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Unlocking Opportunity for America’s Workforce
Professor William A. Sahlman Baker Foundation Professor; Dimitri V. D’Arbeloff – MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus |
Rachel Carlson CEO and Cofounder, Guild Education |
Presented on
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Professor Bill Sahlman discusses his new case, “Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America’s Workforce,”
with CEO and cofounder Rachel Carlson.
Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers
and universities to provide employees with “education as a benefit.” The Denver-based
company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct
payment by the employer to the academic institution and by supporting students with
coaching and advising.
During their discussion, Sahlman and Carlson also look at larger issues in the economy,
including the broad consequences of reskilling and upskilling of employees; strategies
to retain employees and attract new employees; and the impact of COVID-19’s acceleration
of the “education as a benefit” model with people not working in the office.
About the Case
The “Guild Education” case details how, by October 2020, the company had gained market
traction and demonstrated impressive results. Carlson must decide how to manage the
company’s future growth. She believes there is great potential within its core education
marketplace to expand the network of academic institutions and portfolio of company
partners. Carlson also envisions extending the business model and entering other related
markets. To successfully do that, she needs to find the same incentive alignment in
these new businesses as in Guild’s core education platform. Would it be possible to
find a solution that would result in a win-win outcome for all?
Related Resources
STAY UPDATED:
HBS Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship
PODCASTS:
Managing the Future of Work
Cold Call: Managing Future Growth at an Innovative Workforce Education Start-up (HBR)