Creating Jobs Close to Home: Ross, 121nexus and Venture for America

A new cohort of college graduates, full of best and brightest of their institutions, is doing something very few would expect: purposefully turning down large salaries at established corporations in order to work for two years at an early-stage startup in a lower-cost city. Modeled after Teach for America, Venture for America (VFA) currently trains and sends recent graduates to eight cities across the U.S. including Cleveland, OH, and Providence, RI.

121nexus, the company behind the technology powering MDDTrack™, IFUTrack™, PharTrack™ and Ross Personal Media ® products, is beginning a partnership with VFA and has hired a VFA Fellow to work at the Providence office. A two-year agreement with the startup and regular VFA meetings and assignments are required to ensure that Fellows are continually learning the ins-and-outs of business development and job creation.

Although Ross does not fit the mold to become a partner startup company of VFA, we are supportive of the organization’s work and have high expectations of the benefits that VFA will bring to the Cleveland area. It is VFA’s goal to generate 100,000 new US. Jobs by 2025 with priority placed on job creation in low-cost, lower-income cities. VFA targets companies in high-potential, high-growth industries such as renewable or sustainable energy development, biotech, nanotechnology and education innovation. To date, VFA has placed seven Fellows at Cleveland startups. It will hopefully be only a matter of time before the impact of these Fellows and VFA can be seen in cities like Cleveland across the U.S.

Ross PPD Corporation and 121nexus are portfolio companies of Mayfly Capital.