Forte

What Forte does

Forté Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a stated mission of advancing women in business leadership. The organization operates a membership-based career development platform serving a network of 125,000+ individuals spanning undergraduate students, MBA students, MBA alumni, and experienced professionals. Its core offerings include MBA preparation programs (MBALaunch Cohort at $750, MBALaunch On Demand at $349, MBA Takeoff at $199), a Career Ready Certificate for undergraduates ($150 with fee waivers), leadership conferences, virtual career fairs, Industry Meet-Ups, and a job center connecting members with recruiters at Fortune 500 companies.

The organization runs on a hybrid B2B/B2C revenue model: individual tiered membership fees (Affiliate free, Professional $100/year, Premium $250/year which bundles a $375-value FranklinCovey All Access Pass), paid program tuition, corporate sponsorships from 40+ member companies (Platinum tier includes JPMorgan, PwC, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, Vanguard, Truist, and others), and charitable donations. Go-to-market relies on a community-led model fueled by campus and MBA brand ambassador programs at 60+ undergraduate schools and 60+ MBA member schools (including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Columbia, and Michigan Ross), extensive event programming (MBA Forums in 8+ U.S. cities, leadership conferences in NYC and Atlanta, Women Business Leaders Symposiums in Toronto, London, and Paris), and a multi-channel content marketing operation including the Business 360° blog, segmented email newsletters, and active social media presence. No proprietary technology stack or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; the platform operates on standard web-based content delivery and virtual event infrastructure.

Name

Forte

Legal name

Forté Foundation

Website

https://fortefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forté Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a career development and MBA preparation platform serving 125,000+ women across undergraduate, MBA, and professional stages, funded through tiered memberships, program fees, and corporate sponsorships from 40+ Fortune 500 companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Career Development and MBA Preparation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (61171), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Women's career development
• MBA preparation programs
• Leadership conferences
• Career skills coaching
• Professional networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Forté generates revenue through tiered annual membership fees: Affiliate (free), Professional ($100/year), and Premium ($250/year). Premium includes FranklinCovey All Access Pass Leadership Training ($375 value).
2. Program Fees: Revenue from paid programs including MBA Takeoff ($199 per student), Career Ready Certificate ($150 per student with fee waivers available for member school students), MBALaunch On Demand ($349), and MBALaunch Cohort ($750).
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate member companies pay sponsorship fees to access Forté's talent pipeline. Platinum member companies include DaVita, Deutsche Bank, Evercore, FTI Consulting, Gartner, JPMorgan, Macquarie, PIMCO, PNC, PwC, Truist, Vanguard, Wells Fargo, and ZS. Sponsors recruit at Forté events and access exclusive job seeker databases.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Forté accepts charitable donations to support its mission of advancing women in business leadership. The organization also offers a Forté MBA Fellowship to provide financial assistance for MBA studies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Forté Foundation is a nonprofit membership organization that delivers career development, MBA preparation, and leadership programs for women in business. It sells tiered annual memberships (Affiliate free, Professional $100, Premium $250), paid programs including MBALaunch ($349–$750) and Career Ready Certificate ($150), and runs conferences, virtual career fairs, and on-demand content libraries. Corporate member companies pay sponsorship fees to access the 125,000+ member talent pipeline for recruiting.

Product overview

Forté Foundation is a nonprofit membership organization offering a comprehensive suite of career development and MBA preparation programs and resources for women and allies. The portfolio includes programs for college students (Career Ready Certificate, Leadership Conferences, Campus Ambassador Program), pre-MBA preparation (MBALaunch, MBALaunch On Demand, MBA Forums, MBA Prep Events), MBA students (MBA Takeoff, MBA Leadership Conference, Financial Services Fast Track Conference, MBA Brand Ambassadors), and working professionals (Career Skills & Coaching, Industry Meet-Ups, Virtual Career Fair, Women Business Leaders Symposium). Supporting resources include the Job Center, Universal Skills guides, MBA Explore guide, Business 360 Blog, and college scholarships. The organization operates on a tiered membership model (Affiliate, Professional, Premium) providing differentiated access to content, events, and professional development resources including FranklinCovey training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MBA Takeoff A virtual six-session program priced at $199 per student that prepares incoming MBA students for their transition into business school, building confidence, leadership skills, and peer connections before campus arrival.
• Career Ready Certificate A 25–30 hour self-paced online career accelerator for undergraduate students of all majors, priced at $150 per student (with fee waivers available for member school students). More than 1,660 students have graduated from the program.
• MBALaunch On Demand A self-paced MBA application prep program priced at $349, providing 25+ hours of expert-led content, an online learning management system, peer community, and application fee waivers to 40+ business schools (~$6,000 in value).
• MBALaunch Cohort An 8-month guided MBA application prep program priced at $750, offering 100+ hours of content including test prep, professional development, advising appointments, cohort of 600+ peers, and application fee waivers to 40+ business schools (~$6,000 in value).
• Career Skills & Coaching

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 1,660 students have graduated from the Career Ready Certificate program
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• JPMorgan ChaseflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerJPMorgan is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté. As a corporate sponsor, JPMorgan participates in Forté recruiting events, virtual career fairs, and accesses Forté's talent pipeline of women business leaders. The partnership supports JPMorgan's diversity and inclusion recruiting objectives.
• PwCflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPwC is a Platinum corporate member and sponsor of Forté programs. PwC participates in career fairs, campus recruiting through Forté's platform, and accesses female talent pipelines for experienced hires and MBA-level recruiting.
• Deutsche BankflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDeutsche Bank is a Platinum corporate member company sponsoring Forté events and recruiting through the platform. The firm has participated in Industry Meet-Ups and virtual career fairs hosted by Forté.
• Wells FargoflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerWells Fargo is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté, recruiting at Forté events and accessing the talent pipeline of women business leaders through the Forté job center and career fairs.
• VanguardflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerVanguard is a Platinum corporate member company. The firm sponsors Forté and recruits through virtual career fairs and the Forté job center.
• TruistflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerTruist is a Platinum corporate member and has hosted Industry Meet-Ups and recruiting events for Forté members, including the 'Turning an Internship Into a Full Time Offer' virtual event.
• GartnercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGartner is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté, participating in recruiting events and accessing diverse talent through Forté's platform.
• FTI ConsultingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFTI Consulting is a Platinum corporate member and CRC (Career Ready Certificate) Sponsor. The firm actively recruits Forté members at events and has provided testimonials about the engaged population of young women in the CRC program.
• ZScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerZS is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté. The firm participates in Forté recruiting events and hosts workshops such as 'Preparing for a Consulting Interview.'
• PIMCOcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPIMCO is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté, recruiting at Forté events and engaging with the platform's talent pipeline.
• The PNC Financial Services GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPNC is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté. The firm participates in Forté career fairs and recruiting events.
• EvercorecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEvercore is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté, recruiting at Forté events and engaging with women business leader talent.
• DaVitacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDaVita is a Platinum corporate member company of Forté, participating in recruiting and employer branding through Forté's programs.
• Macquarie GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMacquarie Group has hosted Industry Meet-Up events with Forté and participates in the corporate member program, recruiting diverse talent at Forté events.
• Morgan StanleycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMorgan Stanley is a corporate member company of Forté, participating in 'A Day in the Life of an Analyst' virtual events and recruiting at Forté career fairs.
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerBCG is a corporate member company of Forté, recruiting at MBA Leadership Conferences and accessing Forté's diverse talent network.
• University of Michigan Ross School of BusinessflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerRoss is a Gold MBA Forum Sponsor and MBA member school. The school actively participates in Forté MBA Forums, recruits through the platform, and hosts recruiting content on the Forté website.
• University of Cambridge Judge Business SchoolflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerJudge Business School is a Gold MBA Forum Sponsor and member school participating in Forté MBA Forums and recruiting through the platform.
• Alliance Manchester Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Manchester is a Gold MBA Forum Sponsor and MBA member school, participating in Forté MBA Forums and recruiting events.
• University of Florida Warrington School of BusinesscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWarrington is a Gold MBA Forum Sponsor and MBA member school participating in Forté's recruiting and admissions events.
• Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of BusinesscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTepper School of Business is a Silver MBA Forum Sponsor and MBA member school. The school participates in MBA Forums and recruiting events.
• Harvard Business SchoolflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHarvard Business School is an MBA member school with a Forté MBA Brand Ambassador program on campus. HBS participates in Forté recruiting and program events.
• Stanford Graduate School of BusinessflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerStanford GSB is an MBA member school with a Forté MBA Brand Ambassador program. The school participates in Forté MBA Forums and recruiting events.
• Columbia Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerColumbia Business School is an MBA member school with MBA Brand Ambassador and Undergraduate Pipeline programs. The school participates in MBA Forums and recruiting.
• MIT Sloan School of ManagementflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerMIT Sloan is an MBA member and Undergraduate Pipeline school with Forté MBA Brand Ambassador and Campus Ambassador programs. The school participates in Forté recruiting events.
• FranklinCoveycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranklinCovey provides All Access Pass Leadership Training content included in Forté Premium memberships ($375 value). This is a co-developed content partnership where FranklinCovey's professional development materials are bundled into Forté's membership tier.
• GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerGMAC is a Forté program partner, providing GMAT exam resources and support for MBA aspirants within Forté's MBA preparation ecosystem.
• UBScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUBS is a corporate member company of Forté. A Forté Fellow (Nathalia Rios Ballesteros) who is Cornell Tech MBA works at UBS as Product Owner, Client Platforms, and has participated in Forté Industry Meet-Up success stories.
• Duke University (The Fuqua School of Business)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDuke Fuqua is an MBA member school and Undergraduate Pipeline partner with Forté MBA Brand Ambassador and Campus Ambassador programs. Forté Fellows from Duke have gone on to roles at Bose and other corporate members.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Black MBA Association: NBMBAA is a membership organization advancing Black professionals through MBA preparation, networking, and corporate partnerships. It is structurally similar to Forté — nonprofit, corporate-sponsored, with member programs and recruiting events — but serves a different underrepresented demographic.
• Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT): MLT is a nonprofit that equips high-achieving individuals from underrepresented backgrounds with career skills, MBA preparation, and corporate placement. It is highly comparable to Forté's MBALaunch and Career Ready Certificate offerings and similarly partners with Fortune 500 recruiters.
• Prospanica: Prospanica (formerly NSHMBA) is a nonprofit empowering Hispanic professionals to accelerate business careers through education, networking, and recruiting events. It parallels Forté's structure and mission but targets Hispanic/Latino talent.
• INROADS: INROADS is a nonprofit providing career development, internship placement, and corporate talent pipeline programs for underrepresented talent. It mirrors Forté's undergraduate-to-corporate talent pipeline model, though with a broader demographic focus.
• Lean In: Lean In is a nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg to empower women through circles, education, and community. It shares Forté's mission of advancing women in the workplace but operates more broadly and with less focus on the MBA-to-business-leader pipeline.
• Ellevate Network: Ellevate Network (formerly 85 Broads) is a women's professional network offering mentoring, events, and career resources. It overlaps directly with Forté's professional membership tier and Women Business Leaders programming.
• Catalyst: Catalyst is a global nonprofit focused on advancing women in business leadership through research, advisory services, and employer partnerships. It is the closest mission-aligned peer to Forté, operating at a more corporate/executive level vs. Forté's student-to-executive pipeline.
• The MBA Tour: The MBA Tour is a for-profit event series connecting prospective MBA candidates with business schools through in-person and virtual forums. It is a direct competitor to Forté's MBA Forums and shares the same admissions-recruitment funnel, though without the women-focused mission.

Emerging players

• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce development nonprofit providing skills training and corporate internships to young adults from underrepresented backgrounds. While its focus is more on tech/IT job placement than MBA pathways, it shares Forté's employer-sponsored, career-pipeline-driven nonprofit model.

Others

• GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council): GMAC is the owner of the GMAT exam and administrator of MBA admissions tools. Forté partners with GMAC for GMAT resources, and GMAC operates adjacent admissions events and data products that overlap with Forté's MBA Forums and MBA admissions content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fortefoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/fortefoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/fortefoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forte-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/fortefoundation
• TikToktiktok.com/@fortefoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Forte