There's a New Fund in the Future of Work Sector
Meet Pathway Ventures - investing in new models of earning, learning, and community building.
I have some exciting news to make up for my 2-month hiatus. Along with my talented co-founder Taylor Stockton, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Pathway Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on the Human Side of the Future of Work.
We’re investing in startups that drive economic mobility through innovative new models of earning, learning, and community building 🔥
Raising a VC fund in your 20s is an ‘unlikely’ aspiration. With Pathway, we’re excited to break down barriers that’ll help more ‘unlikely’ dreams become a reality 💛
Know anyone I should connect with? Hit reply and let me know!
Given how quickly the skills gap, career transitions, passion economy, and remote work are changing, we believe there’s a significant gap in the market to invest in companies that impact (and improve!) a worker’s livelihood.
Here are some of the categories we’re investing in. We’ll be sharing more about them in the coming weeks!
Workforce Retraining
The skills gap continues to widen as employers increase the digitization and automation of the workforce. Traditional education models have proven ineffective in having the agility to meet evolving employer needs, leaving significant room for new models to support workers in gaining skills that lead directly to job outcomes.
Some areas we’re excited about:
Middle Skills Pathways – enabling non-degree learning tracks with clear job outcomes in formats that are specifically built for working adults
Work-Based Learning – providing practical workforce skills through apprenticeships and other learning experiences that reduce friction for both job seekers and employers
Specialized Job Platforms – facilitating job outcomes for specific industries or groups that will enable rapid growth and agility in aligning to labor market needs
Startups we admire in this category: NextStep, Springboard, WhiteHat, Riipen, Shift
Career Support & Community
The average person is now expected to have 15+ jobs over the course of their career. There is a significant need for lifelong support in navigating career pathways and finding community that is unbundled from a single workplace.
Some areas we’re excited about:
Career Navigation – supporting people in discovering in-demand career and learning paths and understanding where their skills and interests are most aligned
Professional Coaching – providing employer-agnostic career guidance and resources to achieve professional goals, both in transition and within job experiences
Unbundled Communities – unbundling professional networks from school and work by facilitating new models of collaboration and connection
Startups we admire in this category: FutureFit AI, Career Karma, Pathrise, On Deck, Chief
Flexible Work
Traditional 9-to-5 jobs with one full-time employer are increasingly becoming a concept of the past, leaving room for new innovative platforms to earn income, but also exposing pain points of a more flexible work structure where there is still opportunity to create supportive infrastructure.
Some areas we’re excited about:
Creator Economy – enabling individuals to monetize their skills more directly with technology platforms that reduce intermediaries
On-Demand Staffing – creating a just-in-time approach to matching the supply and demand of talent for responsibilities that go beyond traditional gig platforms
Independent Worker Support – providing the portable benefits and infrastructure that will empower the increasing number of independent workers at all skill levels
Startups we admire in this category: Outschool, Torch, NurseDash, Catch, Steady
Distributed Workforce
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, but the overall geography gap has also continued to widen as economic clustering drives a locational mismatch between the supply and demand of labor. Models that support remote and hybrid workers will continue to gain traction, but there will also be opportunity for relocation and the emergence of new geographic hubs.
Some areas we’re excited about:
Remote Staffing & Tools – enabling workers to more easily access remote work opportunities and empowering them to succeed through remote-first tools
New Geographic Hubs – fueling talent pipelines, employment, and economic growth in regions outside of traditional economic hubs
Relocation Models – facilitating the relocation of individuals to increase labor market fluidity in gaining access to new employment opportunities
Startups we admire in this category: Tango, Bitwise, Placement, Outtalent, Kenzie Academy
We’re not limited to these areas, just excited about them.
If you - or someone you know! - is building a company in this sector, fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.