Described as the first and leading diversity and inclusion tech company, Black-owned Jopwell is being acquired by global talent provider True.
The just-announced deal allows True to pick up Jopwell, a hiring platform centered on advancing the careers of Black, Latinx, and Native American students and early-to-mid-career professionals.
The acquisition comes after BLACK ENTERPRISE reported on efforts by the company’s co-founders, Porter Braswell and Ryan Williams, to enhance corporate diversity and link major companies with minority job candidates.
“With over 800 employees worldwide, I know True will help Jopwell scale our mission of career advancement for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals,” Braswell wrote in Fast Company.
Based on a True news release, Jopwell perfects the executive-level recruitment focus of True Search and sister organization AboveBoard. True added that the “holistic offering solidifies True as the leading technology and services firm for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in leadership.”
Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed in the news release.
Plans call for Jopwell CEO Williams and Executive Chairman Braswell to continue to lead the firm as a business unit within True Platform. It was reported Jopwell’s 130,000 community members, including 96% that identify as Black, Latinx, and/or Native American, can access opportunities from partners across a list of well-known brands. They include American Express, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Deloitte, Citi, Google, and Johnson & Johnson.
Among his remarks, True co-CEO and co-founder Brad Stadler stated, “Jopwell and True share three significant goals–to empower underrepresented talent in the workforce, to help companies meet their goals for diversifying leadership, and to bring the most innovative talent solutions to market.”
Williams added, “This partnership with True’s global reach and resources expands the value we deliver to our partners and community members. We’re aligned from our technology roots to our shared visions for disrupting the talent industry for the better of all people.”
Further, the fresh deal comes as securing financing has become increasingly difficult for Black founders recently. For instance, the online magazine reporting firm TechCrunch disclosed that Black founders in this country raised just an estimated $2.254 billion out of the $215.9 billion in U.S. venture capital allocated in 2022.
Another report showed that financial backing dropped 45% for those businesses last year, based on data from the analytics firm CrunchBase. It was reported that was the largest year-over-year decline for Black entrepreneurs. And the decline was much greater than the 36% drop in VC funding altogether.
Still, Black founders like Williams and Jopwell have found ways to grow their companies. For example, in 2016 the company raised $3.25 million in seed funding that included helping scale up its operations.
Jopwell was founded in 2014, per its website. BLACK ENTERPRISE reported Braswell and Williams were on the foreign exchange sales team at Goldman Sachs for three and two years, respectively. Their combined multiple summer internships in the financial services sector and elsewhere helped them learn about diversity and minority initiatives throughout various industries.
