From left: Matthew Brennan, Terry Clune, Mark Hughes and Dave Martin. Image: Gradguide
The Dublin-based company has been acquired by Clune Technology Group and now plans to scale its graduate and mentorship programme.
Gradguide, a Dublin company that pairs students and graduates with mentors and tech companies, has been acquired by Clune Technology Group with a majority equity investment of €2m.
Founded by Mark Hughes, Ian Guerin, Matthew Brennan and Dave Martin, Gradguide came about when the founders were frustrated with their experience of sending out CVs before getting the mentorship that would allow them to excel in a tech role.
Gradguide is now an online career guidance, mentorship and recruitment platform that pairs mentors with students and recent graduates to help them transition successfully from college to the tech workforce.
The company also partners with tech companies such as Wayflyer, ChannelSight and Quorum to reverse-engineer the recruitment process by connecting mentees with company partners and hiring managers early on in their job search.
Bridging the employment gap
Hughes, the company’s CEO, said many students often don’t see a way to break into the tech industry, despite having the exact skillset that many companies seek. “Only through mentorship did I land my own dream job post-graduation at Intercom back in 2017,” he said.
“Gradguide was built from the anxiety I experienced first-hand upon graduation and then saw friends and family also encounter who graduated after me. We believe every company is becoming a technology company and we want to bridge the employment gap that currently exists between college and company.”
Clune Technology Group founder, Terry Clune, came across the platform through other companies under the Clune Technologies umbrella. The group’s payroll tech company Immedis and fintech business TransferMate both use the Gradguide programme to hire young talent and Clune said he really values the “social impact” of the company.
“It’s free for both graduates and mentors, while employers pay an annual fee. Two of our group companies, TransferMate and Immedis, already use Gradguide to recruit graduates and our experience has been brilliant,” he said.
“Mark and his team, all in their twenties, have a tremendous passion to help graduates find great employers. We are incredibly impressed by what they have achieved.”
Gradguide currently has around 60 mentors and 500 students across six different countries involved in the programme. Its graduates have found roles in companies such as Oracle, HubSpot, Wayflyer, Front and Wix.
Following the investment from Clune Technologies, the company will now focus its efforts on scaling operations both in Ireland and abroad.
