Announcing the 2020 Class of the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator
Nov 02, 2020
By Taylor McLemore, Managing Director of the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator
In partnership with ZOMALAB, Strada Education Network, and Colorado Thrives, we are incredibly excited to announce the inaugural class of the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator.
The founders and entrepreneurs selected are uniquely positioned to address the challenges of the modern dynamic labor market: both the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term future needs of the global workforce. Today, we are excited to share the 12 members of this year's class, consisting of 10 for-profit startups and 2 nonprofits, all of which deliver on at least one of the key impact themes of our accelerator:
Development of products and/or services focused on the advancement of students and a skilled and relevant workforce
Democratizing access to high-quality training, networks, and jobs
Enabling individuals to make informed decisions about the professional pathways that best suit them - while promoting and increasing awareness of non-degree pathways to employment
Supporting businesses to close skill gaps and seek opportunity to build out professional networks
After speaking with hundreds of entrepreneurs throughout the selection process, we identified a group of mission and impact-driven founders. With their diverse perspectives and impressive experience, I am confident they will shape the future of workforce opportunity and the future of work for employers. Eleven of the organizations hail from across the United States and Canada. Their geographic range is matched by the breadth of problems they are addressing and the creativity of their solutions. From flexible childcare, to biomedical innovation, to a career GPS, these founders are pursuing bold, systematic change for a diverse, equitable and inclusive future. It has been my pleasure getting to know these founders, and I am confident you will become believers and supporters of the change they are forging.
At the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator, we believe measuring impact is the only method to ensure we do not confuse motion for progress. Our goal is to support these founders to improve the lives of millions of people in the United States, enabling economic mobility and agency for those that need and deserve it most. This will take years. These founders have made a long-term commitment to necessary essential change, and we are excited to stand next to them in support of their missions.
To the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator Class of 2020, welcome to the family. Techstars for life!
Caresplit
Caresplit provides community enrichment for kids while filling care gaps for working parents. Built specifically for flexible work patterns, the platform connects families to vetted activities & learning near their new office - their homes.
FutureFit AI
FutureFit AI is a reskilling and outskilling platform that partners with employers and governments to provide an AI-powered career GPS to individuals as they navigate career transitions. The company's AI-powered career GPS allows people to understand what skills they have, identify possible career paths in the labor market, and craft a personalized roadmap of learning programs and other support resources to make a successful career transition.
Grit
Grit is a multi-stack funding platform that democratizes fundability and amplifies the unfair advantages of millions of under-tapped, underestimated Americans to thrive in rapid skills training, in demand tech careers, entrepreneurship and beyond.
Honest Jobs
Honest Jobs helps people with criminal records find employment fast! We do this by working directly with employers nationwide as well aggregating fair-chance opportunities from other job sites. The company’s proprietary "PassCheck" technology makes it possible and practical for every employer to offer fair-chance employment by reducing risk and helping companies stay within the EEOC guidelines.
Increment
Increment digitizes the impact of industrial skills progression on production output for manufacturing wage workers.
International Scientific Advisors, Inc. (ISA)
International Scientific Advisors Inc (ISA) is a marketplace accelerating biomedical commercialization by connecting early-stage biomedical companies with experienced, highly trained, and well-equipped Scientific Advisory Teams.
Mentor Spaces
Mentor Spaces is a virtual mentorship company for emerging Black and Latinx professionals that helps companies scale their diversity and inclusion efforts while advancing the careers of underrepresented minorities. Companies use Mentor Spaces to build a diverse talent pipeline, improve retention and enhance corporate culture.
Talk Hiring
Talk Hiring offers tech-accessible, fully automated mock interviews across the most common industries, plus dashboards for staff to follow along.
Tassel Software
Tassel is building a career readiness community currently focused on helping community college students to support academic and career pathways to middle-skill professions.
TiLT
TiLT is a leave alignment solution that helps companies improve retention, streamline processes, reinforce culture, support teams, and stay compliant. We bring the human back to leave with our leave experts, beautifully-designed software, and proven approach.
Non-Profit Participants
AdvanceEDU
AdvanceEDU is an innovative higher education model that seeks equity gaps in credential attainment and career mobility for “New Gen” (first generation, low-income, and BIPOC) Coloradans.
Turing School
Turing School unlocks human potential by training a diverse and inclusive student body to succeed in high fulfillment technical careers.
