StartEd Alum GoCoach Pays It Forward, Helping Clients Thrive While Growing Its Marketplace with a Diverse Community of Experts
When Kristy McCann Flynn and Rebecca Taylor started GoCoach, U.S. workforce development averages were already at an all time low and presented an opportunity--then the COVID-19 pandemic hit
Company Background
In 2018, human resources veterans Flynn and Taylor knew U.S. workforce development benchmarks were at an all-time low:
10% of employees possess core leadership skills
70% of the average team is not actively engaged at work
45% of job seekers leave a job for skill development.
They believed an entirely new approach in workforce development was needed: bring together a remote community network of leading coaches and deliver training programs virtually, so they founded GoCoach in April of 2018.
GoCoach’s approach involves three steps: first, analyze a client’s problem areas and overarching goals to provide a coaching plan, second, match a client team with a personal coach based on company goals and individual preferences, and third coaches measure employee progress and milestones throughout the program…
Two Key Challenges: How to Get Started as First Time Founders and Quickly Pivot to Help Clients Face a Pandemic
As first-time co-founders, Flynn and Taylor realized there was a lot to learn about how to start and grow a company, but didn’t have three months to spend in a traditional accelerator program. They also needed a program that featured workforce development experts.
StartEd’s 5-day Hyper Accelerator program helped them not only learn the usual ‘Startup 101’ skills: sales, funding, positioning, and formulating a go-to market strategy.
But the program also featured a few surprise elements that proved invaluable: gaining confidence from individualized attention, ongoing support from world-class experts, and learning alongside a diverse cohort of founders from across the globe.
But it hasn’t all been easy. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic presented GoCoach and its clients with an entirely new set of challenges: preserving revenue, hiring remotely, and retaining employees.
“Every single time we have a conversation with our StartEd advisor we learn something new and invaluable-- that’s led to a lot of our success.”
The Solution: Pay it Forward
Taylor and Flynn made a bold decision, bolstered by the confidence and advice from their StartEd advisors: provide all their services in a virtual manner and revenue-free for two consecutive quarters.
GoCoach’s ‘pay it forward’ strategy, while seemingly counterintuitive to survival, ended up paying off handsomely, helping GoCoach retain its existing clients and fueling growth from new clients by amplifying GoCoach’s brand and central mission: it’s all about education, no matter what.
Now approaching its 3-year mark since StartEd graduation, GoCoach has grown its network to include over 300 coaches, several strategic partnership agreements, and four key practice areas: e-learning, virtual e- training, and badging and certification.
What the Team Said About StartEd
“The StartEd Hyper Accelerator is just like a startup school, except school doesn’t end with graduation. The StartEd community is always there to turn to when you need critical advice or support.”
“The StartEd program has given us the confidence to make tough decisions, like turning down funding from an investor that didn’t value our need to build a diverse board.”
“Every single time we have a conversation with our StartEd advisor we learn something new and invaluable-- that’s led to a lot of our success.”