Riverside’s Latest Investment Prepares Students for Career Success

The Riverside Company, a global private equity investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, has invested in PeopleGrove, the leading provider of career mentorship and alumni engagement software for higher education institutions. The investment will help PeopleGrove address growing demand for continuous career support among students, recent grads and experienced alumni.

Riverside’s investment is a testament to PeopleGrove’s rapid growth and strong student and alumni adoption. More than 20 million students and alumni across 100 universities have access to PeopleGrove. Since its founding, the company has facilitated close to 1,000,000 mentorship connections.

“PeopleGrove offers the preeminent career mentorship and alumni engagement software for higher education. The team has done a fantastic job of creating a robust, feature-rich product," said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. "We look forward to partnering with them as they enter the next chapter of growth."

The majority of students enter college with limited professional networks and experience. PeopleGrove differentiates itself from other career sites by providing students with personalized career exploration experiences designed to relate classroom-to-career. Once a career path is chosen, learners have direct access to an already warm network of industry professionals – an institution’s alumni. These connections, relationships and social capital are critical to the lifelong success of every learner from the day they arrive on campus to long after graduation.

“We started PeopleGrove to ensure all students and alumni, regardless of their background or experience, have access to the network and support necessary to achieve their career goals,” said PeopleGrove CEO Adam Saven. “We’ve made great progress on this mission, but there is much work left to do. With Riverside’s capital and expertise, we will move faster, ensuring we’re the leading Career Access Platform™.”

This is one more example of Riverside’s commitment to the Education & Training industry. Riverside has invested in more than 90 education and training companies, including those specializing in pre-K, K-12, post-secondary education, corporate training and certifications, since the firm’s founding in 1988.

“Riverside’s investment will also enable the company to continue investing in product development so that PeopleGrove’s solution can expand to address more of the mentoring, networking and career development needs throughout a higher education institution,” said Riverside Senior Partner Joe Manning. “In addition, we’re excited to work with management on pursuing strategic acquisitions and other growth opportunities that may help broaden the product suite available for PeopleGrove’s customers, students, alumni and corporate partner users.”

Working with Schlachet and Manning on the deal for Riverside were Principal Steve Rice, Vice President Kenneth Johnson, Associate Alexander Kozan and Finance Director Mark Cohen. Regional Director, Origination, Will Davis and Founding Partner, Origination, Robert Landis sourced the investment opportunity for Riverside.​​​​​​​