BetterUp Raises $12.9 Million to Increase Happiness at Work by Bringing Executive Coaching to Everyone

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BetterUp, the company making career coaching accessible to all, today announced its official launch and $12.9 million in funding with a Series A led by DFJ with participation from SVAngel, Freestyle and others to meet growing demand. BetterUp works with leading companies, including Facebook, Capital One, Logitech, Square and Deloitte to provide certified, executive-level coaching to employees across the organization. BetterUp helps employees thrive as individuals and grow as leaders, providing companies with a more engaged, confident and productive workforce.

"The companies that have truly differentiated cultures believe in making all their employees the best versions of themselves," said Jessica Amortegui, senior director, learning & development at Logitech. "In today's workplace, there is only so much you can offer from perks and benefits.  Employees who are engaged, passionate and committed need something more; they need to find greater meaning at work. To do this requires a different kind of talent investment -- one that acknowledges and develops the 'whole person.' We couldn't have stood firmly by that ethos and made such an indelible mark on the heart, head and hands of our employees without our BetterUp coaching partnership."

Traditionally executive coaching has been reserved for senior management, leaving everyone else with training and development tools that no longer meet the needs of the modern workforce.  According to a 2016 Bersin by Deloitte study, "Despite substantial efforts by learning professionals, a multibillion dollar leadership development industry, and more than 70 years of leadership research, the overall success by organizations to grow leaders remains dismal." Companies have put a heavy focus on programs such as workshops, classroom trainings and e-learnings that aren't meeting today's professional development needs— contributing to retention issues, leadership struggles and poor performance.

BetterUp takes a different approach to professional development. Focusing on proven methodologies, behavioral science and the human connection with a career coach, BetterUp gives companies a scalable, and affordable way to provide quality coaching to everyone. The result is that employees thrive, develop confidence and self-awareness while honing leadership skills for the long term.

BetterUp's career coaching provides members with:

• Video coaching sessions: Members choose their coach from an extensive network of top tier ICF certified coaches, therapist and psychologists who are experts in behavioral change with  thousands of hours of experience.
• Micro-learnings between sessions: Coaches provide videos, podcasts, readings and exercises in bite-sized learnings that can be accomplished anywhere, anytime.
• On-demand engagement: Members and coaches can message each other between sessions for quick check-ins, questions or a boost of confidence in a difficult situation.
• Meaningful analytics: BetterUp's cutting edge assessments provide behavioral analytics to track key performance behaviors like leadership effectiveness, productivity and happiness.

BetterUp's customers see successful outcomes with employees at all levels of the organization, with many focusing on new managers, high potential employees, new parents and remote workers.

"The most successful companies promise their people more than material compensation and benefits -- focusing instead on meaningful growth, personal fulfillment and enabling employees to be their best," said Fred Kofman, vice president of leadership and organizational development at LinkedIn, author of award-winning book Conscious Business and BetterUp advisor. "BetterUp allows companies to fulfill that promise by creating intimate coaching at scale. Armed with effective tools for productivity and growth, companies can ultimately drive stronger business results with better and happier employees."

"The very best companies are looking for ways to engage their people not just as employees, but as humans because they realize that the best performers and most effective leaders are those who bring their whole person to work," said Alexi Robichaux, BetterUp cofounder and CEO. "At BetterUp, we enable companies to provide employees of all levels access to expert coaches that can help them grow as leaders, by developing the skills that drive personal excellence and professional performance. For the first time, companies can bring coaching outside of the C-suite in a way that's affordable, scalable and data rich, so that they can invest in bottoms-up behavior change across their organization."

"What attracted us to BetterUp is the passion of its founders, paired with an enormous market potential to bring the power of coaching and scalability of mobile software to today's leading companies," said Emily Melton, Partner at DFJ. "Companies spend enormous resources attracting top talent, the next step is to give emerging managers the tools needed to achieve their full potential."

About BetterUp
BetterUp is the first people enablement company that democratizes career coaching to help professionals pursue their lives with clarity, purpose and passion. BetterUp works with leading companies to drive personal and professional growth through proven methodologies and researched techniques from the latest findings in behavioral science and positive psychology. BetterUp coaches professionals, helping them thrive as individuals and inspire as leaders. Founded by Alexi Robichaux and Eddie Medina, BetterUp is venture-backed with lead investor DFJ and headquartered in San Francisco. To learn more, visit www.betterup.co and follow us on Twitter @BetterUp.

Press Contacts:
Rachel Nelson (InkHouse for BetterUp)
(781) 966-4100
[email protected]

SOURCE BetterUp

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http://www.betterup.co