Sales training bootcamp EarlyWork has raised $1.5 million in a Seed round as it looks to help more people gain jobs in the tech ecosystem.
The round was led by Ari and Lucy Klinger’s family fund, No Brand, with support from Jelix Ventures, existing backer Archangel Ventures and Ultraviolet Ventures, as well as several founders and sales executives including MYOB Paul Robson, Bond Capital’s Jay Simons, OIF partner David Shein, Dave Shepherd, Dave O’Mahony and Sam Rahmanian.
The capital will be deployed to expand the Earlywork training model internationally, starting with Singapore and new hires, kicking off with customer success.
Earlywork was recently named Best New Idea in the Startup Daily Best in Tech awards.
Cofounders Dan Brockwell, Jono Herman and Marina Wu launched Earlywork in early 2021 as a careers newsletter. That idea becasme Australia’s first tech bootcamp, Earlywork Academy, complete with a job guarantee in tech sales. It’s success is obvious: everyone from the first cohort landed roles in sales with an average salary of $101,000-plus within a month.
Brockwell said their biggest opportunity is “building the default credential for the next generation of business talent in tech”, pointing out that a majority (58%) of tech roles are non-technical, yet there wasn’t a pathway for people to gaine those skills until Earlywork.
“As tech companies are shifting strategy from growth to profitability, quality sales talent is more important than ever before. Universities have failed to train sales skills, so employers have had to bear the training burden themselves,” he said.
“We want to build a better business school for the tech industry, globally.”
While the federal government and Tech Council of Australia set their sights on creating more than 300,000 new tech jobs by 2030, Earlywork’s focus on training and employment for entry-level tech workers has drawn people from a diverse range of backgrounds into the sector.
“But many of them lack reliable tertiary credentials today, leaving startups fumbling around in the dark to find this talent,” Brockwell said. Their students have come from hospitality, retail, glazing, rope access, and door-to-door sales, and are “now smashing targets” in tech sales roles.
“A great hiring outcome should be more than just getting people through the door quickly. We’re helping startups like Shippit, Eftsure, BuildPass & Yotpo hire sales talent that ramps faster, performs better and stays longer,” he said.
“We’re building an education model that starts with what employers need and works backwards. Earlywork designs and deliver our curriculum alongside sales leaders to train talent in the skills companies actually need.”
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