BetterUp: Transforming Companies Through Personal Coaching

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by BetterUp.

The value of coaching has increased significantly in today’s constantly changing corporate world. Just like a sports coach helps an athlete achieve his potential, a workplace coach guides employees to build skills, enhance performance, and meet organizational and individual goals.

When it comes to corporate coaching, you can’t ignore BetterUp’s contribution to the industry. The California-based company connects employees with certified executive coaches who can help them grow professionally and emotionally. Let’s dig in to learn more about BetterUp, including its founders, startup story, products, funding, challenges, growth, and more.

BetterUp – Company Highlights

BetterUp – About
BetterUp – Industry
BetterUp – Founders and Team
BetterUp – Startup Story
BetterUp – Mission and Vision
BetterUp – Business Model
BetterUp – Revenue Model
BetterUp – Products and Services
BetterUp – Challenges Faced
BetterUp – Funding and Investors
BetterUp – Mergers and Acquisitions
BetterUp – Growth
BetterUp – Partners
BetterUp – Awards and Achievements
BetterUp – Competitors

BetterUp – About

BetterUp is a mobile-based company delivering transformative coaching experiences to individuals and workforces to drive productivity, engagement, and retention at scale in the companies. Top organizations, including Workday, Federal Aviation Administration, and Google, trust the company.

BetterUp helps businesses invest in their employees, boasting a 130% increase in job performance via its platform. Moreover, its solutions helped companies increase retention by 68%, bet new sales by 7x, and productivity by 66%.

BetterUp – Industry

The global market size of the corporate training and coaching industry was valued at $151.75 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to $487.3 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8%. Corporate coaching involves training and learning activities to empower employees to perform better in the workplace.

The Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted the industry by causing 195 million job losses worldwide. Some companies that still maintain top positions in the corporate coaching and training industry are Skillsoft, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy for Business, Pluralsight, Cornerstone on Demand, and OpenSesame.

BetterUp – Founders and Team

Alexi Robichaux and Eduardo Medina are the co-founders of BetterUp.

Alexi Robichaux

Alexi Robichaux attended the University of Southern California for a B.A. in Political Science and Public & Non-Profit Management. He has been the Partner and CFO at The Glenroe Group, Product Manager at Socialcast, and Director at VMware. At present, Alexi is the Co-founder and CEO of BetterUp.

Eduardo Medina

Eduardo Medina completed a B.S. in Business from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. He is the ex Associate Consultant of Bain 7 Company, Associate of Altamont Capital Partners, and Growth Consultant of Envisions Schools. Now Eduardo is the Co-founder and COO of BetterUp.

BetterUp is a team of over 3,000 coaches, 50+ behavioral scientists, and 500+ employees.

BetterUp – Startup Story

Alexi Robichaux and Eduardo Medina founded BetterUp in 2013. After Alexi’s first startup was acquired, he found himself in an unexpected place. At 25, he became a Fortune 1000 company executive and regularly met with the CEO. At board meetings, he felt like being the court jester among 50, 60-year-old senior leaders. Public speaking was not a big deal for him, but during that period, he felt nauseated as he hoped to make it through without becoming physically ill.

He was pretty discombobulated through that experience and wasn’t caring for himself. Finally, he realized he needed a pause and take time off from work. He read positive psychological books and talked to therapists, but none worked. At last, he went hiking in Spain, and through personal coaching, communicating with colleagues, and endless soul searching, he realized the problem: himself.

Tired of struggling emotionally and physically, Alexi decided to make a change. He wanted to prove to himself and Silicon Valley that it was possible to build a startup without trading between peak performance and taking care of yourself and the people around you. So, he and co-founder Eddie Medina incorporated BetterUp, a coaching platform to connect employees with certified executive coaches who could help them grow their careers.

BetterUp – Mission and Vision

BetterUp’s mission is to help people everywhere pursue their lives with greater clarity, purpose, and passion.

BetterUp – Business Model

Every aspect of the BetterUp experience, including personalized coaching programs, learning content, customized reporting, etc., is scalable across the client’s organization. The company delivers personalized coaching and learning via one-on-one and group experiences aligned with personal and business goals. Its platform runs on the built-in brain power of the leading global behavioral scientists and H.R. thought leaders.

Although BetterUp’s methods are backed by science and powered by technology, its approach is human. It matches employees with the best-in-class coach using A.I. to unlock their potential and improve their performance, purpose, and mental well-being.

BetterUp – Revenue Model

BetterUp generates revenue by charging a fee to customers using their professional and research-driven coaching services.

BetterUp – Products and Services

BetterUp offers two products- Lead and Care, along with Sales Performance, Executive, and Diversity & Inclusion solutions.

8 Reasons Why you need to hire a Business coach in 2021

If you are confused to hire a business coach for yourself. In this article, we have presented 8 reasons why you need a business coach.

Niharika KalyankarStartupTalky

BetterUp – Challenges Faced

In April 2022, BetterUp announced to modify its coaches’ contracts which stirred up a revolt within the company. Two key issues were coaches’ pay and a new rating system influencing coaches’ fees. The company announced a plan to cut the stipend coaches used to research clients, note-taking, and assign activities.

BetterUp – Funding and Investors

Over 7 funding rounds, BetterUp has raised a total of $566.9 million. Series E is the company’s latest funding round and was conducted on October 8, 2021. 25 investors back the company, and the main ones are Mubadala Capital Ventures, Morningside Venture Investments, ICONIQ Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Wellington Management.

BetterUp – Mergers and Acquisitions

BetterUp acquired 2 companies, including Impraise on September 17, 2021, and Motive Software on September 17, 2021.

BetterUp – Growth

In February 2021, BetterUp witnessed a growth in customer base by 80%, with a revenue retention rate of 170%. Moreover, the company reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue later in July 2021.

In the first half of 2021, it achieved an aggressive 2x growth. BetterUp’s valuation grew from $125 million in 2019 to $1.7 billion in February 2021 and $4.7 in October 2021. Furthermore, the company doubled its corporate employee headcount to 500+ in the latter half of 2021.

BetterUp – Partners

BetterUp has partnered with the following:

• Carahsoft Partner
• International Coaching Federation
• Invictus Games Foundation
• U.S. Air Force

BetterUp – Awards and Achievements

BetterUp has won many awards and recognitions, including:

• Great Place to Work and Fortune named one of the 2022 Best Small & Medium Workplaces.
• Won Brandon Hall 2020 Group Gold for Excellence in Technology Award.
• Inc. Magazine included BetterUp on the Annual List of Best Workplaces for 2020.

BetterUp – Competitors

Here listed are BetterUp’s main competitors:

• CoachHub
• Ezra
• AceUp
• Simply.Coach
• Ceresa
• ClientFol.io
• LifeLabs Learning

FAQs

What does BetterUp do?

BetterUp is a mobile-based company delivering transformative coaching experiences to individuals and workforces to drive productivity, engagement, and retention at scale in the companies.

Who are the founders of BetterUp?

Alexi Robichaux and Eduardo Medina are the co-founders of BetterUp.

When was BetterUp founded?

BetterUp was founded in the year 2013.