History
YoPro Global Foundation is the culmination of over a decade of work with young professionals around the world. Today, the organization exists to provide resources, access and experiences to young professionals who seek to advance themselves and their communities, pursue entrepreneurship, and inspire others, not driven by fame or fortune, but by a sense of purpose and desire to make a change, to innovate.
At the tail end of his corporate career in 2009, YoPro’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Ty Richardson, living in Dublin, Ireland at the time, decided to launch a branch of a networking organization, European Young Professionals (EYP), in an effort to improve networking for introverts and enhance the networking experience. With a successful launch, and having a series of monthly events that pushed the envelope on creativity and innovation, Dr. Ty supported the launching of EYP Barcelona to add to the already established EYP London and Bangkok.
However, though highly successful in bringing people together and creating an impact, the organization existed only as a passion project for its leaders until Dr. Ty and Ronny Ellefsen, co-founder of the EYP London chapter, came together and proposed the change to EYP Global which later, after a series of focus groups and surveys, became YoPro Global.
In 2011, YoPro Global was established with a vision to become a global leader in networking events for young professionals. The team of two, Dr. Ty and Ronny were joined by Drew Morrison as they headed to Silicon Valley and set off to take the in-person networking experience online via social network. Despite careful planning and initial fundraising, however, they were unsuccessful in gaining the traction needed to continue to drive additional investment for growth for a social network.
In 2014, Dr. Ty and Ronny pivoted their strategy once more and decided to return to in-person networking experiences, this time, with their eyes set on the Caribbean. Led by Dr. Ty and a team he assembled, YoPro Trinidad and Tobago (YoProTT) was established and once again, creative, innovative and impactful in-person networking experiences were planned on a monthly basis, quickly gaining the attention of the local media and the interest of the local youth and young professionals.
By the time 2016 came around, YoProTT had expanded from simply hosting networking events for youth and young professionals, to supporting professionals in companies like Microsoft, Anime Caribe, The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, and Flow, just to name a few, with creative and innovative experiences for their employees, partners and customers. This experience gave the founders valuable insight into the needs and aspirations of youth and young professionals seeking to make a difference in a developing economy and compare it to the experience they had in a developed economy like Ireland and the UK, even the brief stint in the US.
In 2019, Dr. Ty relocated to Florida in the United States and established the YoPro Global Foundation. From the 10 years of working with young professionals across the world, Dr. Richardson decided that he did not want to start yet another organization simply doing events. Rather, he wanted to be a resource for organizations and individuals who are already making an impact, and use this skills to support the provision of more resources, access and experiences to young professionals, especially in global economies, so they can access their potential and make an impact much sooner than later.
In 2024, YoPro embarked on yet another mission: to impact young professionals seeking entrepreneurship opportunities in the coaching industry, by launching an industry conference for coaches. It's long been held that coaching is a low barrier to entry profession for entrepreneurs with life experience, a purpose or mission or coming from a corporate background. Having spent over 15 years, developing young professionals in their jobs, the evolution of YoPro to support their transition into entrepreneurship by means of the coaching industry, and the creating of an industry conference for this industry, positions YoPro to do what it has been doing for a long time: creating and advancing opportunities for those seeking resources, support and community to grow and scale.
YoPro continues supports organizations like the University of the West Indies Alumni Association (Jamaica), Anime Caribe (Trinidad and Tobago) and Handy Inc of South Florida in their mission to support youth and young professionals, with a goal of expanding that reach to a wider audience for a bigger impact.
At the tail end of his corporate career in 2009, YoPro’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Ty Richardson, living in Dublin, Ireland at the time, decided to launch a branch of a networking organization, European Young Professionals (EYP), in an effort to improve networking for introverts and enhance the networking experience. With a successful launch, and having a series of monthly events that pushed the envelope on creativity and innovation, Dr. Ty supported the launching of EYP Barcelona to add to the already established EYP London and Bangkok.
However, though highly successful in bringing people together and creating an impact, the organization existed only as a passion project for its leaders until Dr. Ty and Ronny Ellefsen, co-founder of the EYP London chapter, came together and proposed the change to EYP Global which later, after a series of focus groups and surveys, became YoPro Global.
In 2011, YoPro Global was established with a vision to become a global leader in networking events for young professionals. The team of two, Dr. Ty and Ronny were joined by Drew Morrison as they headed to Silicon Valley and set off to take the in-person networking experience online via social network. Despite careful planning and initial fundraising, however, they were unsuccessful in gaining the traction needed to continue to drive additional investment for growth for a social network.
In 2014, Dr. Ty and Ronny pivoted their strategy once more and decided to return to in-person networking experiences, this time, with their eyes set on the Caribbean. Led by Dr. Ty and a team he assembled, YoPro Trinidad and Tobago (YoProTT) was established and once again, creative, innovative and impactful in-person networking experiences were planned on a monthly basis, quickly gaining the attention of the local media and the interest of the local youth and young professionals.
By the time 2016 came around, YoProTT had expanded from simply hosting networking events for youth and young professionals, to supporting professionals in companies like Microsoft, Anime Caribe, The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, and Flow, just to name a few, with creative and innovative experiences for their employees, partners and customers. This experience gave the founders valuable insight into the needs and aspirations of youth and young professionals seeking to make a difference in a developing economy and compare it to the experience they had in a developed economy like Ireland and the UK, even the brief stint in the US.
In 2019, Dr. Ty relocated to Florida in the United States and established the YoPro Global Foundation. From the 10 years of working with young professionals across the world, Dr. Richardson decided that he did not want to start yet another organization simply doing events. Rather, he wanted to be a resource for organizations and individuals who are already making an impact, and use this skills to support the provision of more resources, access and experiences to young professionals, especially in global economies, so they can access their potential and make an impact much sooner than later.
In 2024, YoPro embarked on yet another mission: to impact young professionals seeking entrepreneurship opportunities in the coaching industry, by launching an industry conference for coaches. It's long been held that coaching is a low barrier to entry profession for entrepreneurs with life experience, a purpose or mission or coming from a corporate background. Having spent over 15 years, developing young professionals in their jobs, the evolution of YoPro to support their transition into entrepreneurship by means of the coaching industry, and the creating of an industry conference for this industry, positions YoPro to do what it has been doing for a long time: creating and advancing opportunities for those seeking resources, support and community to grow and scale.
YoPro continues supports organizations like the University of the West Indies Alumni Association (Jamaica), Anime Caribe (Trinidad and Tobago) and Handy Inc of South Florida in their mission to support youth and young professionals, with a goal of expanding that reach to a wider audience for a bigger impact.