What Gladeo Inc. does

Gladeo Inc. is a mission-driven, for-profit Public Benefit Corporation operating a free, web-based career navigation platform targeting students, career seekers, and educational institutions across the United States. The company is incorporated in California and headquartered in Santa Monica (3110 Main Street, Building C), with a secondary office in San Francisco (4321 24th Street). Founded in 2020, the company operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and describes itself as a private social enterprise prioritizing equity and access in career guidance over profit generation. Co-founders Michelle Cho (CEO) and Grace Cho (COO) lead the organization.

The platform's core product suite consists of the Gladeo Platform as the central hub, the Gladeo Quiz for personality-based career assessment, Personality Assessments built around six archetypes (The Builder, The Creator, The Organizer, The People Person, The Persuader, and The Problem Solver), a Program Finder that connects learners with educational institutions, bootcamps, training programs, and scholarship organizations via lead-generation forms, and Spotlights featuring video content of professionals sharing career journeys. The technology stack is a standard web platform with Google and Facebook SSO authentication and Google Analytics instrumentation; no proprietary AI/ML models, APIs, or SDKs are disclosed. Content coverage spans 25-30+ industries including Technology, Healthcare, Engineering, Finance, and Entertainment.

Gladeo monetizes through sponsorships, advertising, partnerships with educational institutions (including a branded subdomain instance for Foothill College at foothill.gladeo.org), workforce development organization partnerships, and third-party employer/recruitment content arrangements. The service is provided free to end-users (students aged 13+ and career seekers), and Gladeo has raised $250,000 in disclosed seed funding from ECMC Foundation in December 2020. Distribution is primarily through direct web access at gladeo.org, with regional subdomains and institutional partnerships providing additional reach.

Name

Gladeo Inc.

Legal name

Gladeo, Inc.

Website

https://gladeo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gladeo Inc. is a mission-driven public benefit corporation operating a free, web-based career navigation platform that provides personality-based assessments, industry exploration across 25+ sectors, and educational program discovery for students and career seekers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Navigation Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Exploration, Interest/Skills Assessment & Pathway Planning (EDAFAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL), Student Success, Advising & Case Management (Retention) Platforms (EDAFAMAH)

Keywords

• Career navigation platform
• Personality career assessment
• Workforce development tools
• Education technology platform
• Career exploration resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships and Advertising: As a public benefit corporation, Gladeo relies on sponsors, workforce partners, education providers, and advertisers to provide revenue and funding necessary to provide the Service free to students and career seekers. For-profit organizations and nonprofits may sponsor content related to particular industries or career videos.
2. Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Revenue generated through partnerships with schools, colleges, and workforce development organizations that use Gladeo's platform for their students
3. Third-Party Content and Employer Partnerships: Employers and recruitment agencies may market jobs, internships, and share content on the platform, potentially generating revenue through sponsored content arrangements

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gladeo operates a free, web-based career navigation platform that helps students and career seekers explore careers through personality-based matching, industry and career browsing across 25+ industries, video spotlight content featuring professionals, and a Program Finder that connects users to educational and training providers. The platform is offered at no cost to end users and monetizes through sponsorships, advertising, and partnerships with educational institutions and workforce development organizations.

Product overview

Gladeo Inc. operates a unified career navigation platform designed to help students and career seekers discover and pursue career paths. The core offering consists of the Gladeo Platform as the central hub, supplemented by the Gladeo Quiz for personality-based career assessment, Personality Assessments that categorize users into six types (Builder, Creator, Organizer, People Person, Persuader, Problem Solver), the Program Finder for connecting users with educational and training providers, and Spotlights featuring video content of professionals sharing career experiences. The platform covers 25+ industries including Technology, Healthcare, Finance, Entertainment, and trades, providing a comprehensive career exploration ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gladeo Platform A web-based career navigation platform providing career exploration, personality-based assessments, industry browsing across 25+ industries, professional spotlight videos, and a Program Finder connecting users to educational and training providers; offered free to U.S. students and career seekers.
• Gladeo Personality Quiz An interactive personality-based career assessment that matches users to one of six career archetypes (The Builder, The Creator, The Organizer, The People Person, The Persuader, The Problem Solver) to enable personalized career navigation.
• Gladeo Spotlights Video and editorial content featuring professionals sharing their career stories, advice, and experiences across various industries to inspire and guide career exploration.
• Program Finder A discovery and lead-routing tool that connects learners with colleges, bootcamps, training programs, online course providers, and scholarship organizations through consent-based 'Learn More' and 'Sign Up for Info' forms.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Foothill CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoothill College partners with Gladeo to provide career guidance resources to their students. Gladeo has created a branded subdomain (foothill.gladeo.org) for Foothill College students, and students may be asked to provide information facilitating their participation in special features such as student ID numbers, program enrollment, and expected graduation dates.
• Educational InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchools, colleges, and educational organizations partner with Gladeo to provide career guidance resources to their students. These partners may share student information with Gladeo to enable account creation and program participation, and may sponsor career content related to their alumni.
• Workforce Development OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGladeo partners with workforce development agencies and career centers to provide career navigation services. These organizations may share client information with Gladeo and must sign strict data transfer agreements outlining how personal information can be used.
• Educational and Training Service ProvidersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGladeo's Program Finder includes 'Learn More' or 'Sign Up for Info' forms that allow users to connect with qualified colleges, bootcamps, training programs, online course providers, scholarship organizations, and other educational service providers. These third parties receive user information only with explicit consent.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• YouScience: YouScience provides aptitude- and interest-based career matching for high school and college students, sold into schools and workforce programs. It is the closest direct competitor to Gladeo's personality-driven career exploration and pathway planning model.
• Kuder: Kuder offers career planning, interest assessments, and education planning tools sold to schools, colleges, and workforce agencies. It directly overlaps with Gladeo's career exploration, assessment, and educational program matching functionality.
• PathSource: PathSource is a career navigation platform for students and job seekers featuring assessments, career exploration, and employer connections. It competes directly with Gladeo's student-facing career matching and employer partnership model.
• CareerExplorer: CareerExplorer provides personality and aptitude-based career matching, with a freemium consumer model. It is a direct comparator to Gladeo's personality quiz and broad industry/career catalog.
• Mapping Your Future: Mapping Your Future provides free career, college, and financial aid planning tools to students, often via school partnerships. It overlaps with Gladeo's mission-driven, free-to-student model and school-channel distribution.

Broad incumbents

• BigFuture (College Board): BigFuture is College Board's free college and career planning platform serving millions of high school students. It is a broad incumbent in the same student career exploration category where Gladeo competes.
• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning (part of Microsoft/LinkedIn) provides career development content and skills training, integrating with LinkedIn's job and career platform. It is a broad incumbent in the career guidance space with far greater resources than Gladeo.

Emerging players

• myOptions Careers: myOptions (by ARCO) is a career guidance platform built on O*NET data, serving students with career exploration and pathway planning. It is an emerging player in the same category as Gladeo's career exploration tools.
• Roadtrip Nation: Roadmap Nation / Roadtrip Nation produces video-driven career exploration content and curricula for students, with a mission-driven focus. It shares Gladeo's video-spotlight approach to career inspiration and education-channel distribution.

Others

• O*NET OnLine: O*NET OnLine is the U.S. Department of Labor's free career information database, providing detailed descriptions of occupations. It functions as a reference data source that platforms like Gladeo build content and matching experiences on top of.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gladeo_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gladeo Inc.