JFF Ventures Fund I: ETF@JFFLabs
JFF Ventures Impact Fund I 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/or immigrants—barriers to skills development and employment opportunities inhibit their economic security and mobility.
JFF Ventures Fund I, formerly the Employment Technology Fund (ETF@JFFLabs), supports promising entrepreneurs who are developing technology to train and upskill low-income and low- and middle-skill adults and connect them to employment opportunities.
JFF Ventures & Fund II
JFF Ventures 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 work closely with the companies in which we invest to offer them flexible capital tailored to their business models and objectives.
Team


Our team has decades of experience in impact investing, entrepreneurship, and education and workforce technologies.
We are pleased to have been recognized as an emerging fund manager by ImpactAssets for three years in a row.
Progress

11,000,000
Millions invested or granted
48%
Investment and grants made to companies founded or led by women
62%
Investment and grants made to companies founded or led by people of color
15,000,000
Workers reached
Fund I Impact Report
2021
Ryan Craig, managing director at University VenturesETF [JFF Ventures] 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

Whom we invest and partner with in Fund I

180 Skills*
Online career and technical education company focused on “building the next-generation manufacturing workforce”

180 Skills*
Online career and technical education company focused on “building the next-generation manufacturing workforce”
180 Skills offers a comprehensive learning system of career and technical education for the manufacturing industry. The company has a library of over 700 courses in 34 competency areas aimed at educating students and upskilling employees. The platform also includes courses on essential nontechnical skills such as listening, conflict resolution, relationship-building, and group dynamics, all of which help improve team effectiveness.

AdeptID
Machine learning aimed at promoting inclusive job mobility

AdeptID
Machine learning aimed at promoting inclusive job mobility
AdeptID’s models and API help to build personalized talent applications for members of the workforce without college degrees.

Anthill
Mobile-based talent platform for the reskilling and development of the more than 80% of the global workforce that doesn’t work at a desk or computer

Anthill
Mobile-based talent platform for the reskilling and development of the more than 80% of the global workforce that doesn’t work at a desk or computer
Anthill is a talent-mapping platform that acts as a personal coach for “deskless” employees and provides advice to their employers to improve their working experience, well-being, development, and internal career opportunities.

Beam
College financial and emergency aid platform for students

Beam
College financial and emergency aid platform for students
Beam, formerly known as Edquity, offers a flexible, cloud-based platform that increases equitable and fast delivery of critical public benefits and emergency aid to students in need of assistance.

Bedu*
Company that offers training and upskilling programs for in-demand fields

Bedu*
Company that offers training and upskilling programs for in-demand fields
Bedu offers intensive, blended learning and short-term training and upskilling programs for in-demand fields such as data, web development, design, marketing, and business analytics.

Care Academy*
Company offering smartphone-based training to upskill and certify individuals for in-demand careers in home health

Care Academy*
Company offering smartphone-based training to upskill and certify individuals 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 care roles. The company’s track record proves that mobile-based, blended learning can increase access to employment opportunities in one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy.

Cell-Ed
Platform for employers to deliver training to workers via cellphone, with an emphasis on matching users’ literacy level

Cell-Ed
Platform for employers to deliver training to workers via cellphone, with an emphasis on matching users’ literacy level
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.

ChargerHelp
On-demand repair application for electric vehicle charging stations with a focus on job creation

ChargerHelp
On-demand repair application for electric vehicle charging stations with a focus on job creation
ChargerHelp’s commitment is twofold: providing reliable, predictable, and hassle-free EV charging, and creating jobs through workforce development across the United States. Or, as the company’s motto says, it’s getting EV charging stations and people back to work.

Climb Credit
Lender that seeks to ensure that students’ education is life-changing

Climb Credit
Lender that seeks to ensure that students’ education is life-changing
Climb is a technology-driven lender expanding access to high-quality, career-focused education by providing responsible loans for training programs that will have a high return on investment for students. By improving access to financing for high-impact training, licensing, and credentialing programs, Climb opens pathways to stable, high-wage, meaningful work.

Clusiv
Helping companies provide flexible perks and rewards for their employees

Clusiv
Helping companies provide flexible perks and rewards for their employees
Clusiv’s platform is designed to remove the accessibility and training barriers that have historically held back individuals who are blind and give them the same education opportunities afforded sighted individuals.

Compt
Helping companies provide flexible perks and rewards for their employees

Compt
Helping companies provide flexible perks and rewards for their employees
Compt offers perk management software that helps companies build and streamline reward programs that offer personalized perks for employees.

Craft
Company collects, analyzes, and acts on data to fill teacher vacancies and end the teacher shortage

Craft
Company collects, analyzes, and acts on data to fill teacher vacancies and end the teacher shortage
Craft Education is a data tool that helps employers, institutions of higher education, and Registered Apprenticeship programs convert on-the-job training into accredited degree pathways.

CreatorUp
Media production company that offers training and jobs designed to meet the needs of creative professionals

CreatorUp
Media production company that offers training and jobs designed to meet the needs of creative professionals
CreatorUp makes it easy and affordable for anyone to produce impactful videos for teaching, telling, and inspiring.

Embodied Labs
VR training for health care professionals

Embodied Labs
VR training for health care professionals
Embodied Labs uses an immersive training platform to train professionals in patient-centered health curriculum and to provide caregiver education.

FactoryFix
Online recruitment and hiring platform for the manufacturing sector

FactoryFix
Online recruitment and hiring platform for the manufacturing sector
FactoryFix connects manufacturing companies to a vetted network of skilled tradespeople such as computer numerical control machinists, programmers, welders, designers, maintenance techs, and others. The company offers an online labor marketplace where manufacturers post open positions, and it supports the recruitment and candidate-vetting processes.

Forage
Online mentoring platform that partners with corporations to design free virtual work experience programs for job seekers

Forage
Online mentoring platform that partners with corporations to design free virtual work experience programs for job seekers
Forage is on a mission to redefine the emerging-talent experience. It believes that anyone, anywhere deserves the opportunity to land their dream job, regardless of their circumstances. Forage works with hundreds of organizations to make this a reality for millions of users around the world.

Hireguide
A toolkit that lets hiring managers become expert interviewers in minutes

Hireguide
A toolkit that lets hiring managers become expert interviewers in minutes
Hireguide is a public benefit corporation that uses conversational AI to personalize coaching so that companies can recognize and eliminate biases that can arise in job-interview situations.

Honest Jobs
National job marketplace for people affected by the criminal justice system

Honest Jobs
National job marketplace for people affected by the criminal justice system
Honest Jobs is a job marketplace connecting individuals who were involved with the justice system with employers that promote fair-chance hiring.

Korbit Technologies
Personalized AI trainng for learning data science and AI

Korbit Technologies
Personalized AI trainng for learning data science and AI
Korbit offers an interactive and personalized AI-based teacher that adapts itself to each learner’s needs and provides real-time targeted pedagogical support.

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

Level
Provider of flexible credit to help gig workers to build microbusinesses
Level helps people to build and grow microbusinesses by providing funds based on their earnings. It partners with companies that depend on independent workers, such as Taskrabbit and Pickup.

Major League Hacking
Operates global student hackathons and project-based technology fellowship programs

Major League Hacking
Operates global student hackathons and project-based technology fellowship programs
Major League Hacking is a B corporation that hosts weekend-long invention competitions, or ‘hackathons,’ that cultivate community and teach computer science skills. Leveraging their hackathon network, they also recruit and place a pipeline of junior development talent into meaningful project-based fellowship externships and provide mentoring and management support to fellows. These individuals range from having little to no experience to self-taught or boot camp graduates. The fully remote 12-week fellowship links talent with companies working on high-impact software, data science and digital media projects.

MentorWorks
Non-loan financing (ISAs) for college & non-traditional students with career support

MentorWorks
Non-loan financing (ISAs) for college & non-traditional students with career support
MentorWorks expands student access to quality education and training – from degree programs to workforce development training programs – by providing Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs) origination, servicing and funding. MentorWorks has also developed its Talent Accelerator Platform (TAP), which provides free career development resources and programming open to the public that also supports funded students in gaining job placements, thereby supporting the ISA repayment model.

NewCampus
Education platform delivering business and leadership training

NewCampus
Education platform delivering business and leadership training
NewCampus is a business education platform for the modern workforce. The platform boosts the careers of working learners by helping them build their network, learn actionable skills, and be inspired by top business leaders.

NextStep*
A mobile, tuition-free training and job placement platform for certified nursing assistants (CNAs)

NextStep*
A mobile, tuition-free training and job placement platform for certified nursing assistants (CNAs)
NextStep uses technology to help solve the accelerating caregiver crisis in the United States. It trains workers displaced by automation and AI and uses an algorithm to place them with respected long-term care providers. NextStep’s blended-learning CNA program gives learners the opportunity to start a new, rewarding career in a field with critical workforce needs.

Nucamp
Bringing the best of online and in-person learning together

Nucamp
Bringing the best of online and in-person learning together
A company offering highly affordable, short-term coding bootcamps to prepare adult learners for web development and data science careers.

Onramp
Workforce solutions company, offering custom-built talent pipelines to increase tech candidates from non-traditional and diverse backgrounds

Onramp
Workforce solutions company, offering custom-built talent pipelines to increase tech candidates from non-traditional and diverse backgrounds
Onramp is a workforce solutions company, offering custom-built technical talent pipelines for corporate partners looking to expand their recruiting pools with high-potential candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
Founded in 2018 by Lateesha Thomas, Howard Sueing, and Ian Inaba, Onramp works to solve the technology industry's talent shortage by creating career pathways for job-seekers regardless of previous academic or professional experience.

Owners
Providing training, tools, and mentorship to entrepreneurs

Owners
Providing training, tools, and mentorship to entrepreneurs
A platform that provides training, tools, and mentorship to entrepreneurs as they start, launch and grow their own home services company.

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.

Pallet
Company addressing the homeless crisis with rapid-response shelter villages

Pallet
Company addressing the homeless crisis with rapid-response shelter villages
Pallet is a public benefit corporation working to end unsheltered homelessness and give people a fair chance at employment. Pallet’s transitional villages help bridge the gap from living on the street to finding permanent housing.

Pathful Connect
A platform for bringing industry professionals into classrooms, virtually

Pathful Connect
A platform for bringing industry professionals into classrooms, virtually
A web-based platform that connects educators and learners with a network of professionals who can offer real-world advice and insights, Pathful Connect (formerly 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.

Plum
Provider of data-driven talent assessment for global enterprises

Plum
Provider of data-driven talent assessment for global enterprises
Plum enables employers to make better talent decisions using the predictive power of psychometric data. The platform can be used throughout the employee lifecycle, from hiring through internal career mobility.

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.

Ramped Careers
Job skilling platform for early career professionals

Ramped Careers
Job skilling platform for early career professionals
A career discovery and job skilling platform for early career professionals.

REDF
Investment fund providing loans with flexible terms to nonprofit and for-profit employment social enterprises

REDF
Investment fund providing loans with flexible terms to nonprofit and for-profit employment social enterprises
The REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) provides providing capital, capacity, and community to social entrepreneurs. RIIF supports borrowers to improve their financial sustainability and strengthen their businesses so they can employ more individuals striving to chart a new course in life.

SHARE Mobility
Technology platform helping organizations solve complex transportation problems

SHARE Mobility
Technology platform helping organizations solve complex transportation problems
SHARE Mobility makes transportation
that gets people to work safely and sustainably.

Signal Vine*
Provider of an intelligent, two-way text messaging platform that is proven to deliver high student engagement

Signal Vine*
Provider of an intelligent, two-way text messaging platform that is proven to deliver high student engagement
Signal Vine offers a two-way text messaging platform powered by AI that educational institutions can use to engage students, staff, and employees. The system has proved especially powerful at nudging 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.

Sparkwise
Provider of multiplayer learning platform aimed at developing world-class teams and leaders

Sparkwise
Provider of multiplayer learning platform aimed at developing world-class teams and leaders
Sparkwise massively scales active learning in groups through interactive challenges, available on demand. Teams grow closer by playing together.

Stride Funding
Stride Funding offers students flexible ways to fund their education with Income Share Agreements (ISAs)

Stride Funding
Stride Funding offers students flexible ways to fund their education with Income Share Agreements (ISAs)
Stride is an Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) provider that partners with higher education institutions to provide access to capital for students pursuing an education in healthcare and STEM fields. To support students with program completion and job placement, Stride provides wraparound services such as study tools and interview prep.

Symba
Internship and apprenticeship management platform

Symba
Internship and apprenticeship management platform
Led by a young and diverse team, Symba is building a platform with a purpose—to open up the workforce. Symba helps businesses adapt to the future of work—adopting remote operations, investing in the next generation of talent, and committing to diversity and inclusion.

Transcend Network
A fellowship for early-stage founders working in the field of education and the future of work

Transcend Network
A fellowship for early-stage founders working in the field of education and the future of work
Transcend gives founders the community and tools they need to build sustainable organizations that rethink education and work.

Upduo
Peer-to-peer coaching for data-driven teams

Upduo
Peer-to-peer coaching for data-driven teams
Upduo helps companies deliver at scale engaging one-on-one coaching sessions that drive measurable business outcomes.

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.

WorkTorch
A career discovery platform for the service economy workforce

WorkTorch
A career discovery platform for the service economy workforce
WorkTorch partners with job seekers by finding the right job and advancement opportunities. The founders wanted to apply technology that is usually available only to white-collar workers to the service industry.
* These companies have exited our portfolio.
Advisors

Meet Our Advisors

Alison Ascher Webber
EdTech Center at World Education

Alison Ascher Webber
EdTech Center at World Education
Alison Ascher Webber develops and directs innovative projects that advance digital equity and leverage technology to increase the reach and impact of education and workforce programs. Alison co-leads Digital US, a national initiative to close digital skills gaps by 2030. She advises online learning and ICT4D initiatives including for the National Immigration Forum, UNESCO, and the Employment Technology Fund @ JFF. Previous roles include education director at mLearning company Cell-Ed and associate director at Avasant Foundation. Alison served as first executive director of the leadership training & education fund for janitors across California and helped form the award-winning Building Skills Partnership. Alison holds a Master’s in Education.

Patti Constantakis
Walmart.org

Patti Constantakis
Walmart.org
Patti Constantakis is a director on the economic opportunity team for Walmart.org. She leads the Foundation’s Equitable Talent Systems portfolio that seeks to engage employers in more equitable hiring and advancement practices. She brings decades of experience working to increase economic opportunities for underserved adult learners. Previously at Digital Promise, Patti was the director of adult learning and workforce development initiatives where her work focused on using technology to build the literacy and numeracy skills of our lowest-skilled frontline workers. She also developed a competency-based digital skills program, backed by Facebook, for non-traditional adult learners and workers. Prior to Digital Promise, Patti was the director of product, content, and curriculum, at GreatSchools.org and was responsible for developing e-learning programs for teachers as well as apps and other electronic resources for immigrant parents. In the years prior to GreatSchools, Patti worked with several startups designing and developing products for community college students and other non-traditional adult learners.
Patti grew up on the U.S.- Mexico border and, as a Latina, is fully bilingual in Spanish and English. She earned her B.A. in Journalism and Spanish from New Mexico State University and her Ph.D. and M.A in Communications from the University of Texas, Austin.

Andrea Mainelli
Tyton Partners

Andrea Mainelli
Tyton Partners
Andrea joined Tyton Partners as a Senior Advisor in July 2015, bringing a wealth of strategic and operational executive-level experience in the for-profit and not-for-profit education worlds. She will be actively engaged in supporting existing client relationships, as well as identifying new opportunities for the Firm.
Andrea most recently worked for the College Board from 2010 to 2013, first as a consultant, then as a senior executive and key member of the leadership team where she was engaged in product strategy and go-to-market approaches, and led the U.S. and International teams that were responsible for partnering with districts, states, foreign entities and higher education institutions to deliver College Board programs and services.
Prior to the College Board, Andrea spent nearly six years at Kaplan, Inc. in a variety of operating and strategy roles, culminating in ceo of Kaplan Financial and Real Estate, a division that delivered classroom, online and hybrid training, test prep and professional development to individuals who required certifications and continuing education to enter, practice and succeed in their professions. During her tenure, she oversaw the division’s growth and expansion strategy as well as all of its operations, leading the acquisition and integration of more than ten training companies and multiple new product initiatives, including the launch of its online education efforts.
Andrea has extensive experience working with for-profit and not-for-profit organizations on strategy and leadership engagements, and has served on and assisted both for-profit and not-for-profit Boards of Directors. She holds an AB in Social Studies, with a focus in international relations, from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Jess Hinkle
Strada Education Network

Jess Hinkle
Strada Education Network
As Strada Education Network senior vice president, strategic investments, Jessica evaluates potential mission-aligned investments and manages Strada's portfolio of direct minority investments and early-stage fund investments. Previously, Jessica led Product Strategy and Innovation, advising and supporting Strada's mission-aligned affiliates to identify and create new product opportunities, and to align on a strong product strategy for Strada’s Commercial and Products division.
A product strategy and innovation leader in higher education, Hinkle joined Strada in March 2018. Previously she was a principal with Silverstrand Strategy + Innovation, providing strategic advisory services.
She also has held a variety of roles with Laureate International Universities, most recently as chief product officer for Walden University, where she led the team of product managers at Laureate’s flagship online university. She also co-led an innovation team that incubated a new model for competency-based education. Hinkle began at Laureate in 2002 as senior market analyst, research and analysis department, and progressed to her other most recent roles: vice president, product management; and co-head, emerging strategies and products group. She started her career in investment banking, at Morgan Stanley and WR Hambrecht + Co.
Hinkle holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jess Haselton
ECMC Foundation

Jess Haselton
ECMC Foundation
Jessica Haselton leads Education Innovation Ventures, the Foundation's program-related investment program. Jessica has a broad background in grantmaking, social enterprise, impact measurement and impact investing. Prior to joining ECMC Foundation, Jessica was a partner at TriLinc Global, an investment management firm that makes impact investments in small and medium enterprises in developing economies, where she managed investor relations, corporate social responsibility and corporate communications for the firm.
Jessica came to TriLinc Global after conducting a post-graduate fellowship at the Clinton Foundation, where she led the development of an impact measurement system and produced key performance indicators for the organization's members to use in tracking and reporting on the performance of their social and environmentally focused work. She has worked with multiple nonprofit organizations, spanning Southern California, Washington, DC, and Southeast Asia.
Jessica holds an MBA with an emphasis in social entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business, and a BA in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Smitha Das
World Education Services

Smitha Das
World Education Services
Smitha Das is the principal of impact investing at the WES Mariam Assefa Fund. She leads the Fund's impact investing initiatives in the U.S. and Canada. As a daughter of immigrants and refugees, Smitha is deeply committed to WES's mission and centering equity and justice within impact investing.
Previously, Smitha was an impact investor at Social Finance, where she developed and executed the firm's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative, impact management practice, and field building strategy. Before Social Finance, Smitha worked in venture philanthropy, renewable energy private equity, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Her passion to scale impact formed at a young age when she founded a water nonprofit at age 12.
Smitha has an MBA from Harvard Business School and AB with Honors in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, where she co-founded the HBS Impact Investing Club and Harvard Social Innovation Collaborative. She serves as a steering committee member for the HBS Impact Investing Alumni Group, chapter leader of Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy (WISE), and member of the Leadership Now Project. Beyond impact investing. Smitha is deeply passionate about creating quality connection and community and shares her thoughts monthly on the Seen & Heard podcast.

Jill Barkin
Beacon Fund

Jill Barkin
Beacon Fund
Jill S. Barkin is the director of education at The Beacon Fund -- a newly launched social impact enterprise committed to using the full range of philanthropic to market rate investment tools and advocacy to help individuals achieve their full potential.
Most recently Jill served as vice president of board governance for Teach for America and prior to that was vice president of corporate philanthropy and community relations for JP Morgan Chase in Colorado. Before moving to Colorado in 2006, Jill worked in Massachusetts as a consultant to nonprofits and charitable foundations at Monitor Institute, New Profit Inc. and FSG Social Impact Advisors.
Jill currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chalkbeat, a national network of local education news bureaus and on the Education Committee of The Denver Foundation. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Colorado Public Radio. In 2011 Jill was appointed by Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock to serve on Denver’s Homelessness Commission and the Denver Education Compact. In 2017 Jill was appointed by the Denver School Board to serve on the Strengthening Neighborhood Initiative.
Jill holds a BA in Economics and Political Science cum laude from Williams College and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She lives in Denver with her husband Adam and their sons Jacob (7) & Eli (5). She enjoys running, skiing, cooking, and listening to TED Talks.