Jumpstart Rebrands as Canvas, Securing $20 Million in Funding

Ben Herman and Adam Gefkovicz founded Jumpstart in 2017, driven by a core objective: to foster greater equity through a more impartial and equitable recruitment process.

In July 2018, the company launched its “Diversity Recruitment Platform,” designed to empower individuals early in their professional journeys through the use of technology.

Expanding the Mission and Reaching New Heights

Over time, the startup’s initial focus on recent college graduates broadened to encompass all employees, regardless of their career level, ensuring everyone has a fair opportunity for employment.

This expansion has been facilitated through partnerships with numerous organizations – including Airbnb, Bloomberg, Coinbase, Samsung, Lyft, Pinterest, Plaid, Roblox, Audible, Headspace, and Stripe – to cultivate a more diverse candidate base.

The demand for Canvas’ services has grown rapidly, with revenue tripling between 2019 and 2020, though specific financial details were not disclosed.

Canvas: A New Brand and Significant Investment

Reflecting its evolved focus, Jumpstart has been rebranded as Canvas and has successfully secured $20 million in funding.

The funding round was co-led by Lachy Groom, an early Stripe employee and angel investor, and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Four Rivers Capital.

This latest investment brings Canvas’ total funding to $32.5 million.

“We recognized we were only beginning to realize our vision and possessed a solution capable of revolutionizing diversity hiring for all,” stated co-founder and CEO Ben Herman.

“Just as every organization utilizes a CRM, we envision every company adopting a DRP – a diversity recruitment platform. We aim to establish ourselves as the leading provider in this emerging category.”

The Impact of Social Movements and Corporate Accountability

The momentum behind Canvas was undoubtedly amplified by the Black Lives Matter movement following the tragic death of George Floyd.

Companies are increasingly being held accountable for their commitments to equity and the recruitment of diverse talent, creating a favorable environment for Canvas’ offerings, according to Herman.

“Employing diverse teams isn’t solely a matter of corporate social responsibility,” Herman added. “Diversity and inclusion represent a competitive advantage and a strategic imperative for all organizations today.”

“We champion representation and strive to empower everyone to define their own narrative and shape their professional trajectory.”

A Unique Approach to Diversity Recruitment

Canvas offers a SaaS platform described as a “fully virtual” recruiting solution built on self-reported data.

An impressive 87% of candidates on the platform voluntarily disclose their demographic information, a rate seven times higher than the industry average.

Furthermore, Canvas enables companies to prioritize specific groups and talent by filtering through over 75 self-reported candidate data points.

The startup differentiates itself through this data-driven approach, among other features.

“Unlike solutions that rely on potentially inaccurate or legally problematic inferred data, Canvas creates a more precise dataset for identifying diverse candidates, addressing the fundamental challenge of talent discovery,” explained Herman.

Rejecting AI in Favor of Candidate Empowerment

Notably, Canvas deliberately avoids utilizing artificial intelligence, a decision Herman actively supports.

“We don’t believe AI is the answer. Determining someone’s gender or ethnicity based on their name, or influencing hiring decisions without candidate awareness, is not our approach,” Herman clarified to TechCrunch.

“Our focus is on empowering individuals to self-identify and control their data, allowing them to authentically represent themselves.”

Canvas also provides tools for companies to design, promote, and host events – such as webinars – specifically targeted at attracting diverse talent.

Collaboration and Data Sharing for Greater Impact

The startup envisions a future where companies collaborate to address the “diversity data gap.”

“The core issue is accessibility, and we aim to provide equal access to all companies and candidates,” Herman stated. “Enabling data sharing between organizations is central to our vision.”

Measuring Success and Looking Ahead

Canvas tracks its success through key metrics, reporting that 56% of hires made through the platform come from underrepresented groups (URGs).

Additionally, the platform helps employers reduce their time to hire by 30%.

Ben Herman’s unconventional background – dropping out of high school and launching a recruitment agency at 21 – highlights his determination, a quality that attracted Sequoia partner and Canvas board member Mike Vernal.

“From our first meeting with Ben, it was evident he possessed a natural talent for identifying potential,” Vernal shared with TechCrunch.

“He recognized the need for a more collaborative and technologically advanced approach to building diverse teams.”

Vernal believes that building diverse teams is more critical than ever.

“These teams develop superior products, make more informed business decisions, and it’s simply the right thing to do,” he said. “We are confident that Canvas empowers companies to source underrepresented talent more effectively than they could independently.”

Canvas intends to utilize the new funding to expand its product offerings into additional industries and address the recruitment needs of professionals at all career stages.

Currently employing 70 individuals, the company anticipates reaching 100 employees by the end of 2021.

The growing emphasis on diverse hiring is evident in the broader market, with startups like SeekOut raising $65 million earlier this year. SeekOut leverages an AI-powered talent search engine and “deep interactive analytics” to maintain a database of hundreds of millions of profiles.