ETF@JFFLabs
The ETF@JFFLabs impact fund invests in innovative tech-based solutions that support the more than 75 million American adults who struggle to find meaningful employment.
Our Opportunity
Millions of adults struggle to succeed in the American labor market.
For these individuals—many of whom are women, people of color, and immigrants—barriers to skill development and employment opportunities inhibit their economic security and mobility. ETF@JFFlabs is committed to reimagining a more inclusive future of work—a future where technology is used to increase access to learning, employment, and economic mobility for all adults. We support promising entrepreneurs who are developing technology solutions to train and upskill low-income and low- and middle-skill adults and connect them to employment opportunities. ETF@JFFLabs works closely with the companies in which it invests to offer them flexible capital tailored to their business models and objectives.
Team

Progress
Ryan Craig, managing director at University VenturesETF is seeding investments in companies that have the potential to tackle this challenge head-on, in ways that can help close persistent skill and talent gaps. They’ve found a great strategic partner in the team at JFF.
Portfolio

Who we invest and partner with

Care Academy
Mobile Learning to Upskill and Certify Adults for In-Demand Careers in Home Health

Care Academy
Mobile Learning to Upskill and Certify Adults for In-Demand Careers in Home Health
CareAcademy provides an online education platform that home care agencies can use to train domestic caregivers to fill in-demand home health roles. The company’s track record proves that mobile (and blended) learning can increase access to employment opportunities in one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy—health care.

Cell-Ed
Literacy, Language, and Job Upskilling in the Palm of the Hand

Cell-Ed
Literacy, Language, and Job Upskilling in the Palm of the Hand
Cell-Ed proves that mobile learning is an effective means of giving people access to instructional materials. The company offers a tool that allows users to listen to lessons on a flip phone anywhere and at any time, giving millions of adults an opportunity to learn new skills even if they aren’t able to participate in traditional classes.

Climb Credit
Responsible Lending Increasing Access to High-Impact Training Programs

Climb Credit
Responsible Lending Increasing Access to High-Impact Training Programs
Climb Credit is a technology-driven lender expanding access to high-quality, career-focused education by providing responsible loans for training programs with high return on investment for students. By improving access to financing for high-impact training, licensing, and credentialing programs, Climb Credit opens pathways to stable, high-wage, meaningful work.

Edquity
College Financial Success and Emergency Aid Platform for Students

Edquity
College Financial Success and Emergency Aid Platform for Students
Edquity is a college financial success and emergency aid platform for students, ensuring all students have the financial means to get to college graduation. Two products, Edquity Plan and Edquity Rise, collectively support students through college financial matching, planning, financial aid award evaluation, cash-flow management and emergency resource referral.

Embodied Labs
Virtual Reality Patient Experience Labs for Healthcare

Embodied Labs
Virtual Reality Patient Experience Labs for Healthcare
Embodied Labs is an experiential education design company that specializes in creating and implementing empathy-based, patient-centered health curriculum.

FactoryFix
Online recruitment, hiring, and training platform for the manufacturing sector.

FactoryFix
Online recruitment, hiring, and training platform for the manufacturing sector.
FactoryFix is the largest online network of vetted manufacturing professionals! Our technology helps match companies to qualified candidates that have the exact skills and experience they are looking for.

Level
Provider of flexible credit to gig workers to build microbusinesses.

Level
Provider of flexible credit to gig workers to build microbusinesses.
Level empowers people to build and grow microbusinesses with the portable financial benefits they need to prosper. Designed for micro-entrepreneurs who are building businesses on the rails of our labor marketplace partners, Level is the financial services platform which will power our growing on-demand economy.

Nepris
Virtually Building Connections Between Students and Careers

Nepris
Virtually Building Connections Between Students and Careers
A web-based platform that connects educators and learners with a network of professionals who can offer real-world advice and insights, Nepris helps users stay up to date on the latest trends in the labor market, providing them with access to firsthand information about what types of jobs are available and what skills are in demand.

NextStep
Mobile, tuition-free training and job placement platform for certified nursing assistants.

NextStep
Mobile, tuition-free training and job placement platform for certified nursing assistants.
NextStep is an innovative health care education and job placement company helping solve the accelerating caregiver crisis in the United States. We train and place workers displaced by automation and artificial intelligence with respected long-term care providers, benefiting both. NextStep’s blended-learning certified nursing assistant (CNA) program gives learners the opportunity to start a new, rewarding career and provides employers a solution to their critical workforce needs. We also offer continuing education courses and the National COVID-Ready Caregiver Certification, which equips caregivers with the knowledge to keep themselves and those they care for safe during the pandemic

Northstar Digital Literacy
Accessible Credentials for Employment in a Digital World

Northstar Digital Literacy
Accessible Credentials for Employment in a Digital World
A program of the Minnesota Literacy Council, Northstar offers an online digital literacy assessment tool and provides learners with a credential that can lead to increased employment opportunities.

PAIRIN
Using Data to Break Down Soft Skill Barriers to Employment

PAIRIN
Using Data to Break Down Soft Skill Barriers to Employment
PAIRIN offers a suite of online tools that people who face barriers to employment can use to assess and develop their soft skills. The company’s track record proves that soft skills and mindsets can be objectively validated, measured, and developed.

Provider Pool
Online marketplace connecting nursing professionals with care facilities.

Provider Pool
Online marketplace connecting nursing professionals with care facilities.
Provider Pool is a community of healthcare professionals who believe that work should not be a compromise.

Pursuit
Empower adults learners to become software developers and launch careers in tech.

Pursuit
Empower adults learners to become software developers and launch careers in tech.
Through long-term intensive program, Pursuit trains adults with the most need and potential to get their first tech jobs, advance in their careers, and become the next generation of leaders in tech. Graduates are hired by leading companies like Pinterest, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, BlackRock, and JPMorgan Chase, and increase their average annual salaries from $18,000 to over $85,000.

Signal Vine
Texting to Nudge Adults Toward Opportunity

Signal Vine
Texting to Nudge Adults Toward Opportunity
Signal Vine offers a two-way text messaging platform powered by artificial intelligence that educational institutions can use to engage students, staff, and employees. The system has proved to be an especially powerful tool when it is used to encourage—or “nudge”—adults with low skills to take action or pursue opportunities. Signal Vine helps increase the impact of workforce development teams

SkillSmart
Using Skills to Create Pathways to Employment

SkillSmart
Using Skills to Create Pathways to Employment
SkillSmart offers a skills-matching platform that can increase equity in hiring by helping adults find jobs or training opportunities based on all of the skills they’ve developed in life.

Upswing
Student services platform that helps educators improve retention of nontraditional students.

Upswing
Student services platform that helps educators improve retention of nontraditional students.
Upswing believes that a comprehensive solution to student success is the way of the future. Connect your own faculty, leverage outside resources, and have visibility into early alerts and analytics on student performance. You don't need to keep pushing products onto your students. You need a student success partner.
Advisors



