Originally bootstrapped, the company will use its first institutional raise to scale its all-in-one mentoring, employee connectivity, and skills development solutions. 

New York, New York, October 18, 2022 – Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC), the leading talent experience platform offering all-in-one inclusive mentoring, employee connectivity, and skills development solutions, today announced a $56 million investment from Five Elms Capital. This marks the first institutional raise since the company's formation in 2014.

This funding comes at a critical time as employees struggle to connect in a hybrid work world. A recent global workforce survey found that only 21% of employees are engaged at work, leaving many individuals feeling like they don’t find their work meaningful and are not hopeful about their future. Using its six proprietary solutions, 10KC’s platform helps organizations build, manage, and measure an employee's experience from start to finish. Along with fostering skills development, 10KC aids in driving important initiatives like inclusion and belonging to maintain human connections, even in remote work settings.

“As an LGBT+ entrepreneur who grew up in a small, rural town, I experienced firsthand that connections and mentors were critical to opportunities and belonging. That’s why we built 10KC,” said Dave Wilkin, CEO and co-founder of 10KC. “Since inception, it’s been our mission to use technology to build more inclusive work environments and this funding from Five Elms Capital reinforces the need for connectivity in a hybrid, decentralized world. I’m thrilled to help more employers provide their teams with all-in-one mentoring, employee connectivity and skills development solutions.”

This funding will primarily be used to build out 10KC’s product roadmap and further scale the company’s solutions globally. Specifically, the investments will go towards strengthening product integrations and advancing solutions including onboarding, DEI, and leadership development. The team also plans to further invest in its own company culture and accelerate hiring efforts to include additional sales roles and hire a VP of Marketing.

“Hybrid and decentralized work is here to stay and, as a result, employers can’t ignore the lack of connection employees are feeling,” said Stephanie Schneider, Partner at Five Elms Capital. “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. 10KC is a market leader in this category and will now be able to bring their top-tier solutions to every organization.”

With an impressive 120% net client retention rate and a 98% match quality score, 10KC works with 200 of the world's leading businesses and social impact organizations to foster a stronger, more connected workforce. To learn more about 10KC and its solutions to better engage, connect, and develop employees, visit: www.tenthousandcoffees.com

About Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC) 

10KC is a Diversity-founded talent experience platform for best-in-class connectivity, mentoring, DEI, onboarding, early talent, leadership development, and more. 10KC’s all-in-one solutions serve over 200 of the world’s leading companies and social impact organizations. Built for the new world of decentralized, remote and hybrid work environments, 10KC’s highly configurable technology helps employers build, scale and measure their employees’ engagement, connectivity and skills development initiatives. You can learn more about 10KC here.

About Five Elms Capital

Five Elms Capital is a leading growth investor in world-class software businesses that users love. Five Elms provides capital and resources to help companies accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders. Five Elms maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in the best software platforms globally. For more information, visit www.fiveelms.com.