Our Commitment to Human Capital Development
Investing in Systemic Transformation to
Unlock Human Potential
We have known for some time that the education system is no longer meeting the needs of a modern workforce, and that employers are struggling to find talent that is adequately prepared for high-quality employment.
At New Markets Venture Partners, we believe in the power of human potential — that every person contains latent potential and has the ability to contribute meaningfully to society if they are given the chance to be nurtured and connected to opportunity.
From this belief, our Theory of Change was born. We consistently focus on addressing key milestones and loss points along the education-to-employment journey by investing in efficacious products and services that not only improve individual outcomes but also equip systems to recognize learners as whole people, capable of growth, deserving of recognition, and rich with untapped potential.
New Markets Venture Partners is a leading, growth-stage, double bottom-line investor that scales transformative education technology and workforce development companies that improve education and workforce outcomes, resulting in superior financial returns. We seek out ventures that operate at the nexus of innovation and institutional transformation so we can deploy capital with intention and accountability to unlock large-scale impact.
100
Students start high school
86
Graduate high school
53
Enroll in college
34
Graduate from college
29
Attain gainful employment
17
End with good-quality employment
Addressing Loss Points
Loss Points in the education system have led to 83 of every 100 students being underserved in their path from education to employment.
120.3 million learners in the US — 36% of the US population — are affected across four systemic breakpoints: K-12 absenteeism, postsecondary dropout, skills mismatch in the workforce, and systemic exclusion of justice-impacted individuals, reinforcing cycles of poverty, marginalization, and economic immobility. But each is also a site of enormous potential for systems transformation.
New Markets is backing scalable, system-level interventions to address this crisis.
11.5 million learners experience declining engagement, rising chronic absenteeism and dropout rates, and limited college and career readiness resources
We invest in solutions to enable a systems-level shift in how colleges address student persistence and success with particular relevance for first-generation, adult, and underrepresented learners.
Mental health challenges, financial challenges, and a lack of workforce-aligned ROI prevent 43.3 million learners from completing postsecondary education
New Markets is backing companies that are rewiring the system to prioritize skills over pedigree in order to improve access and drive outcomes.
Over 60 million learners are without a degree due to lack of accessible skills-based pathways
We support companies aligning skills training to labor market demand who use technology to overcome bias in hiring, support reentry, and shift how institutions think about workforce reintegration.
5.5 million learners are affected by structurally underdeveloped second-chance education and reentry pathways
Our Theory of Change
Visibility
Millions of Americans who are disconnected learners, justice-involved individuals, and working adults remain invisible to traditional institutions. We invest in tools and platforms that translate latent potential into high resolution, observable signals. We are not just investing in tools, but in recognition engines that rewrite the narrative of capability.
Growth
The current system fragments support and learning. Our approach is to invest in organizations that integrate contextual, continuous growth across life stages and transitions. We believe that true growth happens when development is seen as relational, not merely transactional, and when learners are supported in unlocking their full potential, not just achieving a single milestone.
Recognition
The overreliance on degrees as proxies for potential perpetuates inequity. Our theory of change elevates skills-based, employer-validated, equity-grounded recognition. We help legitimize new, inclusive forms of readiness. Mobility happens when contribution is recognized, not when credentials gatekeep opportunity.
Impact in Action
Repositioning "criminal history" as a verified, skills-backed identity.
Reinventing static resumes into living skill profiles.
Embedding mental health support into postsecondary learning environments.
Redefining short-term learning as high-value, high-ROI talent development.
Tracking job placement outcomes to legitimize new, inclusive forms of readiness.
Our goal is to build a new operating system for economic mobility through portfolio companies that improve individual outcomes with products and solutions that also embed within existing systems to rewire how learner success is defined, supported, and scaled.
We strive to help learners be seen and recognized by making human potential visible, actionable, and recognized at scale.
