# Jonathan Pierre

> Jonathan Pierre is a New York-based startup operator working in Founding Growth at Basis, the AI-accounting company. A first-generation Haitian American raised in Boston, he studied across economics, mathematics, philosophy, and religion at Yale, where he founded the YES Incubator. His path through early-stage technology has been defined by persistent outreach and hands-on operations, most visibly during an Emerge Career stint that began with years of unanswered messages and grew into work spanning research, partnerships, customer support, and expansion.

- **Role:** Founding Growth at Basis
- **Organizations:** Basis, Emerge Career, Yale Entrepreneurial Society, YES Incubator, Contrary, City of Boston, Envision Accelerator, Intros AI, Clora
- **From:** Boston, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate studies spanning economics, mathematics, philosophy, and religious studies, Yale University
- **Known for:** Founded the YES Incubator at Yale and led it from March 2021 to October 2022., Built a Yale founder community that later counted the founders of Prepared and Craniometrix among its participants., Was selected as a QuestBridge National College Match Scholar.

## Career timeline

- **2021** — Founded and directed the YES Incubator within the Yale Entrepreneurial Society, aiming to create a stronger culture of student startup execution.
- **2021** — Worked with Envision Accelerator and served as an ONEXYS coach at Yale; earlier startup work included Intros AI and Clora.
- **2022-2023** — Interned in the office of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and scouted startups as a Contrary Venture Partner.
- **2024** — Joined Emerge Career as an intern after pursuing an introduction to its founder for roughly three years.
- **2025** — Returned to Emerge Career full time, working across research, partnerships, customer support, and operations after graduating from Yale.
- **2026** — Left Emerge Career after two cross-country moves and joined Basis in Founding Growth in New York.

## Achievements

- Founded the YES Incubator at Yale and led it from March 2021 to October 2022.
- Built a Yale founder community that later counted the founders of Prepared and Craniometrix among its participants.
- Was selected as a QuestBridge National College Match Scholar.
- Helped Emerge Career scale operationally from a four-person team with several five-figure pilots, according to his own account.
- Moved into Founding Growth at Basis as the company expanded its AI-agent platform for accounting firms.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — In a LinkedIn post, Pierre highlighted Basis's community beta for small accounting firms and the company's claim that participating accountants save 10 to 20 hours per week.
- **2026-08** — Joined Basis in New York in a Founding Growth role after leaving Emerge Career.
- **2026-07** — Published a farewell account of his path into Emerge Career, including three years of outreach, work across several operating functions, and two cross-country moves.

## Links

- Website: https://jonapierre.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-l-pierre
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jonathanpierree

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-pierre
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28