LearnUpon was founded on a belief: learning should be simple, and its impact should be big. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LearnUpon co-founder and CEO Brendan Noud to learn more about the company.
Brendan Noud’s Background
What is Brendan Noud’s background? Noud said:
“I’m the co-founder and CEO of LearnUpon, a learning management system that helps businesses deliver impactful learning to their employees and customers. Before starting LearnUpon, I worked at WBT Systems, an Irish-founded LMS provider, where I had the opportunity to explore various roles, from account management to project management and business analysis, before transitioning to the sales team.”
“It was a fantastic learning experience. In sales, I really got to understand what organizations were looking for in a learning solution. When the company wasn’t keen on developing products to meet those needs, I decided to take the leap and create something that would.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Noud shared:
“With over 20 years of experience in the LMS industry, it became clear to me what was missing in the learning tech space. Des Anderson, my co-founder, and I launched LearnUpon in 2012, with a shared belief that learning can truly make an impact on businesses when done right. However, we saw that learning platforms were not providing the experience that teams and their learners needed to unlock that impact.”
“That’s when we decided to focus on building a solution that made it easy to create, deliver, and measure learning programs while ensuring the platform was intuitive and engaging for learners and that every customer received the support they needed at every stage of their journey.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Noud reflected:
“I have so many great memories at LearnUpon—it’s hard to pick just one! Moments like signing our very first customer, celebrating our 1,000th customer, and reaching the milestone of 100 employees stand out.”
“But if I had to choose, one of the most meaningful milestones for me was our first customer conference, LearnUpon Connect. Since day one, we’ve aspired to be more than just a software provider. Our goal has always been to create a community where learning leaders could come together, collaborate, and grow. Hosting a conference was a dream we’d had from the start.”
“Although the pandemic delayed our plans, we launched LearnUpon Connect in 2022, and it was everything we’d hoped for and more. It was incredible to meet our customers face-to-face, share valuable insights, and finally see that sense of community we’d envisioned come to life.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Noud explained:
“LearnUpon makes it easy for businesses to create, manage, deliver, and track all their learning programs with a powerful yet user-friendly set of features. You can build courses using our intuitive authoring tools and AI, streamline processes with automated user management, and connect seamlessly with your favorite systems like HRIS and CRMs. Plus, features like gamification keep learners engaged, and our customizable reports help you see the real impact of your training.”
“What makes LearnUpon truly special is how versatile it is. You can use it to deliver learning to all your key audiences—whether it’s customers, employees, or partners. With our learning portals, you can create impactful programs for customer onboarding, employee development, and even driving overall business growth. It’s all about helping you use learning to achieve big results, easily and effectively.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Noud and the team face in building the company? Noud acknowledged:
“Talent retention and overall engagement are some recent challenges I’ve seen in the industry. A lot of people arel working remotely, and as a remote-first company, we have found that it has a big impact on company culture. There are a lot of benefits in remote work, and people have gotten very used to that. However, we’ve noticed our industry needs stronger retention. Businesses are struggling to keep top talent and the reason is that they are not being given the chance to grow. Engagement and skill development can address these challenges directly. They play an important role in career potential and development. Organizations have to create opportunities within in order to keep their best people. At LearnUpon, we’ve tried to do that, having employees continuously develop skills and move from support roles into development, product, and many other different roles. I think a lot of companies are trying to do the same to retain their best people.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Noud noted:
“When LearnUpon first launched, our target audience was more focused and niche, primarily serving smaller organizations within the training industry that needed a platform to deliver courses to their customer base. At that time, we stood out for our unique ability to help these organizations create branded portals and easily license their online content. It was an exciting time as we recognized the power of our product for businesses looking to deliver tailored learning experiences.”
“However, as we developed our platform and listened to the needs of our customers, it became clear that LearnUpon’s value extended far beyond just the training industry. We began to see how businesses of all sizes could benefit from a user-friendly learning platform that enabled them to train their employees and customers.”
“Today, LearnUpon serves over 1,500 customers and supports 20 million users worldwide, helping organizations deliver high-impact learning experiences to employees and customers alike.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Noud cited:
“Alongside our signature event, LearnUpon Connect, we’re also incredibly proud of the recognition we’ve received through award wins, especially those achieved in collaboration with our customers. For over 10 years, we’ve consistently been honored with awards from Brandon Hall Group and eLearning Industry, highlighting the outstanding functionality of our LMS. Most recently, we were thrilled to be named a Leader in Corporate LMS and Customer Education in the G2 Fall Report. These awards are a testament to the value we create alongside our customers, and they not only validate the hard work our team puts in but also motivate us to continue pushing boundaries and driving innovation in the LMS space.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Noud affirmed:
“What sets LearnUpon apart is our philosophy of being a true partner to our customers. From the moment they sign up, each customer is assigned their own implementation specialist to guide them through the launch of LearnUpon. Once they’re up and running, our Customer Success team works closely with them, offering advice and ensuring they’re getting the results they expect from our solution.”
“Our approach goes beyond just providing software. We prioritize building strong, collaborative relationships with our customers, helping them achieve their goals through our platform. This commitment to partnership is supported by our product’s ease of use and ability to engage learners effectively. We simplify the process for businesses by offering a single, comprehensive solution that covers everything from development and management to reporting. It’s this combination of personalized support and a user-friendly product that truly sets LearnUpon apart.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Noud concluded:
“We have a big focus on scaling our go-to-market and overall growth. Since the start of the new financial year, we’ve made a significant shift by implementing a full territory model, marking a major change from how we’ve sold in the past. This transition has involved a lot of effort in breaking out and structuring these territories, and executing on our global sales goals is now a top priority.”
“In addition to scaling, we’re focused on expanding our product offerings. We’re working on building out our existing packages by integrating more of our embedded learning products and expanding our content offerings. While this is still in its early stages, it’s a key part of our growth strategy and something we’re excited to develop further.”
“Lastly, we’re looking to continue our growth trajectory by expanding beyond the U.S. market, where we’ve primarily focused until now. We’re putting significant effort into growing our presence in EMEA and Australia. Three years ago, we set up our Salt Lake City sales team with a key focus on these regions, and our Dublin team is now focusing more on EMEA expansion. These three priorities—scaling globally, expanding our product suite, and continuing to grow our presence in new regions—are at the forefront of our plans for this year.”
