We are this month thrilled to announce our newest Early-Stage investment: Simundia. This $10m round will enable the Paris-based company to further democratize coaching at scale, and to continue investing into Artificial Intelligence to provide bespoke training, first focusing on soft skills.
We have been active investors in HR Tech over the last few years (Phenom People, Zenjob, Jobble, Hackajob) and have been looking to invest in the training space for quite some time. Yet existing training solutions often face challenges to differentiate (e.g. on content) as well as to foster adoption (am I the only one not to make a good-enough use of LinkedIn Learning ?!). All this, coupled with an unprecedented change in work environments / management methods worldwide (boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic and remote work), helped us build our conviction on the need for easy, affordable and personalized training at scale. What better than coaching to answer such challenges? This is where Simundia comes into play.
1) The right product for democratizing coaching at scale
Usually seen as ‘elitist’ – only reserved to Top Executives – or associated with a negative connotation – ‘you really need coaching on this!’, soft-skills coaching has a lot to bring to the middle management. Yet its deployment within companies (both enterprise but also smaller structures) have been hindered by the lack of scalable solutions and by cost constraints.
Simundia’s 100% digital offering and unique methodology enables to deploy coaching campaigns at scale to employees in 30+ countries, thanks to a network of 200+ certified coaches. By automating the definition of coaching needs and providing asynchronous communication as well as a library of curated content, Simundia’s platform goes far beyond digitalizing traditional coaching sessions. Continued investment in Tech and artificial intelligence will further increase the value-add for coaches, coachees and companies alike.
2) Tremendous market for coaching
Training budgets are huge, yet most of existing solutions are highly inefficient. On the other hand, when looking at the coaching industry, there is a massive unbalance between supply (20k+ certified coaches in Europe alone) and demand from companies. As a marketplace and provider of coaching solutions, Simundia appeals to the coach community through a unique value-add centered around training, peer learning, access to a diversified client base and full-flexibility.
With more and more attention paid to the work-life balance and quality-of-work (French QVT ‘Qualité de Vie au Travail’), Simundia is also able to offer thematic coaching adapted to the latest trends.
3) Solid team and execution
Simundia co-founders really stroke us as very complementary: CEO Grégoire rigour and analytical mindset is well-complemented by COO Colombe down-to-earth and compassionate approach. Having evolved in both start-ups (Rocket Internet) and consulting firms (BCG, Roland Berger), the founding duo combines unique business skills with deep training / psychology know-how. They also managed to onboard early-on prestigious subject-matter experts as advisors, both on the coaching and e-learning / training side.
Very ambitious, the co-founders have also proven their ability to grow quickly by remaining cash-efficient. With this new round, Simundia has all the assets to build on its leader position in France and further expand in Europe.
We are pleased to welcome Simundia to the AVP family, as well as to share the journey with Educapital and historical investors! Start your coaching journey now at www.simundia.com.
