Utivity, a Denver based startup that provides a marketplace for teachers and students of all kinds of skills and skill levels to find each other is growing it’s geography and user base. The company announced today that it has acquired the experience division of Austin, TX. based Besomebody, a global platform that helps people live their passion through inspiration, advice, community and careers.
Launched in late 2015, Utivity has experienced rapid growth across the Rocky Mountain region. In the Denver-metro area alone, they’ve helped more than 2,000 experience providers earn more hundreds of thousands of dollars doing what they love. The acquisition will more than double their user base and jumpstart their expansion plans. Utivity’s founders first learned about Besomebody after the company’s appearance on the popular Reality TV show, ‘Shark Tank.’
“We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Besomebody to help people discover unique experiences, and make money doing what they love,” Kyle Granowski, Utivity Co-Founder & CEO, said. “The Besomebody team has done an incredible job building a huge community of people who want to get out, and do more. We’ve had our eyes on them for a while, and the timing was finally right to make something happen. As Besomebody moves forward with their focus on education and employment, we’re honored to be the premier platform where people come for activities and adventure.”
The acquisition comes on the heels of Besomebody’s new Learning Paths launch - vocational training programs that teach candidates the specific skills they need to succeed in specific jobs. The Paths are experienced 100% in-person and are taught by industry professionals. The curriculum is co-created with the hiring employers, ensuring that candidates learn exactly what is necessary to do well in the workplace. Candidates that meet the performance requirements are guaranteed a job with the endorsing employer. Besomebody is currently piloting Paths with select U.S. companies in high-growth industries like Healthcare, Hospitality and Energy.
“There are two crises colliding right now,” Besomebody Founder & CEO, Kash Shaikh said. “the student debt crisis and the skilled worker crisis. College is more expensive than ever, and job placement rates for college graduates continue to decline. On the other hand, a lot of companies have a lot of open jobs, but can’t find people with the right skills to fill them. With millions of people jobless, in debt, or both, we are passionate about building a solution. We spent the last three years bringing people together for learning and skills training, and now we can’t wait to leverage that expertise to help get Americans back to work.”
There are more than 1,000 unique experiences offered on Utivity’s platform, from archery and basketball, to wakeboarding and yoga. Outdoor and adventure activities are the most popular experiences, particularly in nature-loving Colorado. The company will look to build upon that outdoor base as it begins to scale nationally. The majority of experiences are booked on their website, though Utivity recently launched both iOS and Android applications to enable broader user engagement.
