Coaching platform Leland has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures with participation from GSV ventures to grow its platform geared toward matching coaches and aspirants to fulfill goals ranging from getting into a university to passing an entrance exam and excelling at product management. The company aims to build better tools for coaches to create content, manage their schedules and build out its enterprise offering.
The startup was founded in 2021 by John Koelliker, a former product manager at marketplaces including Uber and LinkedIn. It has raised $17.1 million in funding to date with investors including Goodwater, FJ Labs, Next Play Ventures, and a few LinkedIn executives.
Since the company raised its last round in 2022, it has experienced steady growth, with its revenue increasing fourfold in the past year. The company said it had conducted over 50,000 coaching sessions on the platform in the last 12 months. Leland currently has more than 100,000 users from 70 countries who are accessing coaching, courses, and events.
Koelliker noted that the company didn’t need to raise the money as it was cashflow positive. However, it raised funds because the business was hitting an inflection point. The startup felt it had to invest more to grow.
Building a strong coaching supply
The platform has more than 1,000 coaches across different categories. The startup says most of these coaches come to them organically after a friend or a family member tells them about the platform.
“We still have 75% organic growth because there is so much sharing within friends, family, and users’ networks. One of the counterintuitive things with Leland is that we have everything from dental school admission to software engineering coaching. While these are different paths, coaches in different sectors are often tightly networked, and that helps us build a strong su …