We live in a reality where only 28% of Americans can pay their monthly bills, spend less or equal to their salary, and can manage their debt. That is an indictment on our education and financial systems. It also shows that access to education, training, job development, and the tools to understand and build financial resilience are deeply interrelated.
I spent four years in the Obama Administration helping to jump-start the economy after the Great Recession. I got a front-row lesson in how the education to employment path is often not accessible or transparent to the most vulnerable. That exposure to economic policy, employment trends, and the incongruencies in how we develop talent and introduce work led me to start SkillSmart and focus on innovative skills-matching and place-based impact measurement in order to ensure job seekers and communities benefit from economic development.
Along my future of work journey, Nasir and I became friends as our professional and personal paths continued to crisscross. Over the years, his vision for Zeal (he’s been talking about this for forever!) captured me, and I joined Team Zeal in the middle of 2020 as the Executive in Residence for Future of Work (FoW). My role is threefold – I help identify and source amazing founders, I participate in the diligence process, and lastly, I work with and support founders post-investment.
Zeal takes a connected view of the Future of Work landscape. We believe that FoW is the thread that runs through our economy and influences the life outcomes of so many Americans, from post-secondary education to employment. We have market mapped the vertical and believe that we will see accelerated innovation in alternative education pathways, training accessibility and affordability, recruiting and retention, and skills development. The founders I have encountered wrestling with these problems inspire me, and I fundamentally believe there are an important place and space for venture capital to accelerate amazing founders solving big problems.
And it is abundantly clear that now is the time to invest in dynamic, scalable solutions. Heightened awareness of racial inequity and the consequences of the pandemic have significantly impacted how work is conducted, what is defined as work, and how work environments must be created to recruit, retain, and allow employees to thrive. This presents a unique opportunity for solutions to affirm these shifts and to lead organizations in new directions.
For example, our first investment in the future of work vertical was Kanarys, which is squarely positioned to help employers and job seekers develop inclusive, productive environments. Led by visionary co-founders Mandy Price and Star Carter, Kanarys is the first Black and female-founded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) technology company to gather specific, actionable insights to help diagnose, prioritize, and optimize DEI efforts in the workplace. Zeal Capital Partners was happy to lead Kanarys’ $3M investment round and invest alongside investors like Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Morgan Stanley, 100 Black Angels Fund, Segal Ventures, and Jigsaw Ventures. There is a sense of urgency among corporations and organizations to do better by their employees, and Kanarys is a trusted solution that will lead to improved workplaces and enhanced outcomes.
Kanarys is just one example of game-changing businesses that are ripe for investment but are often overlooked. There is $4.4 trillion in untapped economic opportunity due to the underinvestment in early-stage companies that are led by women or people of color. We believe by focusing on these under-resourced founders we will engage exceptional leaders, like Mandy and Star, who will not only build high-growth companies but also solve our most pressing challenges related to how communities learn, engage with work, and build meaningful employment experiences.