Participated · Series A · Sep 2020

Forage (formerly InsideSherpa) partners with large employers such as Deloitte, Citi, BCG, GE, KPMG, JPMorgan Chase and Microsoft to create short online courses that replicate real on-the-job tasks. Students anywhere in the world can enroll free of charge, complete the modules and gain insight into what working at a particular firm is like, while companies pay an annual subscription to list their programs and cultivate broader talent pipelines. The model resonated during COVID-19: student enrollments grew more than 86%, reaching 1 million users. Some partner firms have reportedly hired up to 52 % of participants from their cohorts, demonstrating the product’s potential recruiting impact. The company was profitable heading into its latest financing round, though it did not disclose ARR. Founded in 2017, Forage started as a mentoring marketplace before pivoting to virtual work experiences and recently rebranded from InsideSherpa to reflect its broader mission. The fresh capital will be used to expand engineering, product and sales headcount, further scaling its course library and corporate relationships.