Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance

What Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance does

Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance (PPBEA) is a Colorado-based nonprofit that connects K-12 students with local career professionals through structured career-connected learning activities. The organization operates the PPBEA MARKETPLACE, a web-based platform hosted at cclmarketplace.org and built on Outraverse technology, which serves as a centralized hub for scheduling career exploration events, registering students, educators, and career representatives, and accessing curated career story content. PPBEA functions as the In-School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, co-located within the El Paso County Citizens Service Center in Colorado Springs, and aligned with publicly funded workforce development infrastructure in the Pikes Peak Region.

The platform bundles three tiers of career-connected activities: Career Exploration (class mentorship, site tours, career class presentations), Occupational Investigation (capstone mentorship, informational interviews, project mentorship), and Career Pathway Training (industry-sponsored projects, internships, youth apprenticeships). A distinct Career Story Recording Program captures volunteer professionals' 75-minute career journey sessions, which are edited and made available for educational use under the '#EveryoneHasAStory' brand. The organization markets a quantifiable outcome that students are 2x as likely to be placed in a related first job after participating.

PPBEA does not charge students, educators, or career representatives. Its revenue model is non-commercial, relying on volunteer time contributions and likely public workforce development funding channeled through its parent, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. The organization serves the Pikes Peak Region (El Paso County, Colorado) with approximately 5 employees, and its go-to-market is community-driven through educator networks, parent referrals, and word-of-mouth among participating businesses.

Name

Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance

Legal name

Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance

Website

https://ppbea.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance is a Colorado Springs nonprofit that connects K-12 students with local career professionals through a web-based marketplace platform, operating as the In-School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development & Career-Connected Learning Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Readiness & Employability Skills (Resume, Interview, Networking) (EDAMAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA), Leadership, Service Learning & Volunteer-to-Career Pathways (EDAMAKAJ), Portfolio, Capstone & Project-Based Program Support (EDAMAKAD), Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Education (EDADALAD)

Keywords

• Career-connected learning
• Workforce development
• K-12 career exploration
• Career pathway mentorship
• Education business partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Colorado Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Volunteer Contributions: The organization relies on donations of time and talent from career professionals who share their career stories and experiences with students. Individual volunteers contribute 75 minutes to record career journey sessions.
2. Workforce Center Partnership: PPBEA operates as the In-School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, suggesting government/public workforce development funding as a revenue source.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PPBEA operates a Career-Connected Learning Marketplace that connects K-12 students with career representatives, educators, and business partners through structured career exploration activities, occupational investigation services, and career pathway training programs. The nonprofit is the In-School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and delivers services such as Class Mentorship, Site Tours, Career Class Presentations, Capstone Mentorship, Informational Interviews, Project Mentorship, Industry Sponsored Projects, Internships, and Youth Apprenticeships, along with a Career Story Recording Program that captures professional journeys for use in classrooms.

Product overview

PPBEA operates as a Career-Connected Learning Marketplace — a unified platform that connects K-12 students with career exploration resources, activities, and professionals. The platform integrates multiple service modules including Career Exploration Activities (Class Mentorship, Site Tours, Career Class Presentations), Occupational Investigation Services (Capstone Mentorship, Informational Interviews, Project Mentorship), and Career Pathway Training (Industry Sponsored Projects, Internships, Youth Apprenticeships). Additional offerings include the Career Story Recording Program, which captures professional career journeys for student use, and the PPBEA Events Platform for regional career events. The ecosystem serves students, educators, and business partners through the CCL Marketplace portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Career-Connected Learning Marketplace (PPBEA MARKETPLACE) A centralized online platform connecting K-12 students with career exploration resources, career representatives, educators, and business partners to facilitate career-connected learning activities in the Pikes Peak Region.
• Career Exploration Activities Activities including Class Mentorship, Site Tours, and Career Class Presentations that introduce K-12 students to various career pathways and workplace environments.
• Occupational Investigation Services Deep-dive career exploration services including Capstone Mentorship, Informational Interviews, and Project Mentorship, helping students understand specific occupations of interest.
• Career Pathway Training Advanced training programs including Industry Sponsored Projects, Internships, and Youth Apprenticeships that provide hands-on career preparation and pathway-related training for students.
• Career Story Recording Program Program in which professionals donate 75 minutes to record their career journey via a facilitated conversation; recordings are edited and made accessible to students and teachers through the PPBEA MARKETPLACE for career exploration activities.
• PPBEA Events Platform A directory of scheduled career exploration events and activities available in the Pikes Peak Region, accessible through the marketplace at cclmarketplace.org/ppbea-events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students are 2x as likely to be placed in a related first job after participating in career-connected activities

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Pikes Peak Workforce CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPPBEA operates as the In-School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, located inside their facilities. This partnership provides operational space, workforce development expertise, and likely serves as a primary funding and strategic alignment relationship for career-connected learning initiatives in the region.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): MENTOR is a national non-profit that builds and supports youth mentoring programs connecting students with adult professionals and volunteers. While broader in age range, the youth-mentor matching model and emphasis on volunteer career representatives closely mirrors PPBEA's Career Representative mechanism.
• BizWorld Foundation: BizWorld Foundation delivers work-readiness and entrepreneurship programs to K-12 students through hands-on, project-based curricula often led by volunteer business professionals. Comparable to PPBEA's project-based career activities and volunteer-driven delivery model.
• iCould: iCould is a UK-based career exploration platform that uses short video career stories from professionals to help young people understand career pathways and subject choices. Highly comparable to PPBEA's EveryoneHasAStory Career Story Recording Program and its marketplace-mediated career storytelling approach.
• Junior Achievement USA: Junior Achievement is a longstanding non-profit delivering K-12 career readiness, work-readiness, and entrepreneurship education through volunteer-led programs in classrooms and workplaces. It is the most direct mission-comparable peer to PPBEA, with similar reliance on business volunteers, classroom delivery, and career exploration content.
• SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is a non-profit partnership of students, teachers, and industry that delivers career and technical education, including internships, apprenticeships, and industry-sponsored projects for middle and high school students. Comparable to PPBEA's Industry Sponsored Projects, Internships, and Youth Apprenticeships offerings.
• NAF (National Academy Foundation): NAF operates career academies and work-based learning programs that connect high school students with industry professionals through mentorship, internships, and capstone-style projects. NAF is the most structurally comparable peer to PPBEA, given its career-themed academies, mentorship pipelines, and employer engagement model.

Broad incumbents

• BigFuture (College Board): BigFuture is College Board's national career and college planning platform for middle and high school students, offering career exploration, planning tools, and college guidance. Comparable as a broadly used K-12 career exploration resource, though broader in scope and owned by a large incumbent organization.
• Pikes Peak Workforce Center: The Pikes Peak Workforce Center is the parent organization of PPBEA and a government-affiliated workforce development entity serving adult job seekers, employers, and youth. As the host and likely funding conduit for PPBEA, it is the most directly adjacent institutional peer for understanding PPBEA's funding and operating environment.

Emerging players

• CareerVillage: CareerVillage is a non-profit platform that crowdsources career advice from professionals to students through Q&A and curated career content. Comparable to PPBEA's marketplace-mediated approach to connecting students with professional insights, though focused on Q&A rather than recorded sessions.
• Pathful (formerly NC3T / Connecting Futures): Pathful provides K-12 college, career, and life readiness tools, including virtual job shadowing and career exploration platforms used by schools and workforce partners. Comparable as a school- and workforce-aligned career exploration platform serving overlapping customer segments (students, educators, employers).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ppbea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 Pikes Peak Business & Education Alliance