Bravely, a coaching startup that connects people to on-demand professional coaching, has closed a $15 million Series A funding round.
Telescope Partners led the round, which also counted with participation from existing investors including Primary Ventures, Bling Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Tuesday Fund, and Correlation Ventures. New investor SemperVirens Venture Capital also joined the round.
Bravely is the first coaching platform designed for supporting members of companies of all sizes, allowing them to bring their best life to work. Co-founded by Sarah Sheehan and Toby Hervey, the platform has some of the most highly-vetted coaching networks in the industry. To date, Bravely is used by employees in more than 68 countries and 33 languages at companies, such as Autodesk, Harry’s, Nasdaq, Samsara, Twilio, Yelp, Better Mortgage, Pinterest, Zillow Group, and Nasdaq.
The new funds will be used to expand the startup’s service worldwide, develop new powerful data capabilities to allow an even deeper understanding of individual employee needs, and boost research informing Bravely’s ethical, inclusion-focused use of data, as well as the development of a People Science function at the company.
While the traditional model of coaching has mainly invested in senior-level executives, Bravely provides coaching services to all employees regardless of title, identity, or race. Through Bravely, they have fostered well-being and develop performances that help all employees thrive. Toby Hervey, Co-Founder and CEO at Bravely, referred to this approach by stating:
“Each person’s experience and needs at work are unique, and individual coaching has tremendous power to unlock performance and maximize potential. With our technology-forward approach and scalable pricing model enabling access to coaching for everyone at every level, Bravely is helping companies cultivate cultures of belonging and success.”
When organizations offer Bravely to everyone, they not only scale the support but also transform their cultures in a developing world of work. People from underrepresented groups are participating in the coaching platform’s network at higher rates than senior-level executives, with 61% of courses being joined by women, 45% by people of color, and 12% by LGBTQ+ employees.
