Is Coaching Platform BetterUp Publicly Traded?

 BetterUp is a mental health startup founded in 2013. The company provides coaching to help guide individuals and organizations towards greater fulfillment and success. Some companies that have used BetterUp include Airbnb, AppDynamics, Instacart, Twilio, and Workday.  

 In February, BetterUp conducted a Series D funding round of $125 million, giving the company a $1.73 billion valuation. Currently, the company isn’t publicly traded, although chief executive Alexi Robichaux has said the company aims to go public with an IPO eventually.   

BetterUp is gaining a new Chief Impact Officer, Prince Harry. In a company introduction to him and the position, Prince Harry stated his goal is "to lift up critical dialogues around mental health, build supportive and compassionate communities, and foster an environment for honest and vulnerable conversations." 

The Wall Street Journal reported that the title of chief impact officer is more common in nonprofits than the corporate world. 

 BetterUp offers individual coaching and organizational coaching to help people reach their maximum potential. There are options for dedicated one-on-one coaching; on-demand coaching for immediate needs; and specialized coaching tailored to areas such as nutrition, sleep, or diversity.  

 BetterUp coaching helps people to clarify their professional goals, identify strengths, gain confidence, and make career changes. For organizations, BetterUp says that it can offer up to 31 percent improvement in team performance and 52 percent lower levels of burnout.  

 CEO Alexi Robichaux said in February that helping customers manage stress and anxiety became a huge company focus during the coronavirus pandemic. He also noted that customers are often new parents or in new management roles.

 BetterUp operates on the guidance of aiming to help the whole person, not just the employee. By “giving individuals the tools they need to thrive in all aspects of their lives,” the company says it helps build stronger organizations and teams because each person within those teams gains mental health. 

 BetterUp coaches work 100 percent remotely and have flexibility to select their working hours. The pay rate for its coaches is not specified on the company website.  

 BetterUp competes with multiple other companies that offer similar leadership training and coaching. A few of BetterUp’s competitors are LEORON Professional Development Institute, Pluma, Everwise, and SpringPeople. Pluma, for example, also offers online professional coaching. Everwise develops software for mentoring programs.  

 Emily Melton is a manager at Threshold, one of BetterUp’s investors. She noted at the time of the Series D round that more people are beginning to recognize the importance of mental health and said there’s room in the mental health space for more than one multibillion-dollar company.  

 BetterUp is a privately held company. Therefore, it’s not available for investing on the stock market exchanges.  

 The latest funding round led by Iconiq Growth brought in $125 million. Other new investors involved were Salesforce Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, and Mubadala Capital. Existing investors participating included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Threshold Ventures, and Plus Capital.  

 When discussing the firm’s recent $125 million Series D funding round, CEO Alexi Robichaux mentioned the company’s intent to go public eventually. However, he did not mention a specific timeline for a BetterUP IPO.