Innovations & Inspirations

In the oasis that is Silicon Valley, it is often forgotten that the USA isn’t a place where your employees are constantly being poached by other employers who offer more lucrative compensation packages and growth opportunities.  As this Wired piece on LearnUp states, the USA is really a place where “the unemployment rate has shot above the national average, employers are flooded with applicants, and education must result in immediately marketable skills”.  But the USA is also a place where there are many job openings that aren’t getting filled.

Enter LearnUp, a startup building a platform where employers can create video content, tutorials, links to certifications, and other resources for applicants to get highly relevant, targeted vocational training for open positions.  For example, Staples’ trainings for a manager position include a YouTube tutorial on QuickBooks, a Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge” article on “Making the Move to General Manager,” a Buzzle.com article on “Retail Store Management Tips,” and a TED talk on the “Eight Secrets of Success.”

We at NEA are excited to partner with Alexis Ringwald, CEO of LearnUp and a good friend, and Kenny Ma to help launch a company that solves the skills gap that exists between many employers and job applicants.  As Alexis says in the Wired piece, “We’re not launching a start-up, we’re launching a movement.  We’re on a mission to re-skill America.”

Decreasing unemployment, one position at a time.

This Wired article is terrific and was the source of some of the above content.