Canadian networking company 10KC gets $75-million investment

Ever wondered how to get a leg-up in your career with zero connections in your field?

That’s the problem Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC), a Canadian-founded networking company, wants to solve. And the company has just received a major boost of $75 million from U.S. private equity firm, Five Elms Capital — the first institutional investment since the company’s formation in 2014 — to expand its operations and reach.

“This is a critical move to expand our business and ensure the democratization process when it comes to new hires and promotions,” said Dave Wilkin, CEO and co-founder of 10KC.

The way 10KC works is simple. Companies use their program to match employees within the same company to build mentorship relationships. For example, one of 10KC’s clients, Nike, has employees answer a questionnaire which then helps pair employees with senior leaders to work on career goals. The aim, says Wilkin, is to improve employee retention, provide employees with a strong network, and ensure diversity, equity and inclusion targets are being met.

More than 200 companies, including Nike and the Royal Bank of Canada, now work with 10KC.

Wilkin says the business idea was born while growing up in the small Ontario town of Lively where he had limited opportunity for career growth. To get his foot in any door, Wilkin did it himself, he said, earning scholarships to attend the University of Waterloo’s business program and meeting with CEOs and industry leaders to discuss 10KC’s business idea while studying.

“So many industry leaders told me the best learning on the job happens by grabbing coffee with your boss and colleague,” Wilkin said. “But who gets those opportunities? What’s the best way to make the process fair and equitable?”

While companies were on board with 10KC’s mission, it “really took off” during the pandemic, said Wilkin, when working from home became the norm and the office was no longer the epicentre of workplace life. “All the sudden we were in this decentralized future of work setting with no geographic barriers — we only had tech to connect us.”

Elliott Garcea, 10KC co-founder and chief technology officer, agreed the pandemic tapped into the company’s potential to ensure employees are able to build on relationships and opportunities within their own company remotely.

Both founders say the funding comes at a critical time as employees struggle to connect in a hybrid work world.

A recent Gallup global workforce survey found that only 21 per cent of employees are engaged at work, leaving many feeling like they don’t find work meaningful and are not hopeful about their future.

In 2021, 10CK made more than a million employee matches with a 98 per cent “match quality score” meaning almost all the matches were the right fit.

The company has six different programs companies can choose from, including the mentorship program which pairs early to mid-career employees with higher ups; an onboarding program which pairs new hires with seasoned employees to help navigate the onboarding process; and the diversity, equity and inclusion program which aims to foster growth opportunities for women, Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ professionals.

“Hybrid and decentralized work is here to stay and, as a result, employers can’t ignore the lack of connection employees are feeling,” Stephanie Schneider, partner at Five Elms Capital said in a statement. The private equity firm specifically invests in software businesses. “Organizations of all sizes need a winning mentoring and employee connection solution to meet their engagement, diversity, and retention goals in this new world of work.”

Moving forward, Wilkin and Garcea say supporting companies globally in diversity and inclusion goals are top of mind.

“As an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur who grew up in a small, rural town, I know firsthand that connections and mentors were critical to opportunities and belonging,” Wilkin said. “We need to help anyone, no matter who they are, receive the opportunity and mentorship that oftentimes only a select few get.”