RiseKit

RiseKit's SaaS solution makes it easier to find and stay on fulfilling career pathways by providing jobseekers from underserved communities with the tools to manage their employment journeys, discover relevant jobs, training, and resources, and receive critical guidance from a collaborative support network (i.e. nonprofit staff, RiseKit team members, mentors). We are now scaling across the country, having launched in three major cities and actively preparing for launch in several additional large cities over the next six months. With each market, we gain mass and momentum, building our base of jobseekers, employers and supportive nonprofits, schools, government agencies and funders. This network effect and associated synergies drive usage, revenue and funding for our ecosystem, not unlike an ecosystem such as LinkedIn which saw exponential growth. And the bigger we get, the better our predictive analytics will optimize pathways for jobseekers and inform those entities supporting these jobseekers.

Underserved communities across the United States (and beyond) lack access, transparency and accountability to uplift residents and neighborhoods. We have found that underserved jobseekers have at least one of five challenges in finding and staying on a fulfilling career pathway: 

1. A struggle with basic needs such as child care, transportation, housing, incarceration and mental health (i.e. poverty bandwidth);

2. A lack of know-how with their networks so as to understand where to start, what to leverage, and which pathway(s) are viable (i.e. social capital);

3. A lack of confidence and motivation in navigating a complex and fragmented network of resources, job training, and job opportunities;

4. A struggle to access and effectively navigate job support resources due to systemic inefficiencies and unpredictable outcomes, i.e. unnecessarily complex intake processes; 

5. A lack of positive support systems to help them get trained and optimized for job seeking, and also keep them accountable along their pathways.

Our licensed customers – nonprofits and schools assisting jobseekers, employers hiring jobseekers, and government agencies supporting jobseekers – are overwhelmed with siloed, cumbersome, partial, and inefficient systems. 

RiseKit is a proprietary "software as a service" (SaaS) solution that makes it easier to find and stay on fulfilling career pathways by providing job seekers from underserved communities with the tools to manage their employment journeys, discover relevant jobs, training, and resources, and receive critical guidance from a collaborative support network (i.e. nonprofit staff, RiseKit team members, mentors).

The technology and software powering RiseKit relies upon learned insights, reimagined processes, and "big data" in devising and leveraging recommendation engines and predictive analytics to create and offer customized pathways for jobseekers through a feedback loop. 

We know from extensive work, research and interviews with jobseekers and other critical stakeholders that jobseekers from underserved communities need much more than job boards to find and stay on a fulfilling career journey. They need easy access to relevant resources to overcome barriers in gaining and sustaining employment, a support system to help guide and enable their journeys, and employers who are truly committed to their success. 

Today, the entire system (and existing technology) has mostly ignored the real-life experiences of jobseekers and other stakeholders when designing their solutions and processes. The result has been a siloed, fragmented and inefficient system that has left jobseekers struggling to navigate in finding and accessing relevant/optimal resources, agency staff lacking capacity and resources to be effective supporters, and employers wary of hiring because they see too much risk and uncertainty. 

Our approach to developing technology puts the underserved jobseeker at the center of the design process. By developing a solution to build their capacity to manage personalized career pathways, connecting them to relevant jobs, training, and nonprofits resources, and ensuring they receive timely and impactful support, we are making it possible for communities to truly make meaningful progress closing the opportunity gap. 

RiseKit is an ideal solution for this dimension and relates to other dimensions as well. RiseKit (1) matches diverse jobseekers with employers, workforce development programs, and vital stakeholders, (2) increases underserved population access to high-quality, affordable learning, skill-building, and training, and (3) enables jobseekers to make informed decisions about pathways and jobs.

Jobseekers find jobs, training and resources customized to needs, goals and pathways. Nonprofits recruit more participants, partner with more with employers and automate tracking of outcomes. Employers find jobseekers, while partnering with training programs and schools at scale. Government and funders increase collaboration and measure data in real-time.

10 full-time employees

1 part-time employee

5 contractors

3 additional full-time employees in process for hiring

We firmly committed to maintaining and further increasing a diverse team as we grow. Below is our current breakdown: 

• Full Time Team Breakdown

  • 40% woman 

  • 40% diverse 

  • 10% veteran

  • Leadership team (6 total) 

    • 33% African American or Hispanic 

    • 17% woman 

    • 17% veteran

We hire from our training program partners, schools and HBCU. We are also an opportunity zone company. 

We are also working with the City of Chicago TIFWorks program to implement internal training programs focused on hiring underserved community members that need further training to become fluent with customer success management, software as a service, and information technology processes. 

Through our unique, proprietary software, predictive analytics and the ecosystem, RiseKit addresses a glaring gap in the workforce landscape today:  many underserved job seekers (especially in urban areas, but certainly beyond) are at a disadvantage because of enablement and training gaps left by major platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and CareerBuilder. 

RiseKit is purpose-built to fill this gap by connecting job seekers to training programs, supportive services (i.e. housing, childcare, transportation), and employers. Our SaaS solution helps:  1) job seekers receive customized pathways to meaningful employment at no cost to them; 2) non-profits automate workflow and reporting while receiving powerful data to match their services to the candidates who need it; 3) employers find entry-level, and often diverse, talent who are rising to the requirements; and 4) government agencies and foundations with insightful reporting and impact analytics. 

RiseKit ties the social determinants of health, poverty bandwidth and lack of social capital into a single, powerful and enabling platform for jobseekers, employers, nonprofits, schools, government agencies, and funders.

In order to succeed and ultimately win this space of helping underserved jobseekers, training providers, educational systems, employers, and grantmakers, the business providing the software needs to have the following innovations: (1) technology innovation, (2) business model innovation and (3) marketing innovation. [Source: Blitzscaling] 

RiseKit has innovated in each of these areas: 

Technology Innovation: Our software enables jobseekers through messaging features, supportive services, connections to jobs and mentors, and leveraging big data/predictive analytics for optimization based upon real data/outcomes. This is a custom built software using React, Ruby on Rails, AWS, Segment, Hubspot, Twilio, and Sendgrid (among other software) to empower jobseekers. The technology creates an ecosystem with and across cities while allowing customization for nonprofits, employers and community collaboratives to devise their own pathways. This innovation allows RiseKit to connect into existing workflows and permitting database integration. 

Business model innovation: RiseKit has reimagined the ecosystem for existing stakeholders by putting underserved jobseekers at the center of the design process. We developed a solution to build jobseeker capacity to manage personalized career pathways, to connect them to relevant jobs, training, and nonprofits resources, and to ensure they receive timely and impactful support. Additionally, we increase capacity for nonprofits, employers and government.  

Marketing innovation: RiseKit's software and processes have produced a viral effect. For example, inviting "x" number of job candidates, nonprofits or employers leads to multifold more user invitations. Indeed, we have struggled with inbound leads such that we've had to slow our sales to build/improve process automation for efficiency.

Placed -

• 350+ people in jobs
• 400+ people in training program 

Investors -

• Stand Together Foundation, Verte Opportunity Fund, 10+ High Net Worth Family Offices

Revenue -

• $30,000+ / month
• Key customers include: City of Chicago, Chicago Community Trust, Teamwork Englewood, Kaizen Health (employer), European Wax Center (employer),  Kane County Sheriff’s Office, YearUp Chicago, re:work training, Defy Ventures, and the Community Council of Greater Dallas

Testimonials (sampling of many) -

Government and Foundations: “There has never been a software focused on underserved residents and job seekers. RiseKit gets asked to partner with all types of companies and groups, but they stay focused in social impact to help the hardest to reach individuals."

Employer: “RiseKit make it easy to save time finding entry level candidates because I don't have time to partner with all the schools and training programs. The bigger RiseKit gets, the more time we will save."

Job candidate: “You built an Indeed for me. You make me feel like I belong.” 

Nonprofit Staff: "RiseKit's software is truly a game-changer - not only for our returning citizen population, but for non-profit agencies to network and collaborate together to make a genuine and lasting impact in our community. NLEN is committed to providing a holistic approach when assisting those with barriers to employment - specifically our returning citizens." 

Our society struggles to overcome centuries of systemic racism and rural decay to create communities where a person’s barriers, zip code, and history do not unfairly define the careers they can create and the life they can live. 

It takes much more than a single person, funder, agency, or employer -- it takes a community working together towards a common goal to help a single person overcome these barriers to employment and the ability to find and stay on a fulfilling career pathway (outputs).  

RiseKit brings together underserved jobseekers, agencies (nonprofits), employers, and funders into one platform that transforms how they coordinate, collaborate, and evaluate their efforts to improve employment outcomes while empowering the jobseekers to take ownership of their employment journey (inputs/activities). 

• 2021: 15,000 jobseekers, 300 nonprofits and schools, 200 employers, 10 government systems/foundations  (10 cities) 

• 2022: 100,000 jobseekers (20 cities) 550 nonprofits and schools, 450 employers, 20 government systems/foundations  (30 cities)

• 2023: 1mil jobseekers (40 cities)  1,000 nonprofits and schools, 800 employers, 40 government systems/foundations  

• 2024: 5mil jobseekers (100 cities) 2,000 nonprofits and schools, 1,200 employers, 70 government systems/foundations   

Impact: 15 million total job placements, training program placements and mentors matched. 

We need to achieve the following:

1. Enhance and upgrade software for greater automation and functionality, including such things as more efficient onboarding, tracking, resume creation, etc.
2. Work alongside more government systems and workforce boards to help them increase capacity across their cities
3. More robust data analytics leveraging "Big Data" to better predict optimal career pathways, optimal resource/funding application, organizational process improvements, etc.
4. Build out more integrations with third party platforms and databases 
5. Secure more nationwide nonprofit, employer, and foundation/funder partners to expand into multiple cities at once

1. Grow revenue to hire more team members.
2. Raise a Series A round in mid to end of 2021.
3. Build automation in RiseKit’s onboarding, engagement processes and engagement.
4. Increase public and stakeholder awareness through advertising, marketing and public relations.
5. Find a key WIOA System or workforce board partner to pilot with in a metropolitan market of over 150,000 residents

Job retention. We recently were asked to build this by one of our customers, i.e. adding ongoing proof of employment and tracking. This will be going live in Q1 2021.

• RiseKit has the following team experience and accomplishments - 

  • Technical team that has built companies that have gone onto onboard millions of users and has raised $200mil+ in venture capital

  • Prior exits in social mission software, i.e. Donor Path and Appriss 

  • A community success and sales team that has grown a $2mil product at Network For Good selling to community foundations and grant makers. 

  • A legal/compliance/data governance and privacy leader with 25+ years of experience 

  • A focus on hiring diverse team members and leaders from the underserved communities 

  • Track record of raising significant capital, demonstrating the ability to sell our vision 

  • Proven product market fit with $30k+ in MRR from Government, Nonprofit and other customers 

• Customers and partners include: 

  • Government & Foundations: 

    • City of Chicago’s Department of Family Support Services 

    • Kane County Sheriff’s Office 

    • Trio Foundation

    • Hughes Foundation

    • Chicago Community Trust 

  • Nonprofit Training Programs

  • Community Council of Greater Dallas 

  • Teamwork Englewood 

  • YearUp Chicago

  • Defy Ventures 

  • Ideal Candidate 

  • Employers: 

    • Kaizen Health 

    • Everywhere Wireless 

    • LaSalle Network 

    • European Wax center 

  • Stand Together Foundation and their extensive network of nonprofits, employers and foundations. 

RiseKit has a co-linear business model where revenue and social impact have a very high positive correlation. We use the GEM (Growth, Engagement, Monetization) to help define our business model.

Growth: Our candidate growth is largely driven through paid and nonprofit channels, while funders, governments, nonprofits, and employers are acquired through a combination of referrals and outbound efforts. 

Engagement: Each stakeholder segment, from its own perspective, is expecting to improve its investment in creating better employment outcomes through a combination of RiseKit's Software, Customer Success (high touch), and Customer Marketing (low touch). Based on the complexity of the segments' challenges, RiseKit increases the level of hands-on support to ensure the segment realizes its expected outcomes around employment mobility.

Monetization: RiseKit has a SaaS + services model where nonprofits, employers, funders and government pay a month or annual fee to access our software. Larger accounts pay additional fees for more robust data/functionality and more ongoing support from a Community Success Manager. How much they pay is largely driven by the size of the organization, which in turn increases overall usage and thus value created for their organization. You can visit our website for specific pricing: www.risekit.co.

Jobseekers always have free use of the software.

• Grow the number of licensed customers
• Increase each account/contract size 
  • Our average contract size is $20k/year. We are now closing government agencies and foundations for $100+k/year. 
  • We estimate it takes about 6 months to break even in a new market then about 1 year to double in revenue in that market. 
  • We are actively conducting "experiments" in our new and proposed markets to determine the optimal pathways for us to enter into new markets.

We have raised in excess of $2 million to date. 

Recently, we received publicity surrounding our first funding round close: https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/inno/stories/fundings/2020/10/15/startup-for-underserved-job-seekers-raises-14m.html 

Revenue and revenue sources have been noted in prior responses.

As previously noted, we plan a Series A round in Q2 or Q3 of 2021. We anticipate this round will be in the range of $5 million.

$1.5 million

Prize money and/or grants from this Challenge will have an enormously positive impact in helping us to (among other things) -

1. Enhance our software, including building automation in RiseKit’s onboarding, engagement processes and engagement and incorporating greater predictive analytics and A.I. into our software.
   1. For example, we plan to incorporate a "Net Transformation Score." Much like a net promoter score, RiseKit plans to use a single indicator of an underserved job seeker's path towards economic mobility and allow the individual to measure his/her/their confidence on this journey, while tying this score back to one or many training programs and schools that may have helped this individual reach gainful employment. While this feedback loop happens, we will start using predictive analytics and A.I. to help create employability scorecards and suggest the best pathways for people based on their own stories and barriers towards gainful employment.
2. Increase public and stakeholder awareness through advertising, marketing and public relations.
   1. Winning prize money and/or a grant as part of this Challenge will provide meaningful awareness to RiseKit's mission and business.
   2. Money can also be used to hire resources to increase advertising, marketing and PR efforts.
3. Work with workforce board partners to test and expand in one or more new metropolitan markets.

We need partners to help us --

1. Enhance our software, including building automation in RiseKit’s onboarding, engagement processes and engagement and incorporating greater predictive analytics and A.I. into our software.
2. Increase public and stakeholder awareness through advertising, marketing and public relations.
3. Support/enable future fundraising.

• More employers
  • We would love engagement with Fortune 1000 employers with needs for entry to mid level employees, especially those wanting to demonstrate commitment toward social/economic causes, ESG, etc.
• More family offices, which may bring both employers and financial support (funding licenses for nonprofits to utilize RiseKit's software)
• More nationwide workforce development nonprofits

An important final point, though not currently a focal point of our business, nor something we founded the company to accomplish. But we believe RiseKit could have meaningful, positive impact upon our current climate of political polarization. Indeed, the MIT Solve mission is for social impact innovation to solve world challenges. Today's extreme polarization is absolutely a barrier to more effective political, economic and social discourse and engagement, thus impeding social impact.

Interestingly, RiseKit has important investments from fairly well-known progressive and conservative funders. These "poles" have come together to support RiseKit because they firmly believe in our mission. Putting politics aside, these supporters seek to uplift underserved communities. This is common ground. This is working together rather than at cross purposes. This is building bridges, not walls.

So, in addition to our core mission, we hope we can also be a model -- a light in a dim period of polarization -- to inspire others to find common ground with those perceived to be ideologically so different. We would welcome partners to help showcase RiseKit as a model of such collaboration. This would naturally bring greater awareness to RiseKit and our core mission as well.