Ex-Con Founder Launches AI Job Platform for People With Criminal Records

Richard Bronson, a former securities fraudster who served time in federal prison, launched Commissary Club in 2026 — an AI-powered social media and employment platform built specifically for people with criminal records.

Bronson’s background is central to the startup’s origin. In the 1980s, he worked at Stratton Oakmont, the brokerage firm run by Jordan Belfort — later depicted in the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Bronson later started his own firm in South Florida, building what he described as a $100 million business taking small-cap companies public, before securities violations led to his conviction and a federal prison sentence of a couple of years.

After his release, Bronson found himself unable to get hired despite his education and work experience. That experience shaped Commissary Club, which takes its name from the store inside prisons where inmates buy goods. The platform uses AI to help formerly incarcerated people find jobs and housing, and includes a social component designed to address the isolation many face after release. “They find community,” Bronson said.

Bronson’s co-founder is Roman Kissin, who previously worked at eBay and IBM and served as CTO of LexisNexis between 2022 and 2025. The two currently make up the entire team.

The platform is free for the first 10 job applications, then moves to a paid model — $149 for a bundle of 10 applications, or $14.99 each. Bronson acknowledged the for-profit structure may raise eyebrows but frames it as a business opportunity in an underserved market. “We’re going after a huge, huge market that nobody — I mean nobody — does anything about,” he said.

Commissary Club was selected for TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 competition, held at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 13–15, 2026, in San Francisco.