Canadian Network Company 10KC Receives $75 Million Investment

Have you ever wondered how to advance your career with zero connections in your field?

That’s the problem Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC), a networking company founded in Canada, wants to solve. The company also received a significant $75 million in funding from US private equity firm Five Elms Capital. This is the first institutional investment since the company was founded in 2014 to expand its business and reach.

10KC CEO and Co-Founder Dave Wilkin said:

How 10KC works is simple. Companies use programs to match employees within the same company and build mentoring relationships. For example, one of his 10KC clients, Nike, asks employees to complete surveys to help employees and senior her leaders address their career goals. The aim is to increase employee retention, provide employees with strong networks, and ensure diversity, equity and inclusion goals are met, Wilkin said.

More than 200 companies are currently partnering with 10KC, including Nike and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Wilkin says the idea for the business came about while growing up in the small town of Lively, Ontario. To get his foot in any door, Wilkin did it himself, he said, winning a scholarship to join the Business Program at the University of Waterloo where he met and studied with CEOs and industry leaders. While working together, we discussed business ideas for 10KC.

“So many industry leaders have told me that they learn best by working over coffee with their bosses and colleagues,” says Wilkin. “But who gets that opportunity? What’s the best way to make the process fair and equitable?”

Companies were on board with 10KC’s mission, but it “really took off” during the pandemic, when working from home has become the norm and the office is no longer the center of work life, Wilkin said. . “Suddenly, we were in this decentralized futuristic work environment with no geographic barriers. There was nothing but technology to connect us.”

Elliott Garcea, co-founder and chief technology officer of 10KC, agreed that the pandemic will harness the potential of the company to allow employees to remotely build relationships and opportunities within their own companies. did.

Both founders say they were funded at a critical time when employees were struggling to connect in a hybrid world of work.

A recent Gallup global workforce survey found that only 21% of employees are engaged in work, and many feel their work is meaningless and their future hopeless. I was.

In 2021, 10CK has matched over 1 million employees with a 98% “Matching Quality Score”. This means that almost all matches were good.

The company has six different programs for companies to choose from.An onboarding program that pairs new hires with experienced employees To navigate the onboarding process. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs aimed at promoting growth opportunities for women, Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ professionals.

Stephanie Schneider, partner at Five Elms Capital, said in a statement, “Hybrid and decentralized work is here to stay, and as a result employers can’t afford to ignore the lack of connection employees feel. No. This private equity firm has invested specifically in software businesses: “Organizations of all sizes rely on superior mentoring and employee engagement to meet their engagement, diversity and retention goals in this new world of work. I need an employee connectivity solution.”

Moving forward, Wilkin and Garcia say supporting companies globally in their diversity and inclusion goals is a top priority.

“As an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur who grew up in a small rural town, I know firsthand that connection and mentorship are essential to opportunity and belonging,” says Wilkin. “We need to help ensure that opportunities and mentorship that are often reserved for a select few are available to everyone, no matter who they are.”

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