Viridislearning

Viridis Learning, Inc. is a New York-based, cloud-based SaaS technology company that applies data analytics to connect students, colleges and employers. Its core product is a proprietary Skills Passport, which integrates with existing student information systems, government databases and labor market information in order to validate student skill sets and match candidates' career aspirations and capabilities with employer demand. The company also markets a Skill Passport Accountability Tracking solution.

For colleges, the platform is positioned to track and analyze student performance and outcomes, create and assess student pathways, reduce time-to-completion and improve employment placement. For employers, it is intended to shorten hiring cycles, cut recruitment and retention costs and reduce churn through skill-based job matching. At its 2014 platform launch, Viridis described an experience in which users first access courses drawn from sources such as industry trade associations and internal corporate training programs, then are matched to open positions at corporate employer partners using algorithms that assess knowledge, company culture, work ethic and personality to produce an employability score. As a Salesforce Ventures portfolio company, Viridis stated it would integrate with Salesforce Trailhead to support workforce development within the Salesforce ecosystem.

Founding story

Viridis Learning was founded by Felix W. Ortiz III, who serves as Founder, Chairman and CEO. Ortiz has said the idea originated in 2008 while he was finishing work with the Obama advisory group transition team, when he observed a lack of end-to-end solutions matching employers and job seekers by skill, industry and sector, and envisioned a tool that could help middle-skilled workers in trade and service industries obtain the right training and be placed in available positions. The company was started on his couch in Brooklyn, New York. Ortiz, a Sunset Park, Brooklyn native and son of New York State Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz Jr., served in the U.S. Army 18th Airborne Corps and JAG Corps before attending St. John's University and its ROTC Army program, and has served on New York City Mayor de Blasio's Technology Subcommittee Transition Team and President-elect Obama's Advisory Group Transition Team for International Trade & Economics.

Business model

Viridis operates a cloud-based software-as-a-service platform sold to colleges and employers, with a proprietary Skills Passport that integrates with institutional and public data systems to validate and match skills.

The sources describe Viridis as a SaaS technology platform serving colleges and employers; specific pricing or contract terms are not stated.

Traction

At the March 2014 platform launch, the company reported that all users of the Viridis system had collectively achieved a 70 percent placement rate and a 65 percent retention rate. By June 2017 it reported having raised nearly $7.5 million to date and named institutional and corporate partners including YouthBuild USA, Long Beach Community College and Comcast.

Latest developments

In June 2017 Viridis announced cumulative funding of nearly $7.5 million from Salesforce Ventures, Thayer Ventures and others, the appointment of Caretha Coleman to its board, the promotion of Sudhir Wadhwa to Chief Technology Officer, plans for an Austin, Texas office, and an integration with Salesforce Trailhead.