Ladder Announces $3.7 Million in Funding Led by Forerunner With Participation From Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six

• The Professional Community Platform for Gen Z Launches Mobile App After Helping 100,000+ Students Find Jobs and Meet Mentors During the Pandemic

Ladder, the next-gen professional community platform, announced the launch of its new mobile app and raise of $3.7 million in funding from Forerunner Ventures, Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, Pear VC, Scribble Ventures, and Script Capital. Notable angel investors include Tony Xu (CEO of DoorDash), Josh Buckley (CEO of Product Hunt), Harry Stebbings (20VC), Matthew Dellavedova (NBA Player), Josh Elman, and executives from a16z, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Uber, and Robinhood.

On Ladder, members can join professional communities, consume high-quality career content, engage in fun discussions, land their dream job, and form meaningful relationships with peers and mentors. The platform aims to become the go-to professional social network for Gen Z. Ladder features three core pillars:

• Communities: Members can join communities with thousands of peers based on industries, roles, and interests that matter to them.
• Content: Ladder communities are filled with high-quality, social career content that range from opportunities and resources to debates and AMAs.
• Connections: The antithesis of LinkedIn, on Ladder, connections start in the communities and flourish through AMAs, Group Chats, Events, and Coffee Chats, a tool that handpicks the best people on Ladder to meet.

HR Technology News: RiseBird, India’s Leading Video Interviewing Cloud Platform, Clocks 500 Daily Interviews

Ladder was founded in 2020, during the height of COVID-19, when millions of college students across the country were sent home with no job lined up, no idea what remote work meant, and no sense of community. Ladder CEO Andrew Tan, then at Stanford studying computer science, was one of these students. Shocked at how the pandemic disproportionately affected young professionals, he immediately went to work to help classmates and peers get back on their feet. Ladder started as a mentorship program that connected 500+ students with industry mentors, then launched the Remote Students Newsletter to share remote opportunities and career resources to 75,000+ subscribers, and is now a popular app with tens of thousands of users and dozens of customers and partners.

“Our mission is to democratize access to career growth,” said Andrew Tan, CEO of Ladder. “And community is one of the most important aspects of growing and being successful in your career. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you’re from, you deserve to have a community for wherever you are at in your career.”

HR Technology News: MindEdge and HRCI Study: 80% Of HR Professionals Report Increased Staff Burnout During the Pandemic

“Ladder is not just a job board or online resume; it’s where the next generation can be their best selves by making career growth more inclusive and community-driven.” Tan added.

The funding round was led by Forerunner Ventures, a leading consumer-focused venture capital firm. “Forerunner is inspired by Ladder’s mission to empower recent-graduate job seekers like never before,” says Brian O’Malley, General Partner at Forerunner Ventures. “The platform’s 50% WAU / MAU ratio shows that members are highly motivated to show up, connect, and learn alongside their peers in the workforce.”

While the world slowly returns to in-person experiences, the need for both online and offline communities still remains. Ladder will use the funding to grow its team and develop innovative ways to help professionals and communities get more out of their careers. The company is working on products for communities to curate job opportunities, for community builders to launch their own professional communities, and for companies to meaningfully engage early career talent.

HR Technology News: New Data From Lattice Show That 70% Of HR Teams Are Planning for Blended Workforces Well Into 2022