CoachHub brings total funding to $50M to democratise coaching worldwide

CoachHub raises additional $30M from Draper Esprit, HV Capital, Partech and other investors

• New financing will enable the two-year-old startup to expand its offering to over 2,000 coaches in over 100 countries and over 70 languages
• It also plans to expand the team from 180 to 300 employees across Europe, Asia and the US by the end of 2021
• CoachHub supports companies in implementing personalised coaching for every employee via a global coach pool and an AI-enabled platform. Its mission is to make coaching accessible to all employees at every level

London, UK - Thursday 17 December 2020 - Digital coaching platform CoachHub has secured new financing of $30 million (approx. €25 million) led by new investor Draper Esprit, alongside existing investors HV Capital, Partech, Speedinvest, signals Venture Capital and RTP Global. This latest round brings the total funds raised to $50 million following the company’s $20 million funding round in late 2019. 

CoachHub, which uses AI to match individuals to business coaches, has seen significant growth since it was founded in 2018 by brothers Yannis and Matti Niebelschuetz. In just two years the team has created a global network of more than 1000 certified coaches across six continents, making CoachHub the fastest growing European company in this sector. 

CoachHub will use the new funds to accelerate its growth in the digital coaching market, with plans to add 1000 coaches to its network and make 120 new hires across Europe, Asia and the US, which would bring the team to 300. 

The team also has plans to develop its think tank “Coaching Lab”, which uses machine learning technology and business intelligence to drive behaviour research and development in the field of coaching; it also offers expert contributions and tools to support the development of employees. Members of the Coaching Lab include some of the leading European professors, psychologists, coaches, researchers and learning experts, and partners include leading institutions, such as the British Psychological Society, Henley Business School and Harvard Business Publishing. 

CoachHub has acquired clients ranging from large corporations, such as Generali and Bosch Rexroth, to tech startups like SoundCloud and HelloFresh. Most recently it signed up BNP Paribas and SumUp. Since the pandemic outbreak, the company has also offered a CoachHub4Good initiative, whereby employees at aid organisations, such as the United Nations in Lebanon, Iraq and South Sudan, are supported with free coaching.

How CoachHub’s platform works:

Companies can invite employees to join the digital coaching platform, where an AI-based matching system recommends three business coaches who meet the individual requirements of the employee. Coach and coachee communicate directly via the CoachHub app on smartphone or desktop. Coaching typically takes place via bi-weekly video calls, and e-learning assignments are available for personal development. Employees have round-the-clock access to their coach via an integrated chat function. Coaches cover a range of disciplines, including time and stress management, resilience and leadership skills while remote working.

Yannis Niebelschütz, co-founder and chief marketing and sales director, CoachHub: 

“The pandemic has triggered a huge surge in digital solutions for training and personal development. Company leaders and HR professionals are desperately looking for support as they move more of their operations online. With this new funding, we can continue to meet the enormous demand whilst significantly expanding our network.”

Matti Niebelschütz, co-founder and chief delivery officer, CoachHub: 

"We are experiencing a step-change in the world of work. It has been shown that consistent, personalised coaching has a noticeable, positive impact on employee performance. Our customers see measurable results through digital coaching in the form of higher employee retention rates and satisfaction. Our data supports this: 80% of employees using CoachHub have reported reduced stress by an average of 18%."

“The dependence of traditional formats for personal coaching sessions, which are inflexible, time consuming and unscalable, has made coaching inaccessible to everyone but the highest executives. We are changing the coaching landscape and democratising access to business coaching. Our vision is to make coaching available to people at all career levels worldwide." 

Christoph Hornung, investment director at Draper Esprit: 

"If 2020 has shown us anything, it's that the future of work will look very different to what we expect and can change faster than anyone thinks possible. CoachHub's technology is helping some of the world’s top companies transform today to be ready for tomorrow. We are delighted to be backing CoachHub and we’re excited by their potential scale."

David Kuczek, general partner at HV Capital:

“Digital coaching is a future billion-dollar market. Due to the pandemic, this area has now picked up speed even more rapidly. The demand is huge. We see CoachHub as the clear global industry leader. The team's performance in building the network and the platform is impressive."

About CoachHub

CoachHub is a leading global digital coaching platform for personalised, measurable, scalable coaching programs and sustainable behaviour change. Businesses of all sizes benefit from improved employee engagement, higher productivity and employee retention through the platform. The global CoachHub pool consists of over 1000+ certified business coaches in 60 countries on six continents. CoachHub is supported by Europe's leading technology investors, including Draper Esprit, HV Capital, Partech, RTP Global, signals Venture Capital and Speedinvest. CoachHub was recognised in this year's Gartner Hype Cycle for HumanCapital Management Technology as a leader in the category for coaching / mentoring applications, achieving a "high" benefit rating.

For more information, visit www.coachhub.com

About Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is a global venture capital firm that invests in high-growth European technology companies. It is listed on the AIM market (GROW) and the ESM segment of the Irish Stock Exchange. 

Draper Esprit invests in high growth technology companies with global ambitions. One of the most active VC firms in Europe by capital deployed, the firm has completed 125 deals since 2006, invests approx. £120m per year and now has a market cap of over $1 billion USD. 

Draper Esprit’s portfolio of privately-owned tech companies is worth over £700m, and includes well-known tech brands such as Trustpilot, Transferwise and Revolut, as well as the next generation of Europe’s global champions like UiPath, Graphcore and ICEYE.

Founded in 2006 as Esprit Capital, the company rebranded as Draper Esprit in 2015 as the main European hub, after joining a network set up by the Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper. The firm has offices in London and Dublin, and is part of the Draper Venture Network, a global community of 24 independent funds.

About HV Capital

HV Capital has been investing in internet and technology companies through various generations of funds since 2000, and is one of the most successful early-stage and growth investors in Europe. HV Capital has invested in more than 200 companies including Zalando, Delivery Hero, FlixMobility and Scalable Capital. The managed and advised assets of all HV funds amount to €1.7 billion. HV Capital supports start-ups with capital between €500,000 and €50 million, making it one of the few venture capitalists in Europe which are able to finance start-ups at all growth phases.

About Partech

With a portfolio of almost 180 companies spread across 30 countries in Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia, Partech has been one of the leading international investors helping visionary founders for almost 40 years. The Partech team – made up of both former entrepreneurs and executives from 15 different countries – brings capital, experience, strategic support, and networks to entrepreneurs at every stage of development: seed, venture, and growth. With over €1.5B under management, Partech invests from €200K to €50M in B2B and B2C technologies reshaping industries. Companies backed by Partech have completed more than 21 IPOs and more than 50 strategic M&A transactions valued over $100M.

About RTP Global

RTP Global is a Venture Capital firm focused on early-stage technology investments. It supports young companies from various industries with strategic know-how and a broad global network. RTP Global has invested in 90 companies founded in more than 10 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. Five early-stage investments became multi-billion public companies: Yandex, EPAM, Delivery Hero, RingCentral, and Datadog. 

RTP Global was founded in 2000 under the name ru-Net by serial entrepreneur Leonid Boguslavsky, who has a PhD in Computer Science. He developed one of the first IT integration companies in Russia, which he subsequently sold to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

RTP Global has offices in New York, Moscow and Bangalore.

About Speedinvest

Speedinvest is a European venture capital fund with €400M+ AUM and more than 40 investment professionals working from Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Vienna and San Francisco. Employing a sector-focused investment structure, we fund innovative early-stage technology startups in the areas of Fintech, Digital Health, Consumer Tech, Network Effects, Deep Tech and Industrial Tech. Speedinvest actively deploys its global network and dedicated team of in-house operational experts to support our 170+ portfolio companies, including with US market expansion.

About signals Venture Capital

signals Venture Capital is a financially oriented €100 million venture capital fund, backed by one of Germany's leading insurance companies. The team invests in promising, sector-agnostic, scalable tech solutions with the potential to accelerate or disrupt the transformation of entire industries. signals Venture Capital focuses on B2B business models in Seed and Series A stages in Europe, especially enterprise technology. The portfolio companies benefit not only from classic venture capital support, but also from the extensive signals ecosystem, comprising renowned German and European partners, industry experts and diverse distribution channels.

Press contact 

Ballou PR, coachhub@balloupr.com, +44 7881 997 094 

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