1. FactoryFix — https://www.factoryfix.com/
Recent: Raised $10M Series A
Seeking: Potential Growth Capital
When the onslaught of the pandemic began, I remember bunkering down at home, preparing for the worst, and certainly thinking about new ways to spend my time. Today, around two years after everything seemingly began, we are still seeing the implications of the pandemic on the business world. One of the most prominent impacts the pandemic had on the business world was within the realm of supply chain management and manufacturing. From computer chips to toilet paper to cereal, we saw a severe lack of ability to find these goods. This was a result of the ongoing supply chain disruptions in countries that carry global manufacturing on their backs (China, South Korea) because the pandemic did tremendous damage to these nations. On a micro level, once the manufacturing side of the supply chain took a hit because of positive COVID cases, shipping companies delayed their processes because they foresaw decreased demand — which turned out to be completely incorrect. The demand for manufactured goods and services increased in tandem with the time spent at home by US consumers, compounding the issue at hand. All in all, what has become clear is the reliance on certain aspects of the supply chain to work efficiently for the rest of the chain to function at all.
The solution to this problem, while not simple nor definite, may lie in bringing manufacturing back to the United States, ensuring more control and understanding of the process at hand. Unfortunately, following 2000, we saw a tremendous decrease in manufacturing jobs in the US (dropping from ~17M jobs to below 12M). This is certainly a shame because post-WW2, the US was a global manufacturing powerhouse. Over the past fifty years specifically, this trend has been evident as manufacturing as a percentage of GDP has decreased from 27% to just a mere 12%. Regardless of what the reason for these trends may be, the stigma around manufacturing jobs has become increasingly unfortunate, spiraling into a skill gap that needs to be fixed.
Enter, FactoryFix, a marketplace for manufacturing labor workers to find jobs, be connected to employers, and get training to advance their careers and capabilities. FactoryFix sees over 250,000 manufacturing opportunities with an average salary of $80k. While these offerings on the outside are great to attract eyes, the real crux of this platform lies in the education of manufacturing workers on the plethora of paths they can take within the industry to increase their inherent personal value and become more accessible to different employers. In a sense, FactoryFix functions as a search firm for other manufacturing companies, their pricing model is like that of ZipRecruiter in their process of companies purchasing subscriptions to promote their roles to workers. While FactoryFix did recently raise a $10M Series A round, I believe that they are poised to continue growing as they finally put money behind their marketing to scale up. Let’s keep our eyes out because I like what I’m seeing here quite a bit!
2. Mine’d — https://www.doyoumined.com/
Recent: Raised $3.5M Seed Round
Seeking: Potential Series A
The second company I’d love to analyze today is Mine’d, the world’s first emotional network, bringing people together through emotional wellness. Over the past half-decade, mental health awareness has come into the spotlight, and thankfully so. The importance of focusing on one’s mental well-being and de-stigmatizing mental health is crucial. Over the past two years specifically (note the plethora of companies being born out of COVID-related problems) mental health conditions within the workplace, at home, etc. have gotten exponentially worse as people have felt isolated from the world, feared for their health during the pandemic, and seen a lack of outdoor exercise and activity. To combat this issue, we have seen innovation within both the private and public sectors. Before diving into the private side where Mine’d exists, we should note that institutionally, governments have ramped up their mental health servicing to ameliorate conditions! Countries that didn’t have or weakly had mental health protocols began introducing and establishing mental health phone lines and information databases. While this is a big step in the right direction to raising knowledge and awareness, these issues fundamentally need to be solved through open conversations, expert coaching, and professional support.
To begin addressing how we can solve this problem, we can technically analyze the problem to get to the root of it. From the beginning of March 2020, there was a severely heightened feeling of anxiety and depression, with some countries even experiencing a two-fold increase. The solution to this problem lies in a society-wide approach that integrates, intertwines, and connects those who struggle with each other. This will enable learning, less loneliness, and expand professional support and advice. As we have seen healthtech improve over the past few years with more than 80% of high-income countries using telemedicine, there is a new avenue for receiving mental health support as a consumer.
At the forefront of this solution is Mine’d, another marketplace structured business that connects consumers to top emotional wellbeing experts along with others who can relate to daily struggles. Mine’d offers professional coaching in human connection, marriage and family, sex and relationships, personal growth, and more. Not only are professionals available to the users, but a library of on-demand classes is also accessible to users along with frequent Q&A sessions. The community-oriented structure of the Mine’d platform is one of the most pivotal aspects. I believe the ability to connect with others going through similar experiences/struggles is a huge draw of the platform. We have begun to see cohort-based learning, and I see this in a very similar light with individuals being able to learn how they can grow through their struggles together. As for the business model of Mine’d, there is an emphasis on a B2C pipeline, however, as they continue to grow, I see a strong potential for B2B capabilities. There is a definitive headwind for employers to focus on the mental health of their workers — this is a modern-day efficiency wage — taking care of employees ensures that they are working at their highest level. To date, Mine’d has raised their seed round so we’ll keep track of their progress, but I like the direction they’re headed and see huge potential in the market!
3. RabbitHole — https://rabbithole.gg/
Recent: Raised $18M Series A
Seeking: Potential Growth Capital
The last company I want to highlight today is RabbitHole, a platform that focuses on building the workforce of tomorrow through experiential learning opportunities today. After the first edition of cool companies, I think I made it clear that I’m very bullish on the future of Crypto and Web3. I know that the fundamental organizational style of companies/communities is going to see change, I know that we are going to see new vehicles for investments in the private sector, but I don’t know how to build any of that stuff myself, yet! Paradoxically, that is certainly the most important part — we need to build what’s next! Starting with a little dive into the beauty of blockchain, it is vital that we note the importance of leaving a definitive imprint on the blockchain for every transaction/action that occurs on it. With a continuous record being built, we can see a breadth of value in this — one use case being credentialization of skills. According to Jirgensons, personalized encrypted credentials enable users to shape lifelong learning pathways and personalized education according to individual values and needs. What does this credentialization even mean though?
When we look at credentialization throughout history, we can think of institutional credentials such as a passport that signifies you are a citizen of some country, a driver’s license that signifies you have passed a test and are a capable driver. We can also think of past enterprises that have credentialed certain aspects of their business, you can get a Mozilla open digital badge, you can become a certified AWS cloud consultant, and on LinkedIn, you can go through courses and earn skill badges. With the blockchain, we can see both formal and informal credentialization of these skills in an immutable manner that is directly attached to a user and must be validated on the blockchain. The current landscape of credentials has issues such as a lack of deep descriptions of skills achieved, mastery level, and extracurricular activities (using a school transcript for example). While this is just one issue with current transcripts and credentials, we should also consider that current credentials frequently represent skills that students or employees are required to learn and not necessarily skills they’re passionate about. To mitigate this and change the tides, Crypto enables the concept of Learn to Earn in which consumers watch videos, read articles, complete tasks, and take quizzes about a subject they’re interested in (gaining tangible experience and learning) and are rewarded with Crypto for it. Unlike most transactions, this is not a zero-sum game, as a crypto user, you are going to learn new concepts and then get rewarded with crypto for doing so! Learn to Earn occurs on both centralized exchanges and via specific projects/partner programs. What this means is that direct companies/DAOs/communities can reward you for learning or learning opportunities can be listed for everyone.
Enter RabbitHole, a credentialed onboarding platform heading towards decentralization as its userbase grows. They are enabling more users to onboard to Crypto and Web3 and earn rewards for preparing themselves to build the future. RabbitHole understands that many people don’t understand Crypto and Web3, so their response is to gamify the education process by allowing their consumers to earn Crypto, NFTs, and job opportunities. Not only does RabbitHole onboard users to their platform, but they additionally work directly with other enterprises on a B2B basis to help them find future workers, help fulfill tasks/projects they’re working on, etc. Another pillar of RabbitHole’s business model is helping Crypto projects and communities grow their userbase, grow their technical presence, and work as a consultancy for them. These clients can build directly on RabbitHole to accomplish four core things: grow their user base, target quality participants, onboard governance contributors, conduct sybil-resistant token distributions. This B2B model has shown success with past outside organizations seeing participant growth of ~290% to drive ~32% of all community member signups. I believe this route when coupled with the on-chain credentialization and onboarding of new Crypto users can springboard RabbitHole to the top of the charts.
Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Keep your eyes out for a solo feature on EWA coming soon!
Sources:
OECD Article, Investment Monitor Article, Supply Chain Article, OECD Article, MorningBrew Digital Health Article, Medium Learn to Earn Article, Blockchain and the Future of Digital Learning Credential Assessment and Management