Honest Jobs: A Path to Redemption

Founded by a formerly incarcerated job seeker, Honest Jobs' mission is to be the hub where people with criminal records come to build careers and employers come to find great talent. Honest Jobs faced early challenges as a two-sided platform for justice-involved job seekers and employers, but by 2022, the organization had partnered with 1,200+ employers and supported 40,000+ job seekers who were reintegrating with society. As 2023 approached, founder and CEO Harley Blakeman looked to raise a Series A round to supplement the $3M+ that had been raised in prior rounds. The decision Blakeman faced was whether to pursue impact-oriented VC firms or traditional firms and how much money to raise given hiring needs and expansion plans.