Learned.io is a platform that allows professionals to transform their work and learning experiences into a new type of CV. That means not just a summing up of your employers, but also a summing up of all the skills and competencies that you have developed over the years. Furthermore, employers, trainers or colleagues are able to give feedback on your work experience and competencies. “A skill passport,” is what co-founder Joost Kuijf calls the start-up concept from Utrecht.
Hoe does it work?
Anyone can create a free skill passport. If companies want to support their employees with their development via Learned.io, they can take out a subscription. This allows the employer to digitize the entire coaching process. On top of that, companies encourage their employees in this way to set goals and to further develop themselves.
Joost (23) came up with the idea together with his two brothers Rick (29) and Paul (26). They all hail from a genuine entrepreneurial family. From a very young age, they have been thinking about ideas for their own company. This, combined with their background in business administration, has led them to have the courage to start their own business together.
What was the idea behind the founding of Learned.io?
“The idea for Learned.io was born out of frustration with previous employers that my brothers and I have each experienced,” says Joost. Previous employers did not give them the opportunity to develop themselves and did not provide them with the support they wanted. It was because of this problem that they found each other and consequently the idea for Learned.io was born.
The goal of Learned.io is to stimulate people to keep on developing themselves. “It’s too crazy for words that you keep track of your running results in an app like Strava, but if you want to keep track of your developments at a professional level, you do that in a word document or an excel sheet.”
How do you differ from the competition?
Companies often have tools for their employees to keep track of their objectives and development of talent. However, these tools have been developed in the interests of the company and not in the interests of the employee. Learned.io is dedicated to the employee and not to any company. If the employee takes on a new job, they can then take their ski passport with them to their new employer.
What has been your greatest challenge so far?
Joost laughs and sighs at the same time when he hears this question: “Do you have a minute? The greatest challenge is to make the platform so easy to use that everyone understands it without any need for an explanation.”
Why are you the future??
Joost: “We live in a world where we are expected to keep on developing ourselves. In addition to work experience, more and more employers also want to see that their applicant has skills or competencies. These all come together in the Learned.io skill passport.”
What are you most proud of??
The brothers are proud of several milestones which have been accomplished. They were particularly proud when they brought in their first partner. Their 25th partner was also a major milestone. Nowadays they work with 30 companies. Joost: “We’re ahead of the game when it comes to our business case.”
What can we expect from you in the coming year?
In the coming quarter we will be working on fine-tuning our product so that it is ready to tap into the larger market. This year, we would like to first storm the Dutch market and then the European market.
And in the next five years?
Joost hopes that by the end of 2020 one million people will be using the Learned.io platform. They see Germany and England as the next logical countries for this, but they are secretly looking towards the United States as well.
Team: Rick (29), Paul (26) and Joost Kuijf (23)
Year of foundation: 2018
Funding: Companies take out subscriptions for their employees
Personnel: 5 employees apart from themselves
Ultimate goal: One million users of Learned.io by 2020.
Need inspiration? Check our Start-up of the Day series here!
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