500 Miles

What 500 Miles does

500 Miles is a data-driven recruiting platform that connects students and young professionals to startup employers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company operates in the early-talent and startup-hiring segment, targeting a structurally undersupplied intersection of higher-education-to-employment pipelines and high-velocity startup recruiting demand. The firm is a private, for-profit entity structured at 1-10 employees, indicating an early-stage operating profile that has not yet scaled beyond initial traction. The "data-driven" descriptor in its self-description implies the matching workflow relies on structured candidate-employer signals rather than purely resume-keyword or referral-based approaches, though specific platform architecture, matching algorithms, or data assets are not disclosed in available source material.

No revenue model, pricing mechanics, customer segments, go-to-market channels, or product surface details are present in the aggregated source data. The bulk of the source material pertains to an unrelated entity (IWANTOGEL, a lottery/gambling platform) rather than 500 Miles, materially limiting analytical depth. The platform's two-sided candidate-employer model structurally implies either a marketplace take-rate or a SaaS subscription revenue mechanic, but neither is confirmed. The company's 11-year operating history without evident headcount growth beyond a micro-team is itself a notable signal and frames the organization as either a lifestyle/side venture or a stalled product-market-fit pursuit rather than a venture-scale business on its current evidence.

Name

500 Miles

Website

https://500miles.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

500 Miles is a Palo Alto-based, data-driven recruiting platform founded in 2014 that connects students and early-career professionals with startup employers. Operating with 1-10 employees, it targets the early-talent-to-startup hiring market segment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Recruiting Platform

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks) (EDAFAMAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD), Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL), Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL), Job Market Intelligence & Employer Networking Services (BPACAOAJ)

Keywords

• Talent recruiting platform
• Job matching software
• Student job marketplace
• Startup hiring platform
• Online recruitment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Core offering

500 Miles operates a data-driven online recruiting platform that connects students and young professionals with startup employers. The platform facilitates talent matching and job placement between entry-level candidates and startups seeking to hire, leveraging data to identify and align candidate profiles with employer requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 500 Miles Recruiting Platform Online, data-driven recruiting platform that connects students and young professionals with startup employers. Facilitates talent matching and job placement between entry-level candidates and startups hiring for open roles.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Handshake: Handshake is the dominant career services and early-career recruiting platform connecting college students with employers including startups. It directly competes with 500 Miles in the student-to-employer placement funnel and is the category leader.
• WayUp: WayUp is a recruiting platform purpose-built to connect students and recent graduates with jobs and internships, including at startups and enterprise employers. It targets the same student-to-employer placement use case as 500 Miles.
• RippleMatch: RippleMatch uses data-driven matching to connect early-career candidates with employers, including tech and startup hiring. It overlaps directly with 500 Miles' positioning as a data-driven early-career recruiting platform.
• AngelList Talent: AngelList Talent connects job seekers (including early-career candidates) specifically with startups and venture-backed companies. It serves the same student/young-professional-to-startup recruiting niche that 500 Miles targets.
• Y Combinator Work at a Startup: Y Combinator's Work at a Startup job board matches candidates with YC-backed startups. It is a directly comparable channel for the same candidate-to-startup placement use case, backed by the YC ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the broadest professional network and recruiting platform, with deep reach into early-career talent and startup employers. While not specialized in the student-to-startup niche, it is the dominant incumbent competing for the same recruiting spend.

Emerging players

• Symplicity: Symplicity provides career services and campus recruiting platforms to universities and employers, including early-career placement tools. It is an adjacent competitor in the campus-to-employer recruiting workflow.
• Parker Dewey: Parker Dewey connects college students and recent graduates with short-term, project-based work at companies including startups. It overlaps with 500 Miles' early-career-to-startup positioning, particularly around work-based learning opportunities.
• 100mentors: 100mentors is a student career platform offering mentoring and matching into early-career opportunities. It is comparable to 500 Miles as an emerging player in the student career guidance and placement space.

Regional players

• JobTeaser: JobTeaser is a European-focused student and graduate recruitment platform connecting candidates with employers. It is comparable to 500 Miles in mission and product but primarily serves European universities rather than U.S. students.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/500_miles_io
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5239867

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 500 Miles