22
22
2023 Impact Report
In 2023, our Leeds Illuminate companies remained focused on creating opportunity and impact in advancing education outcomes and economic mobility for the learners, aspiring professionals and working adults they serve.
From working adults who need new pathways or more flexible economic opportunities to enterprises grappling with reskilling gaps of mission-critical knowledge, our portfolio companies have remained committed to achieving measurable positive outcomes for their beneficiaries and their investors.
Leeds Illuminate invests in growth-stage companies with demonstrated efficacy and measurable outcomes in the education and workforce sectors. We believe that delivering positive outcomes for the learners and workers served is key to building enduring, successful businesses in these sectors.
In our third Impact Report we celebrate the results our portfolio companies are accomplishing for their beneficiaries, who are mostly adult learners and workers, and whose positive outcomes in turn benefit their families and communities.
We are proud to partner with these mission-driven companies to help further scale their results. We welcome your feedback and engagement as we continue to grow our portfolio and impact in the months and years ahead.
Sincerely,
The Leeds Illuminate Team
Our Impact Strategy
Leeds Illuminate focuses on solutions that expand, improve, and accelerate learning and quality job outcomes from the earliest of learners through working professionals. The firm believes that investing in companies delivering positive results for learners and workers will build long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders.
Leeds Illuminate’s impact strategy is centered around demonstrated efficacy and meaningful, measurable outcomes for learners and workers.
Simply put, this means we invest in companies with products and services that we believe deliver positive improvements from the status quo for learners and workers. In addition to traditional diligence, Leeds Illuminate also conducts thorough diligence on the evidence of efficacy and outcomes pre-investment. Post investment, we partner with our portfolio companies to seek to further grow, improve and advance those outcomes during our investment period.
In addition to our team’s decades of experience in impact investing and in the education and workforce sector, our impact strategy is shaped by the principles of the IFC Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM) and the Impact Management Project’s Five Dimensions of Impact framework.
Please see below for more information on various components of our impact strategy:
Leeds Illuminate seeks to partner with companies creating meaningful positive impact in education, workforce development and workforce access, including:
- Skills training and alternative credentials with direct links to career and income advancement
- More equitable job access and work flexibility to meet diverse individual income needs and lifestyles
- Improved job readiness for graduates of secondary and post-secondary education
- Increased higher education persistence and graduation rates through student success measures
- Reduced gaps in post-secondary education affordability, access and outcomes
- Improved educational outcomes for primary education, including literacy and numeracy
- More equitable access to high-quality early childhood education
- Improved child readiness, development and well-being
We evaluate each potential investment’s alignment with our overall impact objectives in education, workforce development, and workforce access. We also evaluate a prospective investment’s alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, including specific targets under the “Quality Education” and “Decent Work and Economic Growth” goals as well as several other SDG targets. See how the current portfolio aligns to SDG targets.
Leeds Illuminate is focused on investing in companies with products and services that have evidence showing they create meaningful, measurable positive outcomes for learners and workers.
In our evaluation of company efficacy data, we utilize existing primary and secondary research conducted by the company or others pre-investment to validate demonstrated efficacy and as needed, depending on the rigor and credibility of existing results, will make plans for additional contribution to advance future efficacy evaluation and outcomes studies in partnership with management teams. Examples of efficacy evidence can include:
- Internal company data
- Customer shared data measured from product usage
- Survey data from beneficiaries
- Third-party research or academic publications
- Independently conducted randomized control trial research studies
We also conduct information collection pre- and post-investment on the beneficiaries (e.g. who are the learners and the workers benefiting from the outcomes) and seek beneficiary viewpoints and satisfaction indicators whenever possible. Leeds Illuminate can also provide advice and technical assistance, when appropriate, to seek to further improve or advance the degree of change, scope or target beneficiary groups for achieved outcomes over time.
Leeds Illuminate collects impact data at least annually from each portfolio company in order to seek to better manage our investments, and we annually publish results–both publicly and privately to our investors–to promote transparency.
Overall, our impact measurement and management strategy is aligned with the IFC Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM). Specifically, Leeds Illuminate:
- Defines strategic impact objectives, consistent with our investment strategy
- Has a process to manage impact achievement on a portfolio basis
- Seeks to establish its contribution to the achievement of impact
- Assesses the expected impact of each investment
- Seeks to assess, address, monitor, and manage potential negative impacts of each investment
- Monitors the progress of each investment in achieving impact against expectations and responds appropriately
- Will conduct exits considering the effect on sustained impact
- Will review, document, and improve decisions and processes based on the achievement of impact and lessons learned
Leeds Illuminate integrates both environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) and impact investment frameworks into our investment philosophy, diligence processes and ongoing investment management.
Leeds Illuminate Portfolio Snapshot
SDG Alignment
Leeds Illuminate’s target impacts and portfolio-generated outcomes are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, including specific targets under the “Quality Education” and “Decent Work and Economic Growth” goals as well as several other SDGs.
Click a specific SDG Target below to see the Leeds Illuminate portfolio companies contributing to that target impact.
Portfolio Company Impacts
IntelyCare is increasing workforce access by giving healthcare professionals greater shift choice and flexibility with transparent pay rates. In creating a better working environment for healthcare professionals, IntelyCare is helping to end the nurse staffing crisis and ensure that patients receive optimal care.
IntelyCare is the leading digital nurse staffing platform for post-acute and other healthcare facilities.
Company Overview
IntelyCare is a leading tech-enabled nurse staffing platform for healthcare organizations in the United States. Through its predictive algorithms, IntelyCare schedules and matches nursing professionals with open assignments. In doing so, IntelyCare provides nurses and nursing assistants with substantially increased flexibility in their work lives while simultaneously empowering healthcare organizations to take complete control of how they manage full-time, part-time, and per diem nursing staff and providing facilities with 3x higher shift fill rates.
Problem
There is an estimated 1.1M nurse shortage in the United States,[1] and long-term care facility employment has fallen to below 2011 levels.[2] Many nurses have rejected the traditional staffing model, stresses and conditions of the full-time nurse profession, leaving the workforce altogether.
According to research published in the journal Health Affairs, pre-pandemic average annual post-acute staff turnover was 128% in 2017 and 2018.[3] The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the U.S. nursing shortage, and >400,000 nurses left the workforce given pandemic-related stresses and other nurse burnout in an understaffed work environment.[4]
[1] https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/us-must-produce-1-1-million-nurses-by-2022-to-meet-demand
[2] https://www.epi.org/publication/residential-long-term-care-workers/
[3] https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00957
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-travel-nurses/2021/12/05/550b15fc-4c71-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a_story.html
Target Outcomes
- Increased flexibility to meet both income and other lifestyle & family needs
- Increased individual and family income
- Greater economic opportunity and career advancement over time
- Improved equity in job access and placement
- Improved worker experience and livelihoods
IntelyCare also targets improved patient care and health outcomes as a result of greater levels of nurse staffing, workforce participation and overall satisfaction.
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
Over 74,423 clinicians– spanning Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Registered Nurses (RNs) and other healthcare professionals– have used IntelyCare’s platform to find work that fits their needs and schedules and have earned over $980 million dollars to date.
IntelyCare provides IntelyPros (i.e. healthcare professionals on its platform):
- flexible work and income opportunities;
- transparent wages and access to potentially higher hourly wages;
- DailyPay benefit where IntelyPros can elect to retrieve a portion of pay on the same day that they work a shift, weekly direct deposits and options to automatically save a portion of a paycheck;
- bonus opportunities, overtime and holiday pay;
- access to benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance; retirement savings and worker’s compensation and malpractice insurance;
- free, unlimited access to mobile-based personal counseling and group coaching sessions;
- free skills training and continuing education via IntelyEdu; and
- career pathways and training programs for increased income opportunities and higher wages.
IntelyPro surveys show around 73% of clinicians are individuals of color, 61% report being single parents and 70% report having children in their household.
IntelyCare studies have found that the flexibility offered by gig work has a major impact on job satisfaction. In April 2022 the company released the first major study analyzing the demonstrable impact gig work and technology are having on nursing professionals. The study, which aggregates findings from surveys conducted by Reputation Leaders and Oliver Wyman, found that more nurses and nursing assistants are seeking flexibility in their work lives and that those who have adopted gig working apps are more likely to feel that they are thriving in their careers. Nurses working in a per diem capacity are also 2.3x less likely to leave their current role (13%) compared to those who are not (30%), according to the findings.
The study found that nurses who are a part of the gig economy are less stressed, happier, and take better care of their mental and physical health than permanent staffers. And IntelyPro respondents were likely to feel more confident (42% vs 33%), happy (37% vs 26%), and as if they were thriving in their career (27% vs 9%) than the respondents outside of IntelyCare.
The company has provided over 1.4 million hours of digital training to nurses via IntelyEdu to date. IntelyEdu’s library of post-acute care-focused continuing education provides affordable resources for upskilling, training, and career certificates needed to meet the demands of the changing healthcare workforce. The IntelyEdu platform includes a full library of 150 American Nurse Credentialing Center-approved continuing education hours, nine certificate programs, and exclusive access to discounted degree programs, scholarships, and educational events. IntelyEdu enables nursing workforce development and future career mobility by offering NCPD certificates to users who complete courses through the platform.
IntelyEdu’s certificate programs and stand-alone courses are among the first of their kind to be developed specifically for post-acute/intermediate direct care professionals. IntelyEdu’s Professional Scheduler Certificate, for example, is one of the first programs built to train qualified candidates to fill the thousands of open Scheduler positions at post-acute care facilities across the country.
IntelyEdu is also partnering with organizations to expand existing educational offerings. Excelsior’s new innovative and flexible Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BS) program helps working LPNs achieve their BS in nursing degree. IntelyPros can participate in the school’s unique bridge program at an exclusively discounted tuition, enabling learners to work in healthcare settings while attending nursing school to minimize student loan debt. The partnership meets the needs of adult learners by providing flexible self-scheduling for required coursework, clinical experiences, and work that has been missing from traditional nursing education and workplace requirements.
IntelyEdu is also helping to bring nurses back to the bedside. Through a partnership with Sigma, IntelyEdu learners can enter Sigma’s Return to Nursing Certificate program, which provides nurses who have been away from practicing with a supportive, on-ramp back to practice through high-quality, evidence-based education.
Voice of the Beneficiary
Impact Recognition
SV Academy trains underrepresented job seekers in sales and helps transition them into high-growth companies to drive revenue.
SV Academy’s training and mentorship programs prepare job seekers for entry-level positions in Sales, Business Development and Customer Success.
Company Overview
SV Academy is an online vocational school for non-coders that was founded to help under-resourced and underrepresented communities, including women and people of color, break into the technology industry. Through its rigorous online employment programs, SV Academy offers jobseekers from diverse communities access to sales careers. SV graduates have been placed at 400+ partner technology companies across the U.S. It provides intensive training for entry-level positions in Sales, Business Development and Customer Success as well as other skill-building, mentorship, job placement assistance, and post-hire support, such as alumni networking events and coaching.
Problem
The World Economic Forum anticipates that more than 1 billion people will need to be reskilled and 42% of the core skills required to perform existing jobs are expected to change. Further, the WEF estimated of the 133 million new jobs created by 2022 most of the job growth will come from seven professional categories, including sales.[1] LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report noted that Customer Service and Sales Development Representative roles are in high demand in the SaaS industry and cannot be automated due to the industry reliance on people skills for successful new technologies.[2]
Access to technology roles has been limited, especially for women and people of color. Relative to the private sector as a whole, major tech companies’ workforces have a greater proportion of white (68.5% vs 63.5%), Asian American (14% vs 5.8%), and male (64% vs 52%) employees. Underrepresented groups in tech include African Americans, Hispanics, and women. These disparities hold in all roles within tech firms, but are particularly pronounced at the executive level: 83.3% of tech executives are male, and 80% are white.[3]
[1] The World Economic Forum, “We need a global reskilling revolution – here’s why.” January 2020.
[2] LinkedIn. “2020 Emerging Jobs Report.” December 2020.
[3] https://www.eeoc.gov/special-report/diversity-high-tech
Target Outcomes
- Greater economic opportunity for women and underrepresented jobseekers
- Improved equity in job access, placement, and workforce participation
- Increased individual and family income post-program
- Greater long-term career and income advancement for graduates
“SV Academy is on a mission to create $100B of wealth expansion for under-represented jobseekers.”
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
SV Academy initiated a new training program in 2022 in partnership with Diligent, a company providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG. Diligent launched its new hub in Baltimore, MD along with a new free training program to upskill and recruit under-represented job seekers powered by SV Academy. Up to 100 Baltimore-area residents will be accepted into the program, which provides career-ready technical and professional skills. Over the past two years, Diligent hired 47 graduates from SV Academy and has renewed the program for 2024.
Voice of the Beneficiary
Impact Recognition
Verto Education is transforming higher education by making education abroad a foundational and accessible part of a four-year college plan. It is giving students the confidence, self-awareness, and global perspective needed to thrive in college and in life.
Verto partners with universities to support global experiential learning programs for entering college students and partners with universities to create a seamless transfer process for students.
Company Overview
Verto Education is transforming higher ed by making education abroad a foundational and accessible part of a four-year college plan. With Verto, students can begin college with world-class academics in destinations like Italy, Spain, and Costa Rica-- while gaining direct admission to Verto’s 70+ partner colleges, earning transferable college credits, and staying on track to graduate. All semesters include student support services, allowing Verto students to walk away with the confidence, self-awareness, and global perspective needed to thrive in college and in life.
Problem
Research shows “emotional preparedness – defined by the organizations as the ability to take care of oneself, adapt to new environments, control negative emotions or behavior and build positive relationships – is a major factor to students' success during their first year of college.” And 60% of students report they wish they had received more help with emotional preparation for college.[1] The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that completion rates for Pell Grant recipients at 4-year institutions also lag behind non-grant recipients, by up to 10% for the most selective institutions.[2]
Also, according to the National Association of International Educators, minority students are still greatly underrepresented in study abroad programs relative to their postsecondary enrollment numbers. Minorities account for 45.8% of post secondary enrollments but only 30% of U.S. students abroad in the 2019-2020 school year.[3]
[1] https://www.nafsa.org/policy-and-advocacy/policy-resources/trends-us-study-abroad
[2] https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/tta
[3] https://www.nafsa.org/policy-and-advocacy/policy-resources/trends-us-study-abroad
Voice of the Beneficiary
The Mom Project is providing economic opportunity for women on their own terms.
The Mom Project is a digital talent marketplace and community that connects professionally accomplished women with flexible work opportunities and full-time positions with family-friendly employers. It has become the leading talent platform for working moms and a leading solution for companies seeking to improve their gender diversity and retain female talent. Women can sign up to join The Mom Project community and gain access to work, skills training, career development and networking opportunities at no cost to them.
Company Overview
The Mom Project is a digital talent marketplace and community that connects professionally accomplished women and mothers with family-friendly companies for both flexible, project-based work opportunities and full-time positions. The Mom Project has become the leading talent platform for working moms and a solution for companies seeking to improve their gender diversity and retain female talent.
Women can sign-up to join The Mom Project community and gain access to work, skills training, career development and networking opportunities at no cost to them. Companies have identified The Mom Project's suite of hiring, upskilling and retention solutions as an effective way to solve pressing labor shortages while also addressing longer-term concerns around attrition, skill gaps and the need for greater diversity and empathy in the workplace.
Problem
An estimated 43% of women leave the workforce within a year after having a child, and many face significant challenges when seeking to re-enter.[1] Women represent 48% of the entry-level U.S. workforce but only 32-36% of senior manager/VP positions and only 26% of C-suite positions.[2]
McKinsey & Co reported in October 2022, “Now companies have a new pipeline problem. Women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate we’ve ever seen…to put the scale of the problem in perspective: for every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.”[2] 56.7% of women participated in the U.S. labor force in 2022.[3]
[1] https://www.thebump.com/news/record-low-womens-labor-participation
[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
[3] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/widget
Target Outcomes
- Increased flexibility for working mothers to meet income and other lifestyle and family needs
- Improved ability for women to achieve their career goals
- Increased individual and family income
- Greater economic opportunity over time for women
- Improved equity in job access, placement and workforce participation
- Improved working mother experience and livelihoods
The Mom Project has a stated goal to connect moms on its platform with more than $1 billion in economic opportunity in the next two years.
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
The Mom Project helps women remain active in the workforce in every stage of their journey by connecting women with employers who are committed to designing and supporting a better workplace. Today the company offers women the following free resources:
- Flexible work and income opportunities to meet their individual work, life and family integration needs
- Full-time job opportunities with family-friendly employers
- Career pathways and career development advice for increased income and work opportunities
- Resume tools to improve employability
- Mentorship, peer communication and networking programs to assist career goal achievement, including its RALLY program, which is dedicated to providing mentorship to members of The Mom Project community
- Skills training, including its RISE program that’s focused on building technical skills training (currently trainings for Microsoft Learn, Google IT, and Salesforce Administrator certificates) to upskill women of color
- Other creative benefits and cost savings programs
Voice of the Beneficiary
Impact Recognition
Product School is upskilling and reskilling adult learners for greater income opportunities in high-demand jobs.
“Our company was founded on the basis that traditional degrees and MBA programs simply don’t equip Product Managers with the real-world skills they require on the job.”
– Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, CEO and Founder
With over a million-strong community of PMs, Product School’s certifications are a leading standard in the industry. Aside from certificates for individuals, the school also provides employer training and upskilling programs.
Company Overview
Product School is a global leader in Product Management training with a community of over one million product professionals. The company’s certificates are industry-recognized credentials by employers hiring product managers.
Product management jobs are in high-demand and involve flexible positions that connect consumer needs and interests with product development and delivery. Unlike traditional graduate school business programs designed for students seeking roles within the finance and consulting fields, Product School’s certificate programs are highly relevant for the next generation of software product leaders, and offered at a fraction of the cost.
Students can select part-time course offerings on weeknights or weekends or fast-track their education with an intensive full-time course of hands-on training. Product School’s instructors are real-world Product Leaders working at top Silicon Valley companies including Google, Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, PayPal, Uber and Amazon.
Problem
Traditional MBA programs can be costly, lengthy and often lack the application of real-world skills, particularly in newer and dynamic job categories, like product management. Meanwhile, jobs in Product Management command strong salaries and are in high demand with employers seeking to find applicants with relevant training and skills.
Target Outcomes
- Learning gains in real-world career skills
- Increased employability and job access
- Increased income opportunities
- Strong student return on investment in career training
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
Product School also offers free career and training resources to a global audience, including:
- >1,000 live and on-demand courses & industry events
- Product Analytics Certification (PAC)
- Career guides and resources
- The Product podcast
- Downloadable books, videos & guides
- Product management templates and tools
- Active digital communities
Voice of the Beneficiary
Wonolo enables workforce access by giving frontline workers the freedom and flexibility to choose where and when they work. Through Wonolo’s mobile app, workers can find jobs opportunities and gain access to a comprehensive set of portable benefits.
Wonolo is a leading on-demand staffing platform for hourly and frontline workers. Workers—called “Wonoloers”– can choose where, when and with what advance notice they book each shift of work, enabling more individuals to participate in the workforce on their own terms.
Company Overview
Wonolo is the leading on-demand staffing platform that connects hourly and frontline workers – called “Wonoloers”– to job opportunities. As a “gig economy” model, workers have total choice of if they want to work, when and how often they want to work, what work they’re willing to do, where they’ll do that work, and how much they’re willing to accept for that work as they are presented with recommended opportunities in their local areas on Wonolo’s mobile application. Wonoloers have the freedom to select which jobs they want to work and choose their own schedule.
Problem
8.3 million of Americans are unemployed or underemployed and millions of workers are seeking more flexible work to better meet their lifestyle, family and income needs.[1] 73% of traditional temporary staffing agency workers are still placed in full-time, longer term work versus offering flexible scheduling options and allowing workers to choose when, where and how often to work.
The unemployment rate of individuals with criminal convictions is about five times higher than those without.[2]
[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm
[2] https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html
Target Outcomes
- Increased flexibility to meet income and other lifestyle and family needs
- Increased individual and family income
- Greater economic opportunity over time
- Improved equity in job access and placement
- Improved worker experience and livelihoods
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
Over 1 million workers have used Wonolo's mobile app to pick up jobs that fit their needs and schedules and have earned hundreds of millions of dollars. An estimated 38% of workers on the platform are women.
95% of Wonoloers rate their job experiences as Satisfied or Extremely Satisfied.
Wonolo launched a “Path Forward” program in 2021 to help provide access to jobs for individuals who might fail a background check because of their past involvement in the criminal justice system. The company works with its customers to encourage them to offer jobs to Wonoloers who have only passed more-permissive criminal background checks or, in many cases, not passed any criminal background check.
In April 2022, Wonolo reported that since its Path Forward program launch it has helped customers to post over 30,000 jobs that people with previous criminal justice system involvement can accept. Wonolo also collaborated with researchers from the Harvard Business School and other institutions entitled, "Increasing the Demand for Workers with a Criminal Record.” The paper, which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, studied Wonolo’s Path Forward program. Wonolo continues to collaborate with these same academics on further research into improving access to work.
"In our research, we find that 39% of businesses in our sample are willing to work with individuals with a criminal record at baseline, which rises to over 50% when businesses are offered crime and safety insurance, a single performance review, or a background check covering just the past year," said Zoe B. Cullen, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. "With cost-effective policies, platforms can integrate workers with past involvement in the criminal justice system without deterring employers. This is a promising approach to expanding labor supply, and simultaneously addressing a pressing social challenge."
Wonolo aspires to have all Wonoloers get paid a living wage. The company encourages businesses to post jobs that offer competitive pay, well beyond what the worker would make if they were earning the minimum wage for employment in their area.
Wonolo surveys of U.S. workers reflect current inflationary impacts on workers. The company’s August 2022 survey found the vast majority of both corporate workers (92%) and gig workers (85%) said the cost of their bills have increased in the last six months, but only 41% of corporate workers and 42% of gig workers have received an increase in pay in the last six months.
Wonolo gives workers access to:
- flexible work and income opportunities;
- transparent pay rates;
- Wonolo Up - a comprehensive set of portable benefit offerings, from flexible health, financial tools, insurance and other safety net benefits;
- Wonolo U - free online courses that help workers develop portable skills;
- career pathways for increased income opportunities and higher wages;
- portable skills and credentials to build industrial work resume and improve job opportunities;
- job access for people with past involvement in the criminal justice system via its Path Forward program; and
- other creative benefits and cost savings programs.
Voice of the Beneficiary
“Wonolo has helped me tremendously. It has allowed me to pay my rent during these times of inflation. Without Wonolo, I would have had to move to a more affordable place to live. Moving would mean my children would have to change schools to a not-so-good school district. Keeping my kids in the great school that they are in means the world to me.”
- Quinton (Wonoloer)
Click on a Wonoloer photo to read more on each’s personal story.
My name is Omar and I’m a Wonoloer in Texas. I heard about Wonolo and started accepting jobs on the app back in December. Funny enough, I remember the exact moment. I was scrolling on my phone while I was getting an oil change. I was looking for a new job and Wonolo popped up on my Google search. I was in a place of wanting to try something new and the ability to try news jobs through an app really appealed to me.
Getting started was incredibly easy. I downloaded the app, signed up, and started accepting jobs the next day. Making money this easily is the best part of Wonolo. Somedays, I accept early jobs and if I have enough energy, I accept another job for later that day. I’ve been able to make enough money in the last few months to financially feel better again. I’m caught up on my bills, I can save, and money is not a stressor anymore.
I’ve also met awesome people, like Ava, while working jobs I find on Wonolo. Everyone knows each other and we help one another all the time. The community is very strong here in Texas. The only thing I wish was different was having the Wonolo app available when I was 18. This would’ve been a great way for me to gain experience, try new things, and network with people. But, I’m glad I found Wonolo now!
My name is Elwood and I am a Wonoloer in the New York area. I heard about Wonolo through a friend, but didn’t sign up right away because I had a job and was working. However, after the pandemic, I didn’t have any work and I needed to find something fast. I remembered Wonolo, downloaded the app, and have been working ever since!
Using the Wonolo app, I accepted jobs posted by different businesses that interested me. Through working at many different locations, I’ve been able to gain a lot of experience and learn new skills. Gaining the experience has helped propel me where I’m at today too. Eight months ago, I was able to find a full time position with a business I previously engaged with through Wonolo. I’ve worked really hard, have shown leadership, and am now being promoted, too.
Wonolo has been able to open a lot of doors for me and I’m grateful for the experience I’ve gained. If you’re looking for something new for work, download and check out the Wonolo app. You may find an opportunity that fits you!
My name is Jeffrey and I’m a Wonoloer in NYC. I’m a person who’s social, active, helpful, independent, and observant. I bring these skills to every Wonolo job I accept.
I first heard about Wonolo back in 2020. I had lost my job due to the pandemic and I was on the job hunt. I saw an online advertisement for Wonolo and originally thought it was too good to be true. However, I downloaded the app, signed up, and was able to start working right away. Being able to find work on my phone is amazing. I can look at jobs based on location and pay, so I can make the best choice for myself. I also love that there’s no application, resume, or interview. It makes finding work simple!
Wonolo is helping me have freedom in my schedule. I am my own boss and I now have the ability to have flexibility in my life. This has never been the case before. My goal over time is to save up to invest in my own business. I’ve been told that I have the skills to run my own business, so I want to make that dream a reality.
If you’re on the fence about diving into Wonolo, I say don’t think twice about it. It’s a life-changing experience, especially if you’ve had difficulty in finding work. Wonolo was here for me when I needed it, so now I am a loyal Wonoloer!
Impact Recognition
Mursion is driving practiced behavior change; enabling 21st Century leadership, communication and management skill development; and addressing diversity, equity and inclusion issues in the workplace.
Mursion is an online virtual reality training platform that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human actors to deliver scenarios for learners to practice essential human skills. Examples of simulation scenarios’ focus include clinical soft skills, leading through crisis, management communication and sales skills.
Company Overview
Mursion is an online virtual reality training platform that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human actors to deliver scenarios for learners to practice essential human skills. It provides an immersive platform for practicing these essential skills so adult learners can perform better in the real world.
Mursion simulations are designed for the modern workforce, staging interactions between learners and avatars to achieve the realism Mursion believes is needed for measurable, meaningful results. Drawing upon research in learning science and psychology, Mursion harnesses leading technology and human interaction to help deliver outcomes for both learners and organizations.
Organizations turn to Mursion for a safe place to practice human skills, such as emotional intelligence, adaptability and resilience, in an authentic risk-free environment where the danger of harming the individual’s performance and company’s reputation is eliminated. Examples of simulation scenarios’ focus include clinical soft skills, leading through crisis, management communications, reducing racial bias and sales skills.
Problem
97% of employers surveyed said that soft skills were either as important or more important than hard skills. However, 46% of new employees fail within 18 months and of these, 89% fail because of a lack of soft skills, such as professionalism or the ability to get along with others. [1]
Additionally, the need for training on diversity, equity and inclusion is apparent in the falloff of diverse talent in senior company management and leadership positions. According to McKinsey’s study, women represent 48% of the entry-level workforce but only 35% of mid-level managers and 24% of Executive and C-Suite level leadership. For people of color, the numbers for these roles are 34% for entry-level roles, 24% of mid-level managers and only 17% of Executive and C-Suite level leadership. [2]
[1] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/humanity-into-hr/pages/covid-19-soft-skills-at-work.aspx
[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
Target Outcomes
- Learning gains in 21st Century leadership, communication and management skills
- Improved behavior change on specific targeted situations
- Improved capability of adult workers to address difficult issues in the workplace
- Improved diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the workplace
- Improved teacher, clinician and other professional readiness for jobs
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
1,000 simulations in 10 counties and 10 languages are conducted each week on Mursion’s platform. >85,270 individuals have completed at least one simulation. Each simulation has a specific use case and target outcome with teacher training, management training and diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) corporate training as top use cases.
89% of individuals who completed Mursion simulations report the experience to be a valuable use of their time, and over 90% found the scenario authentic to real-life situations. 91% report they learned something they can apply to their day-to-day work.
The following are examples of Mursion’s demonstrated outcomes for various use cases of its platform; please see the Mursion website for company-published case studies and background details.
Impact Recognition
Using state-of-the-art technology and curriculum innovation, and hands on instruction, Emeritus is increasing access to high-quality, affordable education for a global student population.
Emeritus partners with leading universities to offer online courses, bootcamps, professional certificates, credentials and degree programs to students around the world.
Company Overview
Emeritus has built an extensive global upskilling platform that prepares today's professionals for tomorrow's rapidly-changing workplace, with more than 700 professional learning programs developed in partnership with a network of more than 70 top-tier universities, and delivered to over 350,000 individuals across 80+ countries. The company pioneered Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs), creating industry-driven programs in collaboration with its university partners around the world. Emeritus' programs are defined by personal engagement between faculty and students, course customization, mentoring and coaching, and career counseling.
Problem
By 2025 approximately half of all employees around the world will require reskilling and according to the World Economic Forum, upskilling efforts have the potential to create 5.3 million net new jobs by 2030. Moreover, the projected growth in key sectors such as healthcare -- projected to grow 14% by 2028 -- and technology – projected to grow 31% in the cybersecurity field in the next decade – amplify the demand for reskilling. [2]
Further, high quality professional education through leading universities has historically required professionals to travel to campus which can be costly and unattainable for global professionals.
[1] Eruditus Executive Education does business as Emeritus.
[2] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/top-10-work-skills-of-tomorrow-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-them/
Target Outcomes
- Improved education access to a global audience of learners
- Improved education affordability
- Skills and training acquisition gains
- Greater job and income opportunities
- Broader Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education access and skills training for middle and high school students via its iD Tech division
Company Outcomes and Efficacy
Over 350,000 individuals across 80+ countries have completed courses powered by Emeritus.
Emeritus results include:
Voice of the Beneficiary
Impact Recognition
Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Leeds Illuminate believes diversity is a strategic and moral imperative. We seek to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in our internal team of investment professionals, portfolio company management and board leadership, and student and workforce beneficiaries served.
We believe this priority of diverse perspectives and equitable access throughout our work enables long-term advantages and enhancement of our investment strategy.
Our Investment Team
Our Portfolio
*Data available only for companies that collect employee and Board of Directors demographic data
Goals
Having invested in companies with demonstrated outcomes for learners and workers, we work with our portfolio companies to help scale, improve and advance those outcomes during our investment period.
Leeds Illuminate is proud to support our portfolio companies in their respective impact goals over the next 3-5 years.
Hover over each company to see its 3-5 year impact goal:
Industry Leadership
Leeds Illuminate is proud to be an active participant and member of leading organizations in our industry, including those supporting education, workforce development, impact investing, and women and diverse fund managers.
