Coaching platform Leland raises $12M in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures with participation from GSV Ventures to achieve goals from college admissions to entrance exam success to product management excellence We have grown a platform aimed at matching coaches and aspirants. The company aims to build better tools for coaches to create content, manage schedules, and build enterprise services.
The startup was founded in 2021 by John Koelliker, a former product manager for marketplaces like Uber and LinkedIn. The company has raised $17.1 million in funding to date from investors including Goodwater, FJ Labs, Next Play Ventures, and several LinkedIn executives.
The company has experienced steady growth since its last funding in 2022, with revenue quadrupling in the past year. The company said it has conducted more than 50,000 coaching sessions on its platform in the past 12 months. Leland currently has over 100,000 users in 70 countries accessing coaching, courses, and events.
Keriker noted that the company didn't need to raise capital because it was cash flow positive. But the business had reached a tipping point, so they raised capital. The startup felt it needed more investment to grow.
Build a strong coaching supply
The platform has over 1,000 coaches across various categories. The company says most of these coaches come to them organically after being told about the platform by friends or family.
“We still maintain 75% organic growth because of so much sharing within our network of friends, family, and users.One of the counterintuitive things for Leland is that dental school admissions Although these are different avenues, coaches from different sectors are often tightly networked, which makes for a strong supply side and discovery. It helps build the side,” Keriker said.
The company has structured its coach onboarding process to help coaches clearly identify their areas of expertise. You can also send new coaches an endorsement link so people in your network can verify that they have expertise in a specific area.
While the core of the platform is a network of coaches, there are also courses and events that people can participate in as a group. Koelliker noted that Leland rigorously scrutinizes the supply of coaches, with an acceptance rate of just 5% to ensure only high-quality coaches on the platform.
Since raising a seed round, Leland has been looking to build management tools for coaches, including better payments, messaging, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, reviews, and discount codes. The company believes these tools will help coaches monetize their expertise more effectively. The startup calls the tool a “business in a box” for coaches.
The company also offers AI-powered tools that provide coaches with session summaries, action items, and key takeaways, similar to meeting intelligence tools like Read AI and Otter.
“We have strived to create packages and templates that coaches can use to incorporate their expertise and content, making onboarding easier for coaches and discovery easier for users. ,” Koelliker said.
During onboarding, the platform uses AI to capture the gist of a coach's work history and suggest compelling headlines and biographies for their Leland profile.
Product roadmap and future opportunities
Koeliker pointed out that many Fortune 500 companies offer Leland's services and coaching sessions as a perk to their employees. The startup hopes to capitalize on this by investing in enterprise tools to further expand its business reach.
The company is also experimenting with an AI-powered onboarding tool for end-customers, where they can describe their goals and get suggestions from coaches that fit those goals. Additionally, the startup is expanding its goal and coach categories to reach a wider audience. We plan to use AI to develop an interactive coach that follows the learner's progress.
Yuri Kim, managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, said the company, which invests in consumer technology, has long wanted to invest in career advancement and coaching.
“As the job market becomes more competitive and people become more educated, we are witnessing young people struggling to find purpose and direction as young adults. , AI has a clear opportunity to reshape the way people learn and transform what is possible through personalization and efficiency,” she said.
Kim emphasized that Leland's model of creating a marketplace of top-quality coaches, along with reviews and hands-on support, creates growth opportunities for startups.
“Coaches benefit from advanced tools to run their business, including built-in marketing, simplified back-end processing, and AI capabilities that drive scale and efficiency. “Organic growth already demonstrates the network effect at work,” Kim added.
Leland competes in a tough market with other startups like executive coaching firm BetterUp (Intro, backed by A16Z). The company connects renowned experts with builders and founders. AceUp provides workplace coaching. Shimmer is a coaching platform for people with ADHD. and HumanQ, a coaching company specializing in groups.