Guild Education: Why We Believe in a Better Path for Employers and Employees

By Scott Raney

The numbers are staggering. Over 64 million working adults under the age of 40 in the US lack practical access to one of the most critical ingredients of a promising career, a college education. Of the 64 million, 30 million have started college, but faced with daunting financial constraints and the challenges associated with balancing family, work and school, they are no longer pursuing a degree. Meanwhile, employers in today’s knowledge economy recognize the vital importance of helping their employees realize their full potential through education, but don’t know how best to do so. Today, Redpoint is thrilled to announce our investment in Guild Education, a company, in partnership with employers, dedicated to helping working adults achieve their educational aspirations.

To do so, Guild provides employers the ability to offer education as a strategic benefit. Guild is a turn-key education solution coupling access to job training and degrees from leading universities with advising services that help students succeed even when life’s challenges get in the way. Best of all, through their tuition assistance programs, employees achieve their degrees without accumulating student debt. For employers, they gain better trained employees while benefiting recruiting and retention efforts. It is win for all parties and therefore it should come as no surprise that education is the fastest growing corporate benefit program in the US.

Guild is led by its very impressive founders, Rachel Carlson and Brittany Stich. We were blown away by Rachel and Brittany from the moment we met them. They combine incredible talent and extensive experience in the education sector with a deep desire to see that everyone, regardless of circumstance, achieves their full potential. We are thrilled to partner with the Guild team to help make this vision a reality.