Cluster — the first U.S. marketplace that matches Industry 4.0 skills and jobs — announced it raised a $1.9 million seed round of funding. Founded by entrepreneur Kim Taylor, the marketplace on Cluster currently has aviation, aerospace, and defense company listings in Southern California.
Photo Credit: Cluster
The engineering talent is vetted to join the platform and employers pay for the service based on a subscription model to access mid-to-senior level talent who are looking for full-time jobs. Plus Cluster only matches people to jobs for which they are qualified. Eventually, Cluster is planning to expand beyond recruitment and help talent acquire new skills, wages, and industry-recognized certifications.
“Hiring experienced talent is the industrial sector’s most urgent priority amidst a tight labor market and a growing wave of retirements,” said CEO and founder Kim Taylor in a statement. “We need to expand beyond the friction of resumes and job descriptions to a common language of skills.”
This funding round was led by billionaire Mark Cuban and ECMC Group. And additional investors included strategic edtech and workforce executives including Frank Britt (Penn Foster CEO), Dan Rosensweig (Chegg CEO), Richard Sarnoff (the Chairman of Media, Entertainment, and Education, Americas at KKR), Mark Pincus (Zynga founder) and Nat Turner (Flatiron Health CEO). And Cluster will be using the funding to grow the team and expand relationships with employers starting with Southern California. Many of these investors have also worked with Taylor on her previous ventures, including Cuban and ECMC.
Photo: Kim Taylor via LinkedIn
Taylor, a Wisconsin native, was inspired by her family’s history in advanced manufacturing and has a background in online education. And Taylor was previously the founder and CEO of Ranku — which was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in September 2016. And Taylor also was one of the first five employees at Ampush Media where she exceeded $20 million in annual sales as the sole salesperson from $0 in two years.
“Our partners need people with specialized skills like Siemens NX or CATIA,” added Taylor. “Talent needs greater transparency around the skills they need to get hired. Cluster is part of a larger shift towards vertical marketplaces.”
