[Funding alert] London-based Tangent Raises €1 Million Pre-Seed Funding

Important angel investors included former COO of FarFetch Andrew Robb, Catherine Lenson (before she moved to LocalGlobe/Phoenix Court Group), Leonard Picardo (the second-most senior employee at Deliveroo), and Scouts from Atomico and Ada Ventures.

Tangent is a network that links job searchers from poor socioeconomic backgrounds with employees in tech for mentorship and employee referrals. It was founded by LinkedIn and EE alumnus Gary Izunwa and Joe Adams.

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Tangent's public debut coincides with recent data showing that, despite making up 39% of the UK population overall, only 9% of all ICT workers are from poor socioeconomic backgrounds.

Compared to the banking and legal sectors, where 29% and 23% of workers, respectively, are from low socioeconomic origins, this statistic is noticeably worse.

The website matches job searchers with staff members from top digital companies in London, such as Stripe, Amazon, and Revolut, starting with entry-level tech sales positions. These employees provide guidance, recommendations, and connections to Tangent's network of socially diverse talent.

Tangent co-founder & CEO Gary Izunwa said, “You are nine times more likely to be hired through an employee referral, however if you come from a less privileged background like me, chances are you don’t have a professional network to get referred, an award-winning social mobility podcaster and Forbes 30U30 2024, who was motivated to build Tangent after his personal experience and time at LinkedIn.

Ella Goldner, General Partner at Zinc VC said, “Tangent sits at the heart of Zinc’s thesis of building commercial solutions to solve the world’s most pressing problems. We’ve been inspired by the progress that Gary and Joe have achieved in a short space of time and are excited to continue to partner with them on the next phase of their journey,”.

The two released their MVP during Zinc's Venture Builder and marketed enterprise solutions to businesses like Multiverse and GoCardless. Tangent's early traction, according to co-founder and CPO Joe Adams, is a glaring example of the tech industry's preference for hiring through recommendations.

Adams said, “Companies love referrals but in their current form they damage diversity as the existing referral talent pools are homogenous, We’re building a network of socially diverse, talented individuals who connect directly with tech employees and have access to opportunities they previously couldn’t access.”

About Tangent

Tangent is an employee referral tool that enables recommendations to come from ANYONE, not just the wealthy and well-connected elite. Regardless of where they were raised, what school they attended, or what their parents did for a living, they are working to establish a new workplace that benefits everyone.