May 16, 2016

STEM Premier raises $2.6M in equity sale, according to SEC filing

Charleston Regional Business Journal

Mount Pleasant-based STEM Premier, an online platform that connects students studying math and science with employers and schools, raised $2.6 million in a recent equity sale, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company sold equity to 11 investors, the filing shows.

The platform helps students in science, technology, engineering and math design a career path and connect with prospective higher education institutions and employers, according to a news release.

Students ages 13 and older can build personal profiles showcasing their skills and talents. STEM Premier's subscription-based model then enables colleges, universities, companies and government agencies to directly connect with the students and recruit them for scholarships, internships and job openings.

Lewis Gossett, S.C. Manufacturers Alliance president and CEO, recently described STEM Premier as "LinkedIn on steroids on steroids."

The company and the alliance have partnered to form S.C. Future Makers, a public-private partnership that aims to match students who have an aptitude for technology with advanced manufacturing industries such as BMW and Boeing, where those skills can be put to lucrative use. The website includes research into the manufacturing industry, as well as videos of five manufacturers with heavy S.C. presences.

Students can also create profiles on the website that detail traditionally available information, such as grade-point average, but allow would-be employers to delve deeper into special skills that make them a potentially good fit.

"This is where kids get to create their own brand," Gossett said last month during the S.C. Manufacturing Conference and Expo in Greenville. "They get to, for free, create their own platform where they can tell everything there is about them, and my members and colleges and technical colleges can search and find them and start to communicate directly with them."

STEM Premier, which is headquartered at 474 Wando Park Blvd. in Mount Pleasant, was launched in 2012 and participated in SCRA's SC Launch program. It has since expanded to all 50 states and plans to partner with more technical colleges in similar programs to the recent partnership it formed with Midlands Technical College.