Libby Unger | CEO & Co-founder, GreenFig
About this time last year, GreenFig – a micro education company offering microdegrees in applied business science – imagined a world where individuals are the masters of their careers and businesses are competing to win with strong, relevant talent skilled for the 21st century.
We offered a proven solution to enable companies to rapidly prepare their workforce for the digital economy and allow individuals to secure jobs with the confidence and skills to make an impact on day one. Our unique program allows people to take timeouts, make lane changes, or reach for the next rung on the corporate ladder with limited career risk and for a reasonable price in terms of time and money.
We see three critical roles in powering the digital economy: the software engineers and developers that code the soft machinery powering business; the data scientists who structure and visualize the massive amounts of data delivered by the soft machinery powering business; and the Business Scientists who use the soft machinery and data powering business to derive insights, drive product innovation, grow revenue, and expand margins.
Business Scientists understand the business strategy, tactics, and technology underpinning their work. They have the skills to develop strategies and act tactically in support of business objectives and know how to set up, use and manage soft machinery to execute for competitive success. This soft machinery includes business applications such as Marketo, NetSuite, Salesforce, and Zendesk that power today’s leading companies.
Massive amounts of public and private investment – and attention – are focused on STEM and developing future software engineers, developers, and data scientists. While this is necessary it is not sufficient for building the workforce of the future.
There are less than 400,000 jobs posted on indeed.com for those STEM roles. Compare that to the 2.6 million jobs posted for positions in areas such as sales operations; digital, product and content marketing; customer success; and customer support. These 2.6 million jobs are the jobs of Business Scientists – nearly seven times as many jobs relative to those posted for software engineers, developers, and data scientists. GreenFig was built to fulfill this critical demand.
With this powerful vision, an impressive leadership team, and the financial backing of Silicon Valley’s Wildcat Venture Partners, we officially launched GreenFig Micro Education with Marketo CMO Chandar Pattabhiram, on center stage, to an audience of 6,500 at Marketo Nation Summit in April 2017.
Addressing the Needs of Today’s Digital Workforce
From the beginning, we have believed the accelerating pace of change and the ever-widening workforce skills gap – exacerbated by the digital economy – required a new solution and approach to training. In addition to the obvious metric of 2.6 million job openings for people with business science skills and certification, only 10 percent of employees feel proficient with the digital technology they use at work.
In a world where the pace of change is constant, lifelong learning and accelerated skill development with microdegrees in applied business science are the path to relevance and economic empowerment for individuals and a competitive strength for business.
Individuals who want to participate in meaningful employment in the digital economy must possess:
To address this challenge, GreenFig created an accelerated skill development model that provides microdegrees in applied business science for high-demand jobs in sales, marketing, product, and support. Our Business Scientists graduate understanding the strategies, tactics, and technology underpinning their work. They leave possessing skills to make an impact on day one, whether that’s at a new company, in a stretch role or starting their own business.
Developing Business Scientists
Our enthusiasm and unique training approach were well received! In September 2017 we launched our national Digital Marketing Science course with an engaged and energized class of professionals. Our placement rates attest to the value hiring managers see in our graduates and prove GreenFig is addressing a critical need in the marketplace.
We are excited to watch the recent graduates from our Digital Marketing Science course enter the workforce and begin to make an impact in the fast-moving industry. They leave the GreenFig program confident that they are well-equipped with microdegrees in applied business science, a resume building Apprentorship and in-demand business application software certifications or readiness (e.g. Google Analytics, Marketo).
Industry-current Instructors Bring Business to Life
Some of our biggest cheerleaders have been industry professionals like you. Seasoned executives, experienced marketers, CMOs, and leaders from companies such as Engagio, Google, InsideView, Marketo, Microsoft, and Optimizely eagerly joined our ranks of industry-current instructors. They are driven by a desire to develop Business Scientists that can keep pace with a changing economy and possess an appreciation for the value of applied learning. With this foundation, our instructors are bringing business to life for our students — sharing current leading practices, engaging in pragmatic and interactive discussions, and providing hands-on, real-time feedback.
Partnerships with Business and Higher Education
Along with individuals looking to make an impact in the digital workforce, companies also recognize the value of upskilling their teams. GreenFig recently customized an in-house corporate training curriculum for Banner Health, including business science strategy, tactics, and technology to help the Banner team stay current and competitive in the dynamic healthcare space.
Looking forward, GreenFig will continue to work with companies facing the skills gap challenge to customize corporate training in business science that enable employees to learn, grow, and stay.
Also, watch for GreenFig to partner with higher education to better serve the needs of their communities with our accelerated skill development business science courses. We understand the steep challenge for higher education institutions to adapt programs to meet rapidly changing workforce requirements. Because GreenFig is uniquely positioned to keep our pulse on the changing business environment to rapidly develop relevant business science curriculum, it is a win-win – our combined strengths benefit students, local businesses, and higher-ed!
We were received with great enthusiasm at several recent conferences catering to the innovators in higher education – HERDI and ACHE. We thank you for the overwhelming support and inspiration.
Kudos to Our Founders, Advisory Team, and Community Partners
It is the amazing leadership team – our founders, Advisory Board, and community partners – who all make GreenFig’s mission possible. They bring a wealth of experience in – and passion for – digital and business transformation, higher education, technology, and marketing. We are thrilled with their commitment and partnership in building the market leader in applied business science for high demand jobs in the digital economy.
Specific kudos to co-founder Cari Baldwin, who was recently named one of the Top 35 Women in B2B Marketing. We are honored to have Cari’s expertise and leadership in guiding our Digital Marketing Scientists.
Lastly, we would like to thank other powerful partners for making our programs possible including Justine Evirs with Paradigm Switch enabling veteran funding and participation and Coco Brown and the Athena Alliance for supporting our efforts to bring talented women to the forefront in our Advisory Board selection process.
What’s in Store for 2018
New this year, look for an 8-week immersion program scheduled for Summer 2018. Our popular 16-week Digital Marketing Science course will return in Fall 2018 as well as a new bevy of business science courses in other verticals.
We will expand our reach by partnering with local community colleges and higher education institutions. Keep your eyes on the GreenFig website and watch your email to learn more!
As we embrace the new year, we are inspired by the leaders – civic, educational and business – seeking to solve the incredible challenge of providing relevant, cost-effective programs to enable lifelong learning for a diverse workforce required for today and tomorrow.
To lifelong learning,
Libby Unger
CEO and Co-founder
GreenFig – A Micro Education Company
@GreenFigME
