Monark – a SaaS platform that offers on-demand leadership development for a new generation – recently announced it has closed a $1.5M seed financing round. This funding round was led by Storytime Capital, with participation from The51, Archangel, and UCeed.
Launched in 2020 by organizational psychologists Kelsey Hahn, MSc, and Amanda Julian, PhD, Monark is transforming a market plagued by overpriced and outdated solutions that train leaders many years too late. Utilizing cutting-edge leadership research, the platform taps into generative AI and ML-powered personalization to offer interactive leadership training and individual performance optimization for new leaders and first-time managers who disproportionately impact company performance.
Monark supercharges learning, productivity, and effectiveness with proprietary five-minute micro lessons developed by top leaders and scientists, combined with real-time assessments and insights, live cohort-based learning, and a robust digital platform with behavioral nudges and automated feedback. And with Monark, critical middle managers are moving and learning faster, accelerating both their development and their teams’ performance.
This funding round comes as the company tripled revenue year-over-year, with all growth driven by referrals and word-of-mouth. And the enthusiasm for the Monark platform derives from its clear return on investment for its customers: achieving 96% completion rates and driving lower turnover, helping companies to save $136,000 per person.
Plus, this round of funding will power strategic marketing efforts and product development, including AI/ML integrations and gamification features, and as expansion into the US market.
KEY QUOTES:
“Today we use tech to optimize all areas of our lives, yet leadership development has remained stagnant. With coaching reserved for C-Suite executives, and existing tools showing poor completion rates and low engagement, we knew there was a better way. We’re helping leaders enhance their performance 3x as fast by giving them exactly what they need, when they need it.”
— Kelsey Hahn, Co-founder and CEO of Monark
“The Monark platform is a vital tool for companies to turn their managers into leaders and then empower those leaders to skate to where the puck is going. Just as the entire notion of ‘work’ is rapidly changing, Monark recognizes that leadership must change too. This makes it a great fit for Storytime’s commitment to support the transformation of the future of work.”
— Neil Grunberg, Managing Partner at Storytime Capital
“While tech will see the automation of many work tasks, it will never replace the need for effective human leadership; in fact, it will make high-quality leadership even more vital. Monark’s early success shows it has the power to rescue organizations from ineffective leaders with a tool designed for a new generation of workers.”
— Amanda Julian, Monark’s Co-founder and Chief Science Officer
