Bravely Lands $15 Million Series A

NEW YORK — Bravely, a technology platform connecting people to on-demand professional coaching and development, has landed a $15 million funding round led by Telescope Partners. Also participating are prior investors Primary Ventures, Bling Capital, Correlation Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, and Tuesday Fund, as well as new investor SemperVirens Venture Capital.

Bravely is used by employees in over 68 countries and 33 languages at companies including Autodesk, Better Mortgage, Harry’s, Nasdaq, Pinterest, Samsara, Twilio, Zillow Group, and Yelp.

“The world of work is undergoing the biggest change we’ve seen in our lifetimes,” says Sarah Sheehan, Co-Founder and President of Bravely. “The competition for talent right now is unprecedented, and there’s more attention than ever on the tools companies offer to support their employees’ growth and development. The choice is: rise to meet the new standards, or lose your most valuable asset, which is your people.”

Bravely is the first coaching platform designed to scale whole-population support for companies of all sizes, and boasts the most highly-vetted coaching network in the industry. With this funding round, Bravely will both expand its global reach and develop powerful new data capabilities, allowing for an even deeper understanding of, and capacity to serve, diverse individual employee needs. In addition to new automation and personalization, this capital will also power research informing Bravely’s ethical, inclusion-focused use of data, as well as developing a People Science function at the company.

“Each person’s experience and needs at work are unique, and individual coaching has tremendous power to unlock performance and maximize potential,” says Toby Hervey, Co-Founder and CEO of Bravely. “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.”

Bravely is redefining the traditional model of coaching, which is heavily invested in senior-level executives, by providing coaching services to all employees regardless of title, identity or race. People from underrepresented groups engage with Bravely at higher rates: 61% of sessions are completed by women, 45% by people of color, and 12% by LGBTQ+ people. The employee-led, action-oriented methodology of Bravely’s coaching drives strong outcomes among these populations, as well. For example, LGBTQ+ employees are more than twice as likely to have sessions about impostor syndrome, and 10% more likely to report feeling more positive about their situation after their coaching session. Bravely represents the future of comprehensive inclusion strategies designed with equity and impact at the core.

Mickey Arabelovic, Founder of Telescope Partners, says, “It’s clear that coaching will soon be a standard aspect of all of our lives at work. Bravely’s innovative model for providing access to everyone at scale is what’s making that future possible. We couldn’t be more proud to be supporting this team and this mission.”