A VC told Keely Cat-Wells to get a male, able-bodied co-founder. She balked, nabbed a $2M seed round. | TechCrunch

Talent acquisition platform Making Space, founded in 2023 by noted disability activist Keely Cat-Wells, announced today that it has closed on an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed round led by Beta Boom. 

The startup seeks to help companies from all sectors hire, train, and retain disabled talent. Prospective employees can sign up for free to look for open jobs, while on the company side, recruiters can find qualified candidates to fill positions, as well as access educational resources to better support and collaborate with disabled workers. 

Cat-Wells said she started this platform because traditional hiring processes are exclusionary, inaccessible, and often overlook skilled, talented disabled people. She noted how many people are afraid of disclosing their disabilities at work for fear of discrimination, which prevents them from receiving proper accommodation.

A 2018 study by Accenture and the American Association of People with Disabilities found that companies that hire and support people with disabilities within their workforce have 28% higher revenue than those that don’t. Those companies also have higher profit margins. This study also found that that U.S. GDP could increase at least $25 billion if more people with disabilities had the opportunity to join the workforce. Yet, studies have shown that disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed, and are even less likely to graduate from college compared to non-disabled individuals. 

“I saw an opportunity to build new pathways to employment that could provide equal benefit to both employers and disabled workers,” she said, adding that societal limitations can cause disabled workers to set their goals and dreamers lower than their potential. “We are passionate about getting disabled people into actual work, and creating careers rather than just jobs.”

Furthermore, disabled employees often have higher retention rates and high performance rates compared to non-disabled employees, helping to reduce turnover rates, according to the Job Accommodation Network.

Finding the right investors for this platform was tough, she said. Despite traction and technology, Cat-Wells said many investors doubted that a disabled-focused company could be a high-growth commercial success, which is what venture investors are ultimately looking for. “Many still view disability through the lens of charity and nonprofit,” she said.

“The disabled population represents a massive economic opportunity and many do not consider that anyone can become disabled at any time,” Cat-Wells said. “When we build solutions that integrate impact into fundamental business strategy, rather than treating it as an easily discarded initiative, we can start making systemic change.”

One prospective investor openly balked at backing a company led not only by a woman but by a disabled person, she said. She recalls that person telling her, “We love what you’re building but would only consider investing if you brought on a non-disabled, male co-founder.” 

That comment, she said, only reminded her of why she was building Making Space. “It’s also a reminder of the deep-seated biases and systemic barriers within venture,” she continued. “It shows how pervasive ableism and gender bias are.”

Cat-Wells ended up meeting her lead investor Beta Boom through another investor in the pre-seed round. Speaking to TechCrunch, Beta Boom founders Kimmy and Sergio Paluch, called Making Space a “unique business.”

“It tackles the upskilling and trust hurdles faced by both disabled workers as well as employers,” they told TechCrunch.

This Making Space platform is a part of Cat-Wells growing Making Space empire. The business also has a media arm, co-founded by disability activist Sophie Morgan, which has already partnered with the likes of Netflix and NBCUniversal to enhance employment for disabled talent in front and behind the camera. Already, Making Space is responsible for helping Netflix build a pipeline of disabled graphic designer talent, as well as the hiring of NBCU’s first disabled hosts for the Paralympics. It also signed an unscripted deal with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to tell the stories of those living with disabilities. 

Cat-Wells says the company hopes to further expand what Making Space can offer people. Already, it created a tool called Compass, which screens users’ profiles to present any disability as a skill. That tool is currently in beta but will be released in a few months, she said. 

At just 28 Cat-Wells is a second-time founder, after having created and sold an entertainment talent agency that represented disabled artists and placed them in jobs for companies like Disney and Nike. She started the agency after facing discrimination herself as a teenager when her stoma bag was shown during an acting audition and the role she was offered was rescinded afterward. 

“It was really not until that time and that moment that I started identifying as disabled,” she said. “I also realized that what I experienced was not an isolated issue, that unfortunately being discriminated against as a disabled person in the hiring process and at work is normal. I want to change that.” 

Since then, she has become an award-winning powerhouse in the space — discussing disability rights at The White House, serving on boards, and as an expert matter in discussions about disability rights with the likes of Kamala Harris and Prince Harry. Next, Making Space has some partnerships with Fortune 500 companies it will soon announce. It is also looking to expand its work in schools K-12 and spark more conversations about disability rights and opportunities. 

“We want to change the stat that disabled people are 2x more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people,” she said.