This founder wants to take on the biggest coaching startups with a group-centric approach

Nishika de Rosairo, founder and CEO of HumanQ, has a vision of employee coaching that is at odds with some of the biggest and most valuable startups. Instead of one-on-one coaching, which venture-backed companies like BetterUp and Sounding Board offer to employees and managers, HumanQ wants to make group coaching an impactful alternative.

"We believe that the growth of organizations and individuals is not about the agenda of the individual and what they need; it is about the agenda of the organization versus groups of people who are going to have to work together," she said.

The collective mindset bet won HumanQ a $2 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from angel investors including Toast CFO Elena Gomez, Natus Medical CHRO Lisa Paul and Google Director of Engineering Dinesh Chahlia. De Rosairo declined to provide the company's assessment, but said it was ultimately "really excellent and fair". This is the company's first tranche of capital after more than three years of construction.

Just two years ago, career coaching wasn't necessarily a hot industry, but as the rise of remote working, the Great Resignation and the Great Reset create a perfect storm that leaves employees seeking direction (and employers seeking retention), it's no surprise to see yet another play in space.

The main argument in favor of individual coaching is personalization. If your employer can dedicate a coach who focuses solely on ways to better support and grow your career, that can be a strong support mechanism that builds energy — and a savvy retention tool. The time commitment varies from 6 to 36 hours over a year in a given contract.

"Even though coaching companies are springing up like mushrooms, they all [do] the same thing: coaching one-on-one and in a way that doesn't meet the needs of the organization the way we do," said by Rosairo. BetterUp, in 2020, launched a group coaching platform called "Coaching Circles".

She argues that the company's bet on the group helps build mindset, break down functional and geographic silos, recreate a cooler conversation; all of which could foster teamwork, inclusion and innovation. The startup claims that 94% of participants in their programs feel more engaged as a result. HumanQ has delivered over 16,000 hours of coaching to over 2,000 users, representing 280% growth between 2020 and 2021.

HumanQ is a structured marketplace, meaning employers pay coaches after supporting clients. The start-up claims to have generated cash flow since its launch, but, when asked if it was profitable, said "the focus has been on putting funds back into R&D".

A potential challenge for HumanQ is one that is synonymous with all group-focused work: how do you create a safe space that balances vulnerability with membership and professionalism? De Rosairo says the company is very specific in how it hires coaches, with screening to ensure they can navigate individual personalities, create psychological safety and support confidentiality.

They need the "means of balancing the needs of the individual with those of the group and any tension points that might exist, particularly when doing work [that can become] passionate and difficult." It's a difficult balance to strike, but one that the startup feels confident about scaling. Currently, all coaches work with HumanQ on a contractor basis – great for flexibility, but challenging when considering historical turnover with employment status.

About 95% of coaches on the platform have some sort of certification, de Rosairo said they don't need to be certified to join HumanQ. Instead, she says they need to prove they have work and industry experience in various scenarios to consider. The company is testing a direct-to-consumer version of its product this year, but started by selling direct to businesses because that's where it noticed the most shortcomings.

The pitch is enough to win the trust of companies like Microsoft, VMware, Chobani, Accenture and Gojek, all HumanQ customers.