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  • November 2020
  • Case
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Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:20 
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Abstract

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with ‘education as a benefit.’ The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by the employer to the academic institution and by supporting students with coaching and advising. By October 2020, Guild had gained market traction and demonstrated impressive results. Rachel Carlson, CEO and cofounder of Guild, must decide how to manage the company’s future growth. She believes there is great potential within its core education marketplace to expand the network of academic institutions and portfolio of company partners. Carlson also envisions extending the business model and entering the career placement market. To successfully do that, she needs to find the same incentive alignment in these new businesses as in Guild’s core education platform. Would it be possible to find a solution that would result in a win-win outcome for all?

Keywords

Education; Market Platforms; Technology; Employees; Social Enterprise; Education Industry; Technology Industry; Colorado

Citation

Sahlman, William A., Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller, and Alpana Thapar. "Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce." Harvard Business School Case 821-050, November 2020.
  • Educators

About The Author

William A. Sahlman

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • 1366 Technologies: Surviving in a Fast Changing World By: Jurgen Weiss, William A. Sahlman and Joseph B. Lassiter III
  • Souqalmal: The Choice Is Yours (B) By: V.G. Narayanan and Alpana Thapar
  • Instabeat—Crossing the Finish Line By: Shikhar Ghosh, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar
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