Changing the Data Economy
Two years ago, Ethan, Victor and I set out with the mission of giving consumers control over their personal and professional information. Today we are announcing a $12m Series A round, led by Alfred Lin of Sequoia, to help further realize our vision.
Also included in this round are new investors Stanford University, who join existing investors such as Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures and Founder Collective. In just over a year since launching our first product -- a platform for employment and income verification -- we have helped hundreds of employers, and now more than one million employees, regain control over key pieces of personal data such as work history and salary information. Our new round of funding will propel us forward with both speed and security as we continue to incorporate consent into online data sharing.
We’ve all been disillusioned by at least one of the many companies in recent history that have failed to treat user privacy as a priority. But the health of our data economy depends on much more than protecting passwords. Often times you don’t need to be a victim of identity theft to feel the pain of compromised privacy. For example, have you ever wondered how and why you get so much financial junk mail? It could very well be because your employer has unknowingly shared your salary with numerous companies without your consent. The sharing of personal data, such as employment, income, asset, and credit history, serves as a one-way mirror with consumers stuck in the hot seat.
Starting with employment and income data, Truework is bringing transparency and control to sensitive identity data sharing. In a few months, we have grown our reach considerably as an alternative to Equifax. Before Truework, employees had little idea who was requesting access to their professional information, let alone the ability to stop it.
With Truework, HR teams are able to save hundreds of hours per year by automating manual workflows while giving employees full control over their data. Our platform requires employees to give explicit consent before any information is released to third parties. By logging in to their Verified Profile, employees can review and selectively share pieces of their professional identity with inquiring third parties such as lenders and employers.
Right now, we are busy expanding the scope of the platform to allow for even greater functionality for enterprise and consumer users alike. We will enrich the Verified Profile experience by connecting other source-of-truth data, including education and credit history. This profile will serve as a robust, digital identity card that’s impossible to lose. In the future, our plan is to build the Truework profile into the Internet’s new identity layer, used anytime a consumer needs to securely verify information about themselves -- whether that’s logging into Airbnb to rent an apartment or logging into Quicken Loans to get a mortgage.
What we have built over the past two years is only the beginning in our mission to bring consent and control to how consumer data is shared online. With a conscientious team and a group of strategically aligned investors, we continue to push forward in our efforts to change the data economy.
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