Netherlands-based Young Heroes, an HRtech startup that empowers young professionals to shape their future by building self-confidence through knowledge, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €400K in a fresh round of funding.
The investment came from G-Force Capital, a Dutch pre-seed fund focused on startups in the digital sector, and the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands (NOM).
NOM promotes the growth of businesses and jobs in the Northern Netherlands. It gives advice on site selection, encourages investment in the Northern Netherlands, and launches programmes that improve the competitiveness of local businesses. It also offers risk-bearing finance.
Ytsen van der Meer, Investment Manager at NOM, says, “Young Heroes is a young HRtech startup with an inspired entrepreneurial team. The company focuses on a recognisable problem in a large (Dutch) market. What is clear is that the story resonates with several companies.”
“The investment by NOM and G-Force gives the company the opportunity to pick up on this now and offer young professionals coaching and guidance that will help them get their careers off to a flying start,” adds Van der Meer.
Learning and development journeys for young talent
According to Young Heroes, Gen Z workers will represent 30 per cent of the worldwide workforce by 2023. Their attitudes, behaviours and expectations have been developed in a labour market that is unpredictable and constantly changing.
For this group, the demands around ongoing education and professional growth are unparalleled.
According to research, young professionals are leaving their existing employment and searching for new ones since their current roles don’t prioritise professional development or provide possibilities for growth and promotion.
This leads to companies facing risks as they struggle to find top talent in a competitive labour market.
Employers struggle to put effective development programmes for Gen Z into place. Companies that were previously having trouble adjusting to the expectations of millennials now confront a variety of additional difficulties in luring, motivating, and keeping Gen Z workers.
This is where Young Heroes looks to make a difference.
Young Heroes offers learning and development programmes for young professionals and customises the offering to Gen Z’s learning and development needs supported by a scalable SaaS platform, taking this responsibility off of businesses.
About Young Heroes
Founded in 2021 by Sarah Hoeckner and Eva van Leeuwen, Young Heroes is an HRtech startup that uses its career platform to teach and mentor young professionals.
The platform connects young talent with knowledgeable coaches and offers practical training and workshops, as well as honest advice related to careers and professional growth. Young professionals from a range of organisations can participate in the programme.
Offerings from Young Heroes are based on the tested techniques of parent company YFK Research & Marketing, which was established by Eva van Leeuwen in 2016.
Capital utilisation
Young Heroes says it will use the funds to expand its workforce and further develop its platform to help young professionals to learn and develop in the workplace.
Co-founder Eva van Leeuwen says, “Young Heroes already serves companies across the country and we are finding that we have momentum. The investment will support us in expanding our team and further developing the product.”
“We have strong growth ambitions and the investment gives us the push to go faster. We have found experienced partners in G-Force and NOM who want to continue this journey with us. We are looking forward to it immensely!”
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