Invest in Honest Jobs

Honest Jobs, the nation’s largest fair chance employment and reentry platform, helps justice-involved individuals connect with employers and support services critical to successful reentry. As a mission-driven, for-profit company, Honest Jobs is dedicated to reducing recidivism and empowering people to rebuild their lives. Without charging our justice-impacted users, Honest Jobs has generated over $2.1 million in revenue.

OUR STORY

I founded Honest Jobs in 2018 because I faced a personal struggle that brought me severe pain and significant financial hardship. Like many others with a criminal record, I found myself trapped in a cycle of rejection and lost opportunities, despite my best efforts to rebuild my life.

It turns out I wasn’t alone in this struggle. In the US, 1 in 3 adults has an arrest record, and around 7 million people pass through the jail or prison system each year. At any given moment, 2.1 million people are incarcerated. Shockingly, 70% of those released will be re-incarcerated within five years, fueling a cycle of recidivism that costs taxpayers an estimated $100 billion annually. The financial toll of justice involvement is staggering, with an annual earnings loss exceeding $370 billion.

Driven by the desire to break this cycle, I launched Honest Jobs with a mission to create real, lasting change. Today, our platform is a lifeline for over 1,600 fair chance employers who are committed to inclusive hiring, 1,300 reentry professionals who work tirelessly to support individuals reentering society, and hundreds of thousands of currently incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people seeking a second chance.

OUR SOLUTIONS

Our Core Platform is a fair chance job board and resource center designed to connect justice-involved job seekers with background-friendly employers and vital reentry resources. With over 137,000 job seekers, 1,600 employers, and 360,000 job listings across every state, Honest Jobs facilitates meaningful employment opportunities while offering over 200,000 resources to support successful reentry. To date, more than 300,000 applications have been submitted through our platform, demonstrating the impact and reach of our mission to help individuals with criminal records rebuild their lives through work and support.

Job seekers consistently express amazement at how quickly they were able to find employment through Honest Jobs. Many highlight the platform’s efficiency, with some securing job offers within days of applying. Overall, they share a sense of gratitude for how Honest Jobs has significantly impacted their lives, offering opportunities when they needed them most.

Reentry Navigator is a powerful tool designed for community corrections and reentry professionals to connect their clients with fair chance jobs and reentry resources. It allows users to invite clients to the platform, review their profiles and resumes, and refer them to jobs and relevant resources, all while tracking their job search activity on Honest Jobs. With over 1,300 users, Reentry Navigator streamlines the reentry process, making it easier for professionals to support their clients’ success in finding employment and reintegrating into society.

Reentry Navigator users emphasize how the platform has transformed the way they work with clients, making it easier to track progress and refer individuals to tailored job opportunities and much-needed resources. Users appreciate having everything they need in one place, which simplifies the process and improves client outcomes.

Reentry Navigator operates on a freemium model, offering a free version alongside a premium upgrade for $49/month. With a target market of 200,000 reentry and community corrections professionals, the platform has already gained momentum, boasting 1,300 onboarded users and over 50 paying customers. The revenue potential is substantial, with an expected 8-15% conversion rate, while the platform’s social impact is profound, potentially helping up to 70 million people in the US affected by arrest records.

Reentry Navigator has seen 100% organic growth in new account creation, with a significant rise in new users over the past several months. This surge reflects growing awareness and increased adoption of the platform among reentry professionals. The consistent increase in users underscores the platform’s expanding reach and its effectiveness in supporting justice-involved individuals.

Building on the success of our original Pre-Release tablet application, which receives over 5 million monthly searches from incarcerated individuals, we’ve launched the Reentry Planner. This proprietary correctional tablet application allows incarcerated individuals to create detailed reentry plans and retrieve them after release. With access to over 360,000 fair chance jobs and 200,000 essential support programs, we are working with major tablet providers to distribute the app on over 1 million tablets in jails and prisons.

Reentry Planner, priced at $1/month per Average Daily Population (ADP), is used by correctional facilities to help inmates prepare for reentry. The cost is fully covered by tablet providers or correctional facilities, ensuring that neither incarcerated individuals nor their families are burdened with the expense. With 2 million incarcerated Americans, this model has the potential to generate $24 million in annual revenue, while supporting over 7 million individuals reentering society each year.

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Projected revenue growth for the Marketplace (Core Platform), Reentry Navigator, and Reentry Planner is expected to see a steady upward trajectory, with monthly revenues approaching $175k by the end of 2025.

By the end of 2026, monthly revenue is projected to reach nearly $1.4M, fueled by substantial growth in the adoption of Reentry Planner.

The first $300,000 raised on WeFunder will extend our runway, ensuring we have the time and resources to achieve profitability before expanding with new hires and marketing efforts. Any funds raised beyond $300,000 will be invested in growing our engineering, marketing, product, and sales teams.

OUR TEAM

The Honest Jobs team brings a wealth of experience and diverse expertise, uniquely positioning them to drive the company’s mission forward. Harley Blakeman, Founder and CEO, has raised $3 million in venture capital and generated $2.2 million in revenue, motivated by his personal experience with the barriers of reentry. Mark Doyle, Chief Technology Officer, is a seasoned tech leader with deep expertise in software solutions across multiple industries. Melissa Dickerson, Chief of Staff, draws on her lived experience with justice involvement, paired with a strong background in internet technology, digital marketing, and technical leadership. Melissa Busdeker, Senior Recruiter, leverages her own experiences with incarceration and homelessness to advocate for fair chance hiring and support justice-involved job seekers. With support from WeFunder investors, we plan to expand the team, adding a Director of Sales as well as Engineering, Sales, and Marketing support.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

By investing in Honest Jobs, you’re not just joining a group of premier investors—you’re joining a movement focused on giving people with criminal records a second chance. Together, we can create opportunities for these individuals to rebuild their lives, contribute to their communities, and realize their full potential. We believe that everyone deserves a chance to thrive, regardless of their past, and with your support, we can make that vision a reality.