Lightship is thrilled to announce our investment in BootUp, a solutions oriented company bridging the gap between non traditionally educated tech talent and job opportunities in the technology space. Lightship Capital joined the $2.1 million round which was led by Kapor Capital and fulfilled exclusively by other Black-led funds and investors.
“I feel that allocation of capital is the most useful form of activism in a capitalist society.” Says Chandler Malone, founder of BootUp. “This idea was inspired by a conversation with Candice Matthews Brackeen back in 2018 and led to us being intentional about raising from all Black-led funds and angels for our seed round as our work is directly focused on targeting the wealth gap.”
BootUp enables enterprises to fill their talent pipeline by encouraging them to source and hire non traditionally trained tech talent, while helping individuals increase their economic mobility through access to meaningful training programs and high paying tech jobs.
"We're so excited to be able to support such an incredible founder solving for what continues to be a growing issue.” Says Lightship Capital Senior Analyst, Alexis Alston. “With the great resignation, and the decline of traditional college graduates, BootUp is here to fill the gap left by an archaic HR economy."
BootUp is one of the first companies to have attended Lightship’s Tulsa, Oklahoma Bootcamp and been selected for investment. Since launching their core product in 2021 the company has grown rapidly, developing relationships with over 80 employers and 125 tech training programs, and placing 329 people into their first jobs in tech for over $23M in annualized salaries.
About Lightship Capital
Lightship Capital invests in remarkable entrepreneurs across the nation. By seeking talent across demographics and geographies typically underfunded by majority investment firms, Lightship finds and develops high growth companies while catalyzing emerging ecosystems.
About BootUp
BootUp has built an educational labor marketplace to lower the barrier of entry into technology careers, while making it easier for companies to source and vet non-traditionally educated tech talent.
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