The Mom Project, a Chicago-based startup that’s built an online platform to connect employers to viable female candidates, raised a new round of funding to help it grow.
The startup announced Monday it raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Grotech Ventures and Initialized Capital. Other investors include Aspect Ventures and existing backers Atlanta Seed Company, Engage Ventures, OCA Ventures, BBG Ventures, IrishAngels and Wintrust Financial.
As part of the round, Grotech partner Julia Taxin and Initialized Capital partner Alda Dennis are joining The Mom Project’s board.
This new round brings The Mom Project’s total funding to $11 million. Earlier this year, the startup raised $2.6 million in a seed round.
The Mom Project, founded in 2016 by Allison Robinson, is a job marketplace platform that helps a variety of job-seekers find work. The startup takes a special interest in matching women who have left the job market to start a family or for other personal reasons get back into it. Robinson came up with the idea for the startup after taking her own parental leave from her post at Procter & Gamble to raise her son.
"We’ve tapped into something powerful. For decades, women have searched for a solution like The Mom Project,” Robinson said in a statement. “What’s different now is that most employers are now paying attention to gender diversity and see the impact that ignoring it has on their financial performance … we believe supporting and retaining moms in the workforce represents the largest opportunity to close the gender gap in the United States.”
The Mom Project says the new financing will help it further expand and create new offerings. Currently, it has clients and users in nearly every major U.S. city, including Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and New York.
Since launching, The Mom Project has been growing steadily. In May, the startup said it had 30,000 professionals in its network. Now, it touts 70,000, and works with more than 1,000 companies, including AT&T, Netflix and BP.
Last year, the startup helped BP launch the BP Returnship Program, an initiative to help women re-enter a competitive job market through roles at the oil company.
