Careers network, Springpod, raises £2.25M Series A to unlock young peoples’ futures

Wednesday 14th April, 2021

London & Liverpool based, a careers network that connects young people with employers & education providers, has raised a £2.25M Series A funding round led by Triple Point, Cass Entrepreneurship Fund and Alliance Fund Managers, MSIF’s fund management subsidiary, alongside participation from existing investors.

Launched in 2018 by Sam Hyams and Oliver Fisher, Springpod is a specialist careers platform enabling young people to experience the world of work and university in order to make informed decisions about their futures. Created to democratise access to opportunity for young people, their mission is to transform young people’s futures by providing life-changing career experiences and opportunities, by creating a world where every young person has access to life-changing career experiences and opportunities.

Springpod has seen rapid growth and adoption of its virtual work experience programmes, virtual events and digital student engagement solutions.

5,000 young people join Springpod’s platform every week, and over 150,000 have now used the platform to engage with leading employers, universities and organisations. From the NHS to the likes of Vodafone & Nestlé, Springpod partners with a variety of top-tier organisations to provide the ultimate expert-led experience for all participants.

Springpod Managing Director; Sam Hyams commented:

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‍“Every young person deserves equal access to opportunities with amazing employers and universities and the guidance to make informed decisions. Too often this is dependent on the school you attend or the professional network you can tap into. Springpod democratises access to top organisations and provides students with the toolset to explore, prepare for and secure their dream next step, from age 13-24.

In a short period, Springpod has helped over 150,000 young people gain high-quality virtual work experience, connect with top employers and engage with universities through virtual events. We are just getting started and our mission is to level the playing field for every young person globally, and become a trusted advisor to upskill the next generation of diverse early talent.

This backing from top investors is a significant vote of confidence in our vision and the impact our incredible team have had collectively in a really short period of time. It will enable us to support hundreds of thousands more students, expand to new geographies and get us closer to that goal of giving every young person the ability to transform their future.”

The investment will enable the 50-strong Springpod team to launch its platform in new international territories, and to fulfil its ambitious mission to provide every young person with the ability to transform their future through life-changing career experiences and opportunities.

Seb Wallace, Investor at Triple Point explained:

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“We are delighted to be on board with Sam and the team as Springpod builds on its excellent performance to date. The company’s innovative platform levels the playing field for access to work experience, unlocking high quality knowledge and opportunities for students from all backgrounds. A diverse client base, wide student reach and fast paced growth all combine to make Springpod a force to be reckoned with during its next phase of growth.”

David Walters, Investment Manager at Alliance Fund Managers, MSIF’s fund management subsidiary, remarked:

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“We are delighted to be supporting Sam and Ollie‘s ‘tech for good’ at a time when young people, more than ever, need expert support to help them get onto the career ladder and help navigate their futures.”

Marc d’Abbadie, Head of Equity at Alliance Fund Managers, added:
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“It is great to see Springpod choosing Liverpool for its exciting expansion plans, which speaks to the attractiveness of the Liverpool City Region as a place to do business.”

Cass Entrepreneurship Fund MD & Investment Director, Helen Reynolds commented:

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“We are delighted to support the Springpod team, who have demonstrated their value proposition to students, employers and HE/FE establishments, designing enjoyable and appealing programmes and improving student access to opportunities. The Fund is very pleased to be helping Springpod scale and expand into new areas. The company has an impressive range of clients and feedback from customers and students is excellent.”

Springpod has chosen Liverpool as its second home to enable further diversification of creative talent, capitalise on the burgeoning EdTech movement in the city, and to ensure that another major office is closer to key clients, such as Airbus and Nestlé. A creative and inclusive hub, the Liverpool base not only enables a much wider reach, but offers greater employment opportunities.

Recent investments have strengthened Springpod’s position both nationally and internationally, and promises to boost ambitious new virtual career solutions that will help level the playing field and tackle social mobility challenges.

About Triple Point
Triple Point is a venture capital and alternative investment firm in London with over £1.8bn under management. Triple Point focuses on seed and series A investments through two venture funds, one focusing on B2B technology businesses and the other on fast-growing social impact businesses. Triple Point has previously invested equity and debt in over 100 start-ups including LendInvest, PaymentSense, Ably, Learnerbly, Credit Kudos and Flatfair.

About MSIF
Set up in 1994 to promote economic growth in the region by addressing the funding gap, MSIF has since invested funds totalling over £190million in over 2,250 businesses. This funding has created and preserved around 16,000 jobs and brought in more than £300million investment from the private sector on the back of its own investments.   

MSIF continues to invest its capital across the Liverpool City Region and wider North West via funds managed by its fund management subsidiary AFM.   

About AFM
Alliance Fund Managers [AFM] is the FCA-regulated fund management subsidiary of MSIF. AFM manages a variety of funds, including those of MSIF, NPIF Microfinance Fund and the Liverpool City Region’s Growth Platform – Flexible Growth Fund.

AFM delivers funding of up to £2million to SMEs across the Liverpool City Region and wider North West.

About Cass Entrepreneurship Fund
The Cass Entrepreneurship Fund is a £10m commercial Venture Capital fund, based in-house at Cass Business School. The Fund invests in high-potential, revenue-generating businesses.

The Fund was established with the backing of Peter Cullum, CBE, as part of a wider vision to improve business support and entrepreneurial skill-building within the Business School and across the early-stage growth-business community.