Digital coaching platform CoachHub raises €10m to expand in Europe

12 Nov 2019

Image: © fizkes/Stock.adobe.com

CoachHub plans to expand across various parts of Europe and invest further in its Coaching Lab.

Today (12 November), Berlin-founded start-up CoachHub announced that it has raised €10m, bringing the total raised by the company to €16m.

The start-up has developed a platform that “democratises coaching” by enabling access to employees at all career levels, offering coaching services that are traditionally only provided for top executives.

The latest round of investment came from existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Partech and Speedinvest, as well as new investor RTP Global. The company raised €6m just three months ago.

CoachHub plans to use the funding to accelerate the platform’s growth, expanding its global pool of coaches in the UK alongside other core European markets such as France, Germany, southern Europe, Benelux and the Nordics.

As well as fuelling expansion, the funding will be used to further develop the company’s Coaching Lab, which it describes as “a think tank that drives behavioural research and development in the coaching space”.

CoachHub’s platform

The Coaching Lab provides a repository of insights and tools to support the development of people being coached on the platform, with the aim of helping these users optimise their workplace performance. There are contributions from European professors, psychologists, coaches and researchers.

The start-up was launched in 2018 by brothers and serial entrepreneurs Yannis and Matti Niebelschuetz. The business now employs 75 and plans to grow that figure to 200 by mid-2020, which will include a sales team of 120 people. The company plans to hire 20 people across sales, marketing and operations in the UK.

Besides the company’s core employees, it also has 400 certified coaches from six continents offering their services on CoachHub in more than 30 languages.

The market for digital coaching

Yannis Niebelschuetz, who acts as managing director, said: “Our customers are seeing measurable results in terms of increased rates or employee retention and happiness.

“Regular, tailored coaching sessions have been shown to have a positive impact on business and employee performance. However, the reliance of traditional format on in-person coaching sessions, which are inflexible, time-consuming and unscalable, has kept coaching out of reach for all but the most senior staff.

“We are fundamentally disrupting the learning and development landscape and democratising access to business coaching.”

David Kuczek, general partner at HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, said: “Digital coaching has become a billion-dollar market that’s increasing year on year, and we see CoachHub as the clear category leader in Europe. We’re really impressed by the team’s execution in building this platform and the rapid customer traction it’s gained since last year.”

Kelly Earley was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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