Please welcome Pando, the real-time career progression platform
Meet Pando, the latest addition to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio.
HQ: Distributed
Founders: Barbra Gago
The problem: As the Great Resignation rages on, employers are struggling to retain top talent, and the tools available to them to increase employee satisfaction and decrease attrition are few and far between. Indeed, employees consider more factors than ever before when choosing jobs: remote and hybrid work flexibility, DEI commitments, company stances on key social issues, pay transparency, and opportunity for career progression, among others. In competitive hiring markets, the chance for upward movement at a company, especially, is paramount. Companies unwilling to bring accountability, transparency, and structure to these aspects of their businesses and workforces will fall behind their peers. Plus, a new generation of employees is coming to market — Gen Zers are entering the workforce, and millennials are progressing in their careers and becoming managers. HR tech solutions have not kept pace with these various shifts — relying on static performance reviews doesn’t leave room for employees to receive contextual feedback toward their career advancement. Employees need more transparency around what it takes to excel at work.
Pando’s solution: Pando is the first true career progression platform. The software provides job leveling, career frameworks, and just-in-time career progression, helping companies build fair, structured, and scalable career paths for their employees. By building transparency around what it takes to excel and climb career ladders, Pando removes bias from the process. Further, it gives managers the tools to provide contextual feedback to their team members that help them advance their career. Pando’s solutions are iterative, actionable, and on-demand — they help employees to progress continuously, have greater impact over time, and stay at their companies longer.
Origin story: We first met Babra and Pando at the height of the pandemic — companies’ workforces were distributed, and employee engagement, morale, and retention were at all-time lows. Existing tools weren’t addressing the challenges — employees wanted more purpose, growth, and development from their jobs. Additionally, Gen Zers were starting to enter the workforce, and they came with a new set of expectations. At the same time, millennials were becoming managers, and looking for tools to manage their teams and develop their own skills. Barbra saw these challenges first-hand as a seasoned executive who has built high-performing teams across a number of fast-growing tech companies, including Miro and Greenhouse. Not only did Pando seem to address this new market, but Barbra impressed us as both a product- and people-driven founder — her combined skillsets perfectly complement Pando’s mission.
Why we’re betting on it: We love what Pando offers at present, and we’re excited about their ambitious roadmap ahead. Pando understands that we are experiencing a culture shift from “command-and-control” people management to systems of agile transformation and self-organizing, flat company structures. Traditional people management platforms aren’t keeping pace with the broader shift. The companies equipping themselves and their people with more control to manage growth and self-development will have more productive and satisfied workforces than their old-school peers.
Our take: People are the driving force behind the future of work — they’re a company’s most valuable asset. In today’s hiring market, employees have infinite choices as they consider where to build their careers. Companies need to center people in their strategies, and invest in development and growth in an engaging, collaborative, and transparent way. For employees, that means continuous progression. For companies, it means gaining visibility into real-time progression and enabling a new paradigm around employee empowerment, up-skilling, and growth trajectory. As companies look for ways to develop, attract, and retain high-performing talent, employee-driven solutions will win the day.
Further reading: “Career development platform Pando raises $6.9 million to help stem the Great Resignation” via Fortune
