Koru (Company)

Koru
Industry Educational Technology
Founded 2013
Founder Kristen Hamilton & Josh Jarrett
Headquarters Seattle, WA, USA
Website www.joinkoru.com

Koru is a privately held educational technology company based in Seattle, WA., that connects college graduates seeking career-oriented jobs with growing companies that are searching for entry-level talent.[1][2][3] Koru runs college-to-career training programs in Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston[4] and has been profiled on national publications including Fortune (magazine), The Seattle Times and USA Today.[1][5][6]

History

Koru was co-founded in September 2013 by Kristen Hamilton, co-founder of Onvia and Josh Jarrett; formerly of the Gates Foundation.[7][8][9] Hamilton spent the greater part of her career in technology and education, including serving as COO of World Learning and Global Director Educator Strategy at Microsoft.[10] In the spring of 2013, when looking for a way to combine her experience in technology and education, Hamilton and a friend were talking one night about how companies find and hire young talent. Inspired by that conversation, Hamilton later teamed up with higher education innovator Jarrett, who had spent seven years developing and guiding the higher education work at the Gates Foundation. This partnership eventually led to the foundation of Koru in Seattle.[11]

Koru received seed funding in the amount of $4.35 million in October 2013, led by Maveron, Battery Ventures, First Round Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.[12][13] Koru added $8 million in funding in 2015 with a Series A round that included original investors as well as the addition of City Light Capital and Trilogy Equity Partners.[4][10][10] Koru was the winner of the GeekWire Start-Up of the Year in 2015.[14]

Partnerships and services

Koru provides college-to-career trainings, coaching and professional networking opportunities to college students and recent graduates.[15][16] To do so, Koru has partnered with various American universities to give students and alumni simulated work experience to complement their education and assist them in becoming viable candidates for career-track positions.[17][18][19] The company also partners with high-growth companies across the US to bring real work projects into the Koru program.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kristin, Musulin (13 November 2014). "Koru: Immersive program with 85% job placement". USA TODAY. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Hailey, Way (19 May 2014). "Koru: Seattle career bootcamp adds job skills to those liberal arts degrees". Crosscut. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Rebecca, Grant (16 December 2013). "Koru wants to help millions of underemployed college grads get good jobs". VN News. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Frederic, Lardinois (29 January 2015). "Koru Raises $8M Series A Round For Its Talent Marketplace". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Erin, Griffith (28 May 2014). "Nas is mentoring college grads who have 'grit,' thanks to startup Koru". Fortune (magazine). Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Katherine, Long (12 September 2014). "Startup helps new college grads prep for that first real job". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Lauren, Landry (11 June 2014). "Koru Expands to Boston to Connect College Grads with Jobs at High-Growth Companies". Bostinno. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Laura, Dunn (1 January 2015). "Women in Business Q&A: Kristen Hamilton, CEO of Koru". HUFF POST. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  9. ↑ MONICA, NICKELSBURG (18 February 2015). "Koru CEO Kristen Hamilton on failure and the importance of company culture". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 TAYLOR, SOPER (29 January 2015). "Talent marketplace’ Koru raises $8M to help college grads land great jobs". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "OUR STORY". Koru official website. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. ↑ JOHN, COOK (12 December 2013). "Onvia co-founder raises $4.35M for Koru, helping college grads find impactful jobs". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Benjamin, Romano (18 December 2013). "Seattle Startup Koru Takes On Tech Training, Hiring for Recent Grads". Xconomy. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  14. ↑ TAYLOR, SOPER (7 May 2015). "Revealed: The winners of the 2015 GeekWire Awards". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  15. ↑ BLAIR HANLEY, FRANK (7 August 2014). "Job search startup Koru teams up with WSU to boost students’ job opportunities". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  16. ↑ Rick, Wartzman (7 August 2014). "The rise of the self-reliant young worker". FORTUNE. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  17. ↑ TAYLOR, SOPER (18 March 2015). "Koru partners with University of Washington to help prepare college grads for jobs". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  18. ↑ Alyssa, Patrick (13 August 2014). "Startup partnership helps WSU prepare students for workplace". WSU News. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Career-immersion program with Koru supports Bates’ purposeful work initiative". Bates News. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Colby Career Center Announces Partnership with Koru". Colby. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "SEC Partners with Koru". The PIONEER NEWS. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links

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