# Tasimba “Simba” Jonga

> Tasimba “Simba” Jonga is the founder and CEO of Laborup, an AI hiring platform for industrial employers and skilled tradespeople. A 2022 University of Tennessee chemical engineering graduate and Torchbearer, he joined Stanford’s Knight-Hennessy Scholars before pursuing Laborup. His earlier work includes manufacturing experience at Bayer and Dow, Rease, and the student venture organization VFL Ventures.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Laborup
- **Organizations:** Laborup, VFL Ventures, Rease, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Stanford University, Bayer, Dow, Microsoft, LaunchTN
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering; minor in economics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, MS studies in Management Science and Engineering (discontinued); Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Stanford University
- **Known for:** 2022 UT Torchbearer, First University of Tennessee graduate selected as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Founded VFL Ventures

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Moved to the United States, according to his published scholarship essay.
- **2020** — Described a year-long Bayer co-op and work on Dow’s productivity and analytics team in Tennessee Engineer.
- **2022** — Graduated from UT, received the Torchbearer honor and entered Stanford’s Knight-Hennessy cohort.
- **2023** — Early Laborup pilot testing began by late 2023, according to UT’s April 2024 coverage.
- **2024** — Launched Laborup with Logan O’Neal; raised a reported $1.94 million pre-seed round.
- **2025** — Closed a $5.8 million seed round in June; total funding reported as $7.7 million.
- **2026** — METAL partnership connected training participants to Laborup’s hiring platform.

## Achievements

- 2022 UT Torchbearer
- First University of Tennessee graduate selected as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar
- Founded VFL Ventures
- Co-developed a minority-entrepreneur platform that won Microsoft’s internal venture competition
- McKinsey Achievement Award recipient
- Executive Leadership Council Award recipient
- Laborup raised a reported $7.7 million across pre-seed and seed rounds by 2025

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — METAL described its Laborup partnership, a company-reported reach of more than 100,000 skilled workers and about 30% average wage increases in workers’ next roles.
- **2025-12** — Appeared in nvp capital’s Between Two Quarters founder interview.
- **2025-10** — UT reported Laborup’s $7.7 million in funding and a 25,000-worker East Tennessee network.

## Links

- Website: https://tasimbajonga.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasimbajonga/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/simbajonga2

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tasimba-jonga
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11