The Consistency Advantage

Consistency turns access into opportunity.

You have identified who matters. Now it is time to stay connected. In this final module, you will learn how to anchor your key connections through consistency, follow up, and real value.

You will learn how to:

  • Create a six week Anchoring Plan to keep your connections alive.

  • Use the five anchoring strategies: update, signal, amplify, enhance, and goodwill.

  • Make your first simple ask and plan your update loop.

  • Turn short term contact into long term opportunity.

By the end of this module, you will walk away with a complete Anchoring Plan and the confidence to maintain connections that move your future forward.

Social Capital Smart Is For You If...

  • You are tired of being overlooked for jobs and opportunities.

  • You want to understand how people actually get ahead.

  • You know you have talent but need the right connections to show it.

  • You are ready to turn what you know and who you know into real results.

  • You want to build a future that gives you and your family more options.

YES, I WANT IN!
NICE TO MEET YOU

I'm Edward DeJesus

For over two decades, I’ve been leading the national conversation on social capital, the connections, institutions, and access points that shape who gets ahead and who gets left behind. As the founder of Social Capital Builders, I’ve trained thousands of professionals and young people across the country on how to turn connections into opportunity.

My work has been featured in national initiatives, workforce programs, and community efforts that focus on one core truth: opportunities appear based on the quality of your connections.

That’s why I created Social Capital Smart Rising Stars Featuring Cortez, to give young people the same tools, language, and strategies that employers, politicians, and leaders use every day to access better jobs, stronger careers, and real economic mobility.

If you’re ready to learn how opportunity really works and how to move closer to it, you’re in the right place.

"I used to think resumes were everything—now I know relationships shape career doors that stay open."

- Justin Nkeita Marino

"Because of this course, I gained internships and learned to value and give back to my network"

- Tyson Nguyen Bayaud

"It helped me land internships by showing how relationships create opportunity"

- Amen D
GET STARTED TODAY!

Social Capital Smart Rising Stars

featuring Cortez

Payment Plan

$25/m

6 monthly payments

REGISTER NOW

Pay In Full

$99

Save $51!

REGISTER NOW
The Opportunity Advantage Bonus

Enroll now and get free monthly virtual coaching with the Social Capital Smart Team.

We know social capital grows through practice and support, not just lessons. That’s why when you join Rising Stars, Featuring Cortez, you’ll also receive exclusive access to our monthly virtual coaching sessions  led by the same experts who train workforce, youth, and family programs nationwide.

These live sessions help you:

  • Apply what you learn to real opportunities in your school, job, or community.

  • Get personalized guidance on your Opportunity Fields and Anchoring Plan.

  • Stay connected, consistent, and supported as you build your future.

This bonus is valued at $599 for six months, but it’s yours free when you enroll today because we believe everyone deserves access to opportunity.