“Underlying our work is a deep-seated belief that all students, regardless of their background or experience, deserve access to the network and support necessary to find opportunities and ultimately achieve their goals -- professionally and beyond,” said PeopleGrove CEO Adam Saven.
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) May 01, 2019
PeopleGrove, an online platform that connects students with alumni and mentors before, during, and after university, has closed a $4.7 million Series A round of financing led by Reach Capital, with participation from Bisk Ventures, Collaborative Fund, GSV Acceleration, Launch Capital, Riverpark Ventures, and University Ventures.
At a time when universities need to serve an increasingly diverse range of students and demonstrate value, PeopleGrove provides the tangible support systems necessary for students to get the most from their educational experience and investment. With the PeopleGrove platform, universities can now enable meaningful connections between students, alumni, staff, peers, mentors, instructors, and more.
“Underlying our work is a deep-seated belief that all students, regardless of their background or experience, deserve access to the network and support necessary to find opportunities and ultimately achieve their goals -- professionally and beyond,” said PeopleGrove CEO Adam Saven. “Our goal is to take the invisible yet powerful social capital networks that are often available to only a select few, and make them open and accessible to all students.”
The PeopleGrove platform launched in 2015 with the support of Stanford University as a close development partner. Today, PeopleGrove is proud to be partnering with over 180 client institutions, ranging from large public universities like Kansas State University, Clemson University, and the University of Michigan, to smaller private institutions and liberal arts colleges like Cornell University, Wellesley College, and Williams College, to online universities such as UMUC. And today, PeopleGrove mentors have volunteered well over 50,000 hours of their time in support of students.
PeopleGrove will use the capital to increase its investment in product and engineering, driving further development of its offerings across the entire student lifecycle, including Enrollment, Academic, Career, and Alumni success. In addition, PeopleGrove will selectively expand its leadership team to support the accelerated growth of its business.
“The PeopleGrove platform is powerful because it taps into the deep affinity that both current students and alumni share for their University,” said Jennifer Carolan, General Partner at Reach Capital. “The relationships that unfold on the platform between students and alumni have myriad benefits, from personal mentorship to career opportunities.”
“It’s vital for students to feel a sense of connection with Wellesley starting with the admissions process, across their entire academic experience, and beyond as they join our alumni ranks. PeopleGrove is our platform for creating community in all phases of a student’s journey, which ultimately helps drive their academic, personal, and professional success,” commented Jennifer Pollard, Director of Operations and Analytics, Wellesley College.
To learn more about how PeopleGrove is working to ensure all students and professionals have access to the community and connections needed to succeed, visit PeopleGrove.com.
About PeopleGrove
Founded in 2015, PeopleGrove is on a mission to connect every student and professional with the mentors, advisers and network needed to realize their full potential and find a fulfilling career. PeopleGrove’s Success Team platform has been successfully launched at the world’s leading institutions, including Stanford, University of Michigan, Wellesley College, University of Maryland University College and many more. Additional information is available at PeopleGrove.com.
About Reach Capital
Reach Capital supports the most promising entrepreneurs developing technology solutions for challenges in early childhood, K-12, higher education and lifelong learning. Reach invests in early-stage tech tools, applications, content, and services to improve educational opportunities for all students. The Fund also acts as a catalyst, inspiring and enabling traditional and non-traditional investors to provide capital to the fast-growing ed tech market.