CAREER MOBILITY AT SCALE
A JOB IS JUST THE BEGINNING
WE’RE BUILDING WHAT COMES NEXT.
Millions of low-wage Americans are stuck in entry-level jobs – not advancing into sustainable careers. Our mission is to empower their career advancement at scale while improving the system around them.
In partnership with training organizations and their funders, we deliver:
employer-based job coaching
Data to understand
what worksAlumni Engagement App
HOW WE HELP
We’re navigating a hard moment of rapid change and uncertainty.
SpringboardNext is building the tools, services and data management to empower the next generation of systems change.
The problems SpringboardNext is trying to solve:
The training system isn’t optimized for the best outcomes
We lose contact with graduates, making it difficult to gather outcomes data and measure program effectiveness.
Most funding ends at placement, leaving workers without the tools and support for retention and advancement.
We don’t understand why why some workers move up but most don't
Funders lack evidence of ROI
Without better data, we don’t have an accurate assessment of the impact of investments
We don’t what parts of the system are working and where to make the highest leverage investments
The system is not designed for innovation and change
We don’t have universal tools to quickly test, assess, and iterate new ideas in real time
We are disincentivized to take risks that might fail, so we aren’t innovating enough to find new solutions that consistently lead to economic mobility
Through partnerships and collaboratives, SpringboardNext drives system improvement and innovation in three ways
01
Alumni engagement app
To continue the worker journey after training, alumni use our rewards-based app. They report on their progress and complete self-development tasks for points – which they can redeem for gift cards. Alumni are rewarded for staying in touch on their own and proactively providing updates and outcomes data.
02
Employer-based job coaching (optional)
Executive-style coaching brought to frontline workers at their job – focused on their aspirations, goal setting, and on-the-job performance to maximize retention and career advancement. Based on an award-winning model that produced 96% annual retention.
03
The data to improve the system
We deliver detailed, automated weekly/monthly/annual client data that eliminates the administrative burden of outcomes tracking. By capturing the full worker journey—rather than just one-year snapshots—we get visibility into client behavior and the specific drivers of successful career mobility. Our system allows for rapid testing and iteration of new ideas, with real-time, observable change.
Our 3-Part solution
We’re seeking training agency and funder partners interested in improving employment outcomes and generating the field’s most valuable data on what actually works.
AGENCY PARTNERS
Better outcomes. Better Data.
Alumni engagement without increased staff burden
Automated data collection – reduce staff burden tracking people down and collecting their data
Higher job retention, higher advancement – more workers reaching family-sustaining wages
FUNDER PARTNERS
Real answers to “is it working?”
...and insight into why some workers move up but most don't.
More outcomes data from more alumni for longer periods
What interventions produce the highest ROI
Systems-level insights to improve the field
Ready to
close the gap?
Elliott brown
Founder & CEO, SpringboardNext
THE FOUNDER
30 years building toward this.
Elliott Brown has spent 30+ years pioneering solutions to U.S. poverty. His previous nonprofit, Springboard Forward, used executive coaches to advance the careers of low-wage workers. Recognized by President Obama for innovation; chaired by former Stanford President Donald Kennedy; twice awarded Fast Company Magazine's "Top 25 Groups that are Changing the World." Elliott is an Ashoka Fellow, recognized as one of the highest impact social entrepreneurs globally.
At Springboard Forward, Elliott pioneered executive-level coaching for low-wage workers — a model that received national recognition and became the coaching methodology at the heart of SpringboardNext.
SpringboardNext brings together everything he has learned: that engagement precedes outcomes, that data must follow people across the full arc of their careers, and that the right technology can finally make career mobility achievable at scale.
We’re seeking funder and training agency partners interested in improving employment outcomes and generating the field’s most valuable data on what actually works.