Back to News

News  |  August 7, 2019

K1 Announces Investment in Graduway, Leading Provider of Alumni Engagement and Career Services Management Software

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Aug. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — K1 Investment Management (“K1”), a leading investment firm focusing on high-growth enterprise software companies, today announced its investment in Graduway, the global leader in alumni engagement and career services management software for educational institutions and non-profit organizations.

K1’s investment provides Graduway with significant resources to continue its path of accelerated growth and innovation and to rapidly expand its product suite. Additionally, the investment will allow Graduway to grow its operations in North America and to strengthen its position as the largest vendor in the market.

Graduway’s platform provides engagement, mentoring and development solutions for a global set of customers including colleges, universities, K-12 and independent schools and non-profit institutions. The company currently serves over 1,000 customers across more than 40 different countries, including an impressive list of top universities and schools such as UCLA, University of Oxford, University of Wisconsin, University of Arizona and Tulane University.

“K1’s track record of building category leaders and its experience working with high-growth software companies made them a compelling choice for partnership,” said Daniel Cohen, CEO and Founder of Graduway. “The K1 team’s unmatched resources and operational capabilities are enabling us to execute on our growth plans.”

Since K1’s initial investment in Graduway, the company has completed several strategic acquisitions to expand the capabilities and reach of its platform. These include the alumni relations and career services assets of CampusTap and the acquisition of VineUp, a rapidly growing provider of alumni mentoring software for higher education institutions. Most recently, Graduway announced the acquisition of the Communities Division of EverTrue and an exclusive integration partnership with its advancement automation platform.

The strategic consolidation of the industry solidifies Graduway’s position as the world’s largest provider of alumni relationship management software. The company has plans to further expand its suite of intelligence products, volunteering modules, event management and career services.

“We are thrilled to partner with Daniel and the Graduway team for the company’s next chapter of growth and market leadership,” said Mike Velcich, principal at K1. “Since we underwrote the investment, Graduway has already doubled its revenue and grown its team by over 80 employees.”

K1 is the only institutional investor in the company. Transaction terms were not disclosed. For additional information on the transaction, Graduway’s press release is available at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/graduway-secures-60-million-investment-from-k1-investment-management-300885546.html

About Graduway

Headquartered in the U.K. with operations in the U.S., Canada and Israel, Graduway is trusted by 1,000+ educational institutions and non-profits to power their alumni relations and digital career communities, including UCLA, Johns Hopkins and the University of Oxford. Founded in 2013 by Daniel Cohen, author of ‘Alumni Therapy’ and ‘The Mentoring Revolution’, Graduway exclusively hosts the Graduway Leaders Summit as a key gathering of leaders and executives from Alumni Relations, Career Services and Advancement. Visit Graduway at www.graduway.com.

About K1

K1 builds category leading enterprise software companies. As a global investment firm, K1 assists high-growth businesses achieve successful outcomes. K1 invests alongside strong management teams that continue to guide their organizations on a day-to-day basis. With over 85 professionals, K1 changes industry landscapes by assisting with operationally-focused growth strategies. Since inception of the firm, K1 has partnered with over 110 enterprise software companies including industry leaders such as Apttus, Buildium, Certify, Checkmarx, ChiroTouch, Chrome River, Clarizen, ControlUp, Granicus, IronScales, Jobvite, Onit, Rave Mobile Safety, RFPIO, Smarsh and WorkForce Software. For more information about K1, please visit https://www.k1capital.com or https://www.linkedin.com/company/k1im.