What America Succeeds does

America Succeeds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 1390 Lawrence Street, Suite 200, Denver, Colorado, that operates at the intersection of education and workforce development to advance economic mobility. Founded in 2012 with a 1-10 person team, it focuses on building a shared vocabulary and frameworks for durable (non-technical) skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Its stakeholder base spans K-12 schools and districts, community colleges and postsecondary institutions, curriculum and assessment providers, employers, state and district policymakers, and youth-serving organizations.

The organization's flagship offering is Pathsmith™, an employer-validated durable skills framework originally developed through a multi-year research partnership with Lightcast that has analyzed 75-80+ million job postings and identified 10 durable skills with 110 competencies across four proficiency levels, validated through subject-matter experts convened in partnership with CompTIA. The framework is being extended by the Pathsmith™ PK-16 Developmental Progression — launching June 2026 — with 24 durable skills across four clusters and 360 behavioral indicators spanning ages 4-22, alongside an Early Career Performance Rubric aligned to NACE Career Readiness competencies, a standardized Durable Skills Lexicon, and a Development and Application Guide. A 16-month Research Practice Collaborative across 12 schools with 200+ interviews provides empirical validation, and the Path Forward App, built on Playlab.ai, serves as an implementation coach.

Revenue is generated through multi-year corporate sponsorships and foundation grants (including Trellis Foundation support for the Community College Durable Skills Community of Practice), Pathsmith™ licensing to partners embedding the framework into their own products, and revenue-sharing on professional learning courses delivered through partnerships such as Arizona State University's 'Teaching Durable Skills' specialization at $199 per course. Distribution uses a B2B2C ingredient-brand model in which free public goods — the PK-16 Guide, Beyond the Portrait 50-state policy scan, Durable by Design, Age of Agility, and Research Practice Collaborative publications — are used to drive awareness among educators, employers, and policymakers.

Name

America Succeeds

Legal name

America Succeeds

Website

https://americasucceeds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

America Succeeds is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds and licenses the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework through employer-validated research, serving K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, employers, and policymakers with shared definitions and tools for non-technical workforce skills.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Workforce Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce, Employability & Youth Skills Partnerships (EDADALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Collaboration, Teamwork & Conflict Resolution (EDAAAKAF), Operational Excellence (OPEX) & Performance Management (KPI/OKR) (EDABAKAH)

Keywords

• Durable skills framework
• Education workforce development
• Career readiness assessment
• Nonprofit policy research
• PK-16 developmental progression

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships and Grants: America Succeeds operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by a broad network of sponsors at various funding levels. Sponsorship opportunities include underwriting initiatives, co-developing campaigns, and participating in research. The organization also receives grant funding for specific initiatives like the Community College Durable Skills Community of Practice (supported by Trellis Foundation).
2. Professional Learning and Course Licensing: Partners with organizations like Arizona State University to deliver professional development courses (e.g., Teaching Durable Skills specialization at $199 per course) based on the Pathsmith™ framework. Revenue comes from course licensing and revenue-sharing arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

America Succeeds operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops and disseminates the Pathsmith™ suite of durable skills products and research, including the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework, PK-16 Developmental Progression, Early Career Performance Rubric, Durable Skills Lexicon, Development and Application Guide, the Path Forward Playbook, the Path Forward App, and the Enabling Conditions Diagnostic Tool, sold or licensed to K-12 systems, postsecondary institutions, employers, and policymakers. The organization also conducts original research and convenes coalitions to align education and workforce systems around durable skills.

Product overview

America Succeeds operates a multi-product portfolio centered on Pathsmith™, an umbrella durable skills solution that powers educational products and workforce development programs. Pathsmith™ comprises multiple interconnected components: the PK-16 Developmental Progression (organizing 24 skills across four clusters with behavioral indicators from early childhood to early career), the Early Career Performance Rubric (employer-informed proficiency standards), the Durable Skills Lexicon, and the Development and Application Guide. The organization also conducts the Research Practice Collaborative (RPC), a flagship research initiative producing qualitative studies on how schools develop durable skills, alongside publications like the Path Forward Playbook and Beyond the Portrait policy scan. Supporting sub-brands include Grateful Ed (a music-culture blog) and the Age of Agility initiative. All Pathsmith™ components are available through a single license for partners embedding durable skills into curriculum, assessments, and programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pathsmith™: America Succeeds' durable skills solution designed to future-proof learners and earners with skills needed for economic mobility. An ingredient brand that powers products and services like curriculum, assessments, professional development, skills-based hiring, professional upskilling, and Portraits of a Graduate.
• Age of Agility
• Grateful Ed

Products and services

• Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework The core Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework is a research-backed, employer-validated taxonomy defining durable skills (social, emotional, and cognitive competencies) and serving as the central reference framework for K-12 systems, postsecondary institutions, employers, curriculum providers, and policymakers.
• Pathsmith™ PK-16 Developmental Progression The Pathsmith™ PK-16 Developmental Progression maps durable skills development across grade bands from PK through postsecondary, giving education systems a shared progression model for curriculum design, instruction, and assessment.
• Pathsmith™ Early Career Performance Rubric The Pathsmith™ Early Career Performance Rubric is a workplace application rubric that translates durable skills into observable performance behaviors, used by employers, work-based learning programs, and training providers to evaluate early-career talent.
• Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Lexicon The Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Lexicon is a standardized vocabulary and set of definitions for durable skills, providing a common language for K-12 systems, postsecondary institutions, employers, and tool providers.
• Pathsmith™ Development and Application Guide The Pathsmith™ Development and Application Guide is a how-to guide for educators, trainers, and employers seeking to develop durable skills and apply the Pathsmith™ framework in classroom, training, and workplace settings.
• The Path Forward Playbook The Path Forward Playbook is a strategic playbook for employers and workforce-development intermediaries to operationalize durable skills across hiring, development, and work-based learning programs.
• The Path Forward App The Path Forward App is a digital application delivering Pathsmith™ content and durable skills practice tools to learners, educators, and early-career professionals.
• Enabling Conditions Diagnostic Tool The Enabling Conditions Diagnostic Tool is an assessment instrument that helps education systems and organizations evaluate the conditions needed to successfully implement durable skills work.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 of the top 10 most requested skills in job postings are durable skills
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LightcastcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Multi-year research partnership analyzing 80+ million job postings to identify durable skills demand. Jointly produced The High Demand for Durable Skills (2021) and Durable by Design (2025) reports showing durable skills prevalence in workforce. Lightcast provides job posting data analytics; America Succeeds provides framework expertise and employer insights.
• CompTIAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Diverse group of subject matter experts from major employers brought together through CompTIA partnership to define 110 competencies across four proficiency levels for the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework. Employer validation ensures framework reflects real workforce needs.
• Arizona State University (Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop Teaching Durable Skills specialization available through ASU's Professional Educator Learning Hub. Based on Pathsmith™ framework, courses provide professional development for educators. Partnership extends reach into teacher professional learning market with micro-credentials.
• Calbright CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalbright College, California's only fully online non-term-based community college, adopted Pathsmith™ framework to align nine core durable skills institution-wide. Partnership demonstrates framework implementation in postsecondary context, providing case study and reference implementation for other institutions.
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPathsmith™ Early Career Rubric aligned to NACE Career Readiness competencies, providing crosswalk between educational skill development and employer-recognized career readiness standards. Partnership ensures employer relevance and credibility.
• World Economic Forum (WEF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 provides validation of durable skills importance; America Succeeds cites WEF data on core skills of 2030 aligning with Pathsmith™ framework. Relationship provides third-party validation and thought leadership positioning.
• EdChoiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to analyze seven waves of survey data from parents, educators, and general public on perceptions of durable skills in education. Joint report reveals bipartisan agreement on importance of durable skills alongside gaps in access and measurement.
• Opportunity At WorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on skills-based hiring advocacy. America's Succeeds references Opportunity At Work's 'Tear the Paper Ceiling' campaign and policy tracking work. Shared mission of removing degree requirements for equitable hiring.
• Big Picture LearningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting alternative school redesign, including Methow Valley Independent Learning Center. America Succeeds indirectly engaged through research on innovative school models for RPC case studies.
• School Foundry and Open Way LearningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched Together We Learn initiative to scale alternative school design principles across schools through coaching, convenings, and peer networks. Represents ecosystem of schools focused on student engagement and career preparation.
• American Student Assistance (ASA)minorOthersASA is a separate nonprofit awarding grants to youth-serving organizations for career readiness ($8.48M in 2025 grants). While not a formal partnership, both organizations operate in youth career readiness space with potential for future collaboration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Lightcast: Labor-market analytics partner whose 80M+ job-posting dataset underpins Pathsmith's data moat. Ecosystem enabler rather than competitor, but a critical data dependency whose pricing or partnership changes could affect America Succeeds' research differentiation.

Direct peers

• Jobs for the Future (JFF): National nonprofit driving equitable economic advancement via workforce and education transformation. Comparable in scope and policy advocacy focus, though larger and more policy/grant-driven than framework-licensing driven.
• Opportunity At Work: Nonprofit leading the "Tear the Paper Ceiling" skills-based hiring movement; America Succeeds explicitly cites and partners with them. Directly comparable in advocacy for skills-first hiring and removing degree requirements.
• KnowledgeWorks: Nonprofit producing forward-looking research and policy frameworks on the future of learning and workforce readiness. Overlaps with America Succeeds' Beyond the Portrait 50-state scan and PK-16 framing of competency-based progression.
• American Student Assistance (ASA): Nonprofit funding youth career readiness initiatives (and a recent America Succeeds funder with $2.25M in grants). Closely aligned mission around youth career exploration, real-world learning, and durable-skill development; potential future collaborator or merger counterpart.
• Education Design Lab: Nonprofit that builds employer-validated frameworks (e.g., MyWays) to bridge education and workforce outcomes. Closest comparable to America Succeeds in mission, framework-licensing model, and focus on durable/essential skills adoption across districts and postsecondary.
• NAF (National Academy Foundation): Nonprofit operating career-themed academies with industry-validated curricula and work-based learning; America Succeeds features NAF Academies in its RPC research. Comparable as a nonprofit intermediary delivering durable-skill development at scale through schools.

Broad incumbents

• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): Membership organization of state superintendents shaping Portrait of a Graduate adoption across states. Comparable as a policy infrastructure player enabling the federalist rollout of durable-skills frameworks America Succeeds targets.
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): Established industry association owning the dominant Career Readiness Competencies framework that Pathsmith's Early Career Rubric crosswalks to. Larger, incumbent standards body with deeper employer membership and longer-tenured brand.

Regional players

• Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) /rural workforce nonprofits: Federal rural workforce development initiative with overlapping emphasis on durable skills in non-urban contexts. Comparable as a stakeholder in rural durable-skills implementation, similar to America Succeeds' GO CAPS Monett and Cedar Falls CAPS case studies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/america-succeeds
• Xx.com/AmericaSucceeds

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about America Succeeds