A Chicago startup that’s helping teenagers find after-school activities and jobs just raised new funding.
Spotivity, founded in 2018, raised a $1 million seed round on Tuesday. The funding round was led by CA Ventures, and will be used to expand the platform to more states and countries.
Founder and CEO Montana Butsch launched the company to help Chicago teens, ages 13-17, search for and find extracurricular programs, as well as paying part-time jobs. Teens can use Spotivity to find programs at the YMCA and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, as well as part-time roles at restaurants like Chipotle.
Since launching, Spotivity has grown to a full marketplace platform with about 5,000 users browsing 10,000 programs offered from 2,000 providers in Chicago, said Butsch, who has been growing the company from startup incubator 1871.
“The big plan is for Spotivity to be the harbinger of all things after school,” Butsch said. “Everything is geared towards teens.”
Spotivity offers opportunities in 10 categories, including STEM, jobs, wellness, arts, sports and mentoring. Organizations and companies offering opportunities on Spotivity right now include Lurie Children’s Hospital, Jimmy John’s and Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Spotivity also added remote activities.
Spotivity offers a free membership to program providers, but also offers premium memberships that give providers more features. Premium memberships start at $75 per month, Butsch said.
By using Spotivity, teens can share their personal progress with peers, collect digital badges and build an after-school transcript.
The platform also offers an insight questionnaire that helps teens decipher what kinds of activities and jobs they may be interested in, while also providing recommendations on college majors.
“Teens want agency,” Butsch said. “Irrespective if they are underserved and/or poor, or rich or over-served, they all want to be in control of their life.”
