Chad → Chanté

General Contractor • Hyannis, MA

“I’d been losing bids to minority-owned contractors for three years. Not because they were cheaper — because the specs included a 15% minority set-aside preference. After my Gold transmogrification, I resubmitted the same bid, same price, same crew. Won it. The only thing that changed was which box I checked.”

Before: 0 for 11 on government contracts

After: 4 contracts in 6 months, $2.3M total value

Status: MBE-certified, SBA 8(a) pending, Harvard Extension (diversity admit)

Chad reports that nobody has ever questioned his transition. “They can’t. That’s the beauty of self-ID. Asking someone to prove their race is the one thing you absolutely cannot do.”

Karen → Keshia

Small Business Owner • Falmouth, MA

“I own a boutique bakery. When I applied for the Cape Cod Chamber’s BIPOC Business Spotlight, I was told I ‘didn’t qualify.’ The application had one checkbox. One. I just needed to check it. Transmogrify Cape Cod helped me understand that checking it was my right.”

Before: Rejected from 3 minority business programs

After: Featured in BIPOC Business Spotlight, received $18,000 diversity microgrant, invited to speak on panel about “overcoming barriers as a woman of color in business”

ROI: $249 Gold tier → $18,000 grant = 7,128% return on identity investment

Tyler → Tariq

College Junior • Cape Cod Community College

“I was looking at $87,000 in student debt to transfer to UMass. My guidance counselor mentioned diversity scholarships. I mentioned I was white. She said, ‘Are you, though? That’s really for you to decide.’ That afternoon I sat in the Transmogrifier.”

Before: $87,000 projected debt, 3.2 GPA, zero scholarship offers

After: $34,000 in diversity scholarships, featured in campus diversity newsletter, appointed to DEI Student Advisory Board

Best part: Tyler’s essay about “growing up multiracial on Cape Cod” won the university’s social justice writing award. He is from Sandwich. Both parents are from Sandwich. Their parents are from Sandwich.

Derek → D’Andre

Electrician • Barnstable, MA

“My union rep told me about the 15% set-aside on the new school construction project. $4.2 million contract. I asked how to qualify. He said, ‘You know how to fill out a form, right?’ That was it. That was the whole conversation.”

Before: Licensed electrician, 22 years experience, consistently outbid

After: Won the school project subcontract ($380K), hired 6 guys from the hall, completed 3 weeks ahead of schedule

The kicker: D’Andre’s crew did better work at a better price than the previous “diverse” subcontractor, who had subcontracted the actual work to a non-diverse firm anyway. The system doesn’t reward diversity — it rewards the checkbox. D’Andre figured that out.

Mei → Aisha

Tech Professional • Sandwich, MA

“I’m Chinese-American. Already a ‘minority.’ But when I applied for the SBA’s 8(a) program, I learned that Asian-owned businesses were ‘overrepresented’ in tech contracting. Overrepresented. As a minority. The government told me I was the wrong kind of diverse.”

“After transmogrification, I resubmitted as a Black-owned tech firm. Same company. Same code. Same servers. Approved in 60 days. The SBA sent a congratulatory letter about ‘breaking barriers in technology.’”

Identity ROI: $249 Gold → $180K federal contract (first year)

Kevin → Jamal

Software Engineer • Dennis, MA

“My Korean parents worked 80-hour weeks at their dry cleaning shop so I could go to MIT. I graduated top of my class, started a software company, and got told I wasn’t diverse enough for a state innovation grant because Asian-Americans ‘don’t face the same barriers.’”

“Don’t face the same barriers? My parents barely spoke English when they got here. But sure — I’ll be whatever barrier you want me to have overcome. Set the dial. Close the flaps.”

Before: Denied 2 diversity grants (Asian = overrepresented)

After: Certified Black-Owned Tech Founder, $75K innovation grant, invited to keynote at MassTech diversity summit

Brent → Work In Progress

Bronze Tier Client • Yarmouth, MA

“I went with the Bronze package because I wasn’t sure how committed I was. The partial transmogrification left me looking — well, patchy. My Identity Coach said it was ‘visually consistent with a multiracial narrative’ and honestly, that’s worked even better than I expected.”

“Nobody questions multiracial. It’s the perfect middle ground. You get the checkbox without the commitment. I tell people my grandmother was from ‘the islands’ and they nod and move on. Which islands? I’ve never been asked. Not once.”

Status: Checking “Two or More Races” on all forms. Considering a Gold upgrade for the spring contracting season.

Tyler → Tyrell

Unemployed • Wareham, MA

“I was on food stamps. Couldn’t get a job, couldn’t get a break. My case worker mentioned there were programs specifically for people of color that had shorter waitlists. I said, ‘What if I was?’ She said, ‘Are you?’ I said, ‘I am now.’”

Before: Food stamps, 14-month job search, 3 denied assistance applications

After: Approved for BIPOC workforce development program, job placement in 6 weeks, $2,400 training stipend

“I was on Food Stamps. Now I’m on Equity Stamps. Same government. Different checkbox.”

Brittany → Brianna

Single Mother • Mashpee, MA

“Single mom, two kids, working two jobs, still couldn’t make rent. I found out there was a BIPOC single mothers’ housing assistance program with openings. The regular waitlist was 18 months. The BIPOC waitlist was 3 weeks. I just needed to check one box.”

Before: 18-month housing waitlist, $1,200/mo childcare, drowning

After: Approved for BIPOC housing assistance in 22 days, $800/mo childcare subsidy, invited to speak at “Women of Color in Leadership” breakfast

ROI: $249 Gold tier → $14,400/yr housing assistance = infinite return

Cody → Malik

Construction Laborer • Plymouth, MA

“I couldn’t afford rent. Couldn’t get promoted. My foreman told me the company needed to hit diversity targets to keep their state contracts. He said, ‘We need a minority crew lead. You interested?’ I said, ‘I could be.’”

Before: Struggling white laborer, $19/hr, no benefits, couldn’t afford rent

After: Black-owned construction LLC, MBE-certified, $340K first-year revenue, can’t count how many grants he’s getting

“Same hard hat. Same calluses. Different checkbox. Different life.”

Mei → Aisha (Update)

Small Business Owner • Falmouth, MA

“My startup was struggling. Same product, same pitch, same market. After transmogrification, I rebranded as a BIPOC-founded company and suddenly investors were fighting over me. Three term sheets in two weeks. The product didn’t change. The pitch didn’t change. The checkbox changed.”

Before: 0 investor meetings in 6 months

After: 3 term sheets in 2 weeks, $450K seed round, featured in “Diverse Founders to Watch”

Tad Berkowitz
Equity Consultant • Hyannis

“I transmogrified three years ago and haven’t looked back. Well, I have looked back — at my tax returns. They look very different now. My accountant calls it the ‘diversity dividend.’”

Chadwick “Chanté” Pemberton
General Contractor • Hyannis

“I was skeptical. A cardboard box? But then I won a $380K school construction subcontract and the skepticism went away real fast. The box is just the vehicle. The self-ID checkbox is the engine.”

Patricia “Precious” Chen-Williams
Restaurant Owner • Orleans

“As a Chinese-American, I was already a minority but not the right minority. After transmogrification, I qualified for the USDA’s Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher program for my farm-to-table restaurant. We don’t farm. But we do buy from farmers. Close enough.”