SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Groundwork, a new talent platform rebuilding how caregivers work, announced its official launch. The service connects experienced operators, primarily mothers and other caregivers, with part-time, interim, and project-based roles at early-stage and mission-aligned companies.
The launch follows two years of research and experimentation that yielded nearly 1,500 candidates, 22 successful placements, and hundreds of conversations validating demand on both sides of the market. Critically, 80% of roles filled were off-market (never publicly posted) and 82% of candidates were equally invisible to traditional search. Groundwork's model is designed precisely for this gap.
Three out of four U.S. workers are caregivers, yet our labor market assumes uninterrupted, full-time availability. The result is that talented people, most often women, at the peak of their earning and creative potential, are leaving the workforce, not because they want to, but because there is no middle ground. Groundwork exists to create opportunities in that middle ground.
The Problem Groundwork Solves
Nobel Prize winning economist Claudia Goldin’s research shows that women’s earning trajectories closely mirror men’s early in their careers, then diverge sharply with the arrival of children. Today, women earn 81 cents on the dollar versus men, a widening gap now in its second consecutive year of regression, even as women outpace men in college attendance by 20%. For employers, the cost of replacing a departed manager or executive costs, on average, 2x their salary.
At the same time, AI is enabling companies to operate leaner. Fundraising has tightened. Hiring is more deliberate. The result is a growing appetite for high-impact operators who can deliver exactly what’s needed - nothing more, nothing less - which often means working on a part-time basis.
“For the first time, what caregivers need and what employers need is genuinely aligned. AI can automate part of a role, but rarely all of it. Someone who can come in for exactly the part that remains is a really valuable construct right now.”
— Suzanne Slaughter, CEO & Founder, Groundwork
In this pre-launch period, placements to date have predominantly been at early-stage, VC-backed companies, as funds lean into guiding portfolio companies to build lean, agile teams in the context of AI. Feedback from both employers and candidates has been unequivocally positive.
“Groundwork found us an exceptionally high-leverage finance operator. We initially wondered if the candidate may be overqualified, but her depth of experience allows her to deliver meaningful strategic impact within a totally flexible 20-hour-per-week model.”
- Employer | Jason Gonos, Director of Strategic Finance, SmithRx
“Groundwork helped me find projects that manage to be high impact, strategic, and deeply interesting; it’s a combination that has been rare to find in searching for fractional roles. They unlocked opportunities I am certain I wouldn't have found otherwise.”
- Candidate | Katie Mitchell, Strategy & Operations
How Groundwork Works
Groundwork provides candidates with:
- Curated access to off-market roles at great companies
- Context-driven introductions to employers, with guidance on positioning and compensation
- Resources and frameworks for transitioning to part-time or fractional work
For employers, Groundwork provides:
- Access to a curated pool of experienced, highly motivated candidates
- Hands-on support to scope and structure new types of roles
- A fast path to a lean, high-quality hire in a rapidly changing landscape
The Groundwork product is what happens when these services for candidates and employers work in concert with each other.
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a California-based talent service built to support experienced operators navigating non-traditional work. Groundwork provides the infrastructure to connect off-market operators with off-market roles, helping individuals secure high-fit placements that preserve agency, career momentum and financial stability, while supporting employers in defining, hiring, and integrating non-traditional roles effectively. By turning an opaque and informal market into a repeatable system, Groundwork makes non-traditional work a viable and valuable option for both people and companies.
Groundwork is founded by Suzanne Slaughter (CEO) and Greg Siegel (COO).
Learn more at www.groundwork.careers
