Torch Leadership Labs Startup Case Study: Redefining Leadership Development

At the core of every thriving company are leaders who do more than issue directives—they chart the path to success.

But what happens when those leaders lose direction, or when their vision drifts from the company’s mission? The result is simple: chaos.

Now, picture a transformative coaching platform designed to realign leaders with clarity, confidence, and purpose. A space where expert coaching meets immersive practice and AI-driven insights—shaping adaptable, future-ready leaders who move in step with business goals.

The name of this platform?

Torch Leadership Labs

Torch Leadership Labs is an active startup that combines digital learning, mentoring, and personalized coaching to transform leadership development within organizations. By focusing on fundamental leadership capacities and organizational context, it aims to cultivate effective and enduring leadership cultures.

Company Status: Active

Founding Year: 2017

Headquarters: San Francisco, United States

Industry: Educational Services

Business Model

Type: B2B, One-sided, Product &Service

• Clients: Organizations prioritizing leadership development. This includes mid-level managers, executives, entrepreneurs, and team leaders seeking growth. Companies that value a strong leadership culture, employee retention, and engagement.
• Suppliers: Expert leadership coaches and AI coaching technology providers like Praxis Labs.

It’s Like: Coursera but with a Built-in Accountability and Motivation Layer

Torch Leadership Labs provides a platform for professional development with a twist. While platforms like Coursera focus primarily on delivering digital courses, Torch integrates digital learning with personalized mentoring and coaching. This approach addresses a key challenge in online learning: motivating students and increasing completion rates.

Additional differences include:

• Target Audience: Coursera caters to a broad audience seeking various skills and knowledge, while Torch focuses specifically on leadership development within organizations.
• Delivery Method: Coursera primarily relies on self-paced digital courses, while Torch combines digital learning with personalized mentoring and coaching sessions, both individual and group.
• Pricing: Coursera typically charges a fee for individual courses, while Torch operates on a B2B model, providing its platform and services to organizations.

Key Challenges Addressed

• Lack of Contextual Development: Traditional leadership training often fails to connect individual growth with the specific needs and challenges of an organization.
• Unsustainable Skill-Building: Many programs focus on short-term skill acquisition rather than building fundamental leadership capacities needed for long-term success.
• Ineffective Feedback Mechanisms: Organizations often lack actionable insights into leadership trends and areas for improvement, hindering their ability to foster a strong leadership culture.
• Difficulty in Finding Experienced Guidance: Access to high-quality coaching from individuals with both business acumen and coaching expertise can be limited.

How Torch Solves These Challenges

• Contextual Coaching: Torch aligns leadership development with the specific culture, goals, and challenges of each organization, ensuring relevance and impact.
• Development of Fundamental Capacities: The platform focuses on developing essential leadership qualities, including adaptability, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence, enabling leaders to navigate complex situations effectively.
• Data-Driven Insights: Torch’s platform provides real-time feedback and identifies organizational trends from coaching conversations, enabling data-driven leadership development decisions.
• Access to Experienced Coaches: Torch connects organizations with a network of vetted coaches who possess both extensive business experience and proven coaching expertise.

Founding Story

When and How: Torch Leadership Labs was founded in 2017 by Cameron Yarbrough and Keegan Walden, Ph.D.

Problem Experienced: As executive coaches, they saw the limitations of traditional coaching methods and the need for a more impactful and scalable approach to leadership development in a rapidly changing business world

Founders’ Background:

• Cameron Yarbrough: Has 20 years of experience in psychotherapy and mindfulness. He was an interpersonal dynamics facilitator at Stanford Graduate School of Business, building an executive coaching practice for high-profile leaders.
• Keegan Walden, Ph.D.: Experience in behavioral science and leadership assessments. Keegan holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University and a BA from Yale. He is committed to antiracism and leads educational courses related to this cause.

Why They Started: They aimed to redefine leadership development by focusing on building fundamental leadership capacities and aligning personal growth with organizational context and goals.

Solution: They developed a platform that combines personalized coaching, mentoring, and digital learning, with emphasis on contextual coaching and data-driven insights.

Challenges: Early challenges included scaling personalized leadership coaching across diverse organizations and effectively tracking impact.

First Results: Securing high-profile enterprise clients such as LinkedIn, Twitch, Zendesk, Gilead Sciences, T-Mobile, and Atrium, and scaling personalized coaching programs through a technology-enabled platform.

Growth: They grew through strategic partnerships such as the merger with Everwise in 2020 and securing funding rounds; these contributed to expanding the platform’s capabilities.

Innovation and Technology: Torch Leadership Labs uses advanced AI-powered technology combined with immersive simulations and data analytics. This technology offers real-time, adaptive coaching experiences that personalize leadership development at scale.

Key Growth Milestones

• 2017: Torch Leadership Labs is founded.
• 2019: Secures $10 million in Series A funding.
• 2020: Merges with Everwise, expanding its platform to include mentoring and digital learning.
• 2021: Raises $25 million in Series B funding.
• 2022: Raises $40 million in Series C funding.
• 2025: Acquires Praxis Labs to accelerate their AI product roadmap, capabilities, and impact.

Market & Competition

Target Market

Geography: Torch’s primary market is the United States, with potential for global expansion.

Industry Focus:

• Technology companies with a strong presence, indicated by current clients such as Reddit, Zendesk, Twitch, FICO, and Zynga.
• High-growth companies.
• Enterprises seeking to develop leadership pipelines and foster a strong leadership culture.

Specific Segments:

• Mid-level managers.
• Seasoned executives.
• Entrepreneurs.
• Team leaders.
• Individuals transitioning into leadership roles.
• Organizations prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives.

Market Size and Growth:

• Global leadership development market:
  • Estimated at USD 93.99 billion to USD 106.57 billion in 2024.
  • Projected to reach USD 103.56 billion to USD 117.46 billion by 2025.
  • Expected to grow from USD 161.10 billion to USD 282.00 billion by 2030.
  • CAGR of 9.24% to 10.2% between 2025 and 2034
• Corporate leadership training market:
  • Estimated at USD 43.57 billion in 2025.
  • Projected to reach USD 64.82 billion by 2030.
  • CAGR of 8.27% between 2025 and 2030.
• Fastest-growing market: Asia Pacific.
• Largest market share: North America.

Number of suppliers: over 6,000 mentors and coaches.

Potential New Markets:

• Global expansion, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.
• Academic institutions.
• Organizations with remote work environments.
• Companies that are increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into their operations.

Competitor Landscape

Torch Leadership Labs operates in a highly competitive leadership development market, where numerous players offer diverse solutions.

Main Rivals:

• BetterUp: A leading provider of one-on-one coaching for professionals, known for its AI-powered coaching at scale and focus on well-being and engagement.
• Chronus: Offers a SaaS platform for corporate training with a strong emphasis on mentoring.
• MentorcliQ: Provides a cloud-based mentorship platform specifically designed for enterprise-level organizations.
• CoachHub: Operates as an individual coaching platform, leveraging AI-driven matching to connect individuals with a global network of coaches.
• Growthspace: Offers a talent development platform that focuses on personalized learning experiences and skill development across various industries.

Other Notable Competitors: Lattice, Leapsome, Together Mentorship, Culture Amp, Workday HCM, Deel, Brancher, Marlee, TeamDynamics, Sharpist, Clover Leaf, Wengo, Guider, Better Weekdays, Mentessa, Impro.AI, Monark, Slashie, Vistage, Tribute, Sounding Board, Ceresa, Opus Training, GoodHabitz, Thinkific, and Perks at Work.

Marketing & Sales

Main Positioning Values: Quality & Variety

Website & Socials

• Monthly visits total around 30,915, with direct traffic comprising the largest share, followed by organic search, referrals, paid search, social media, and ads.  X (Twitter) emerges as the main social media referral source.
• The top countries driving traffic include the United States, Spain, Thailand, Great Britain, and India.

Media Coverage

• Businesswire: Discussed Torch’s launch of Direct to Consumer Small Group Coaching
• Authority Magazine: Features Torch CEO Heather Conklin discussing the shift from command-and-control leadership to coaching and collaboration.
• The New York Times: Mentions Torch in an article exploring the rising trend of “coaching” as professional development in Silicon Valley.
• Business Insider: Highlights Torch’s Series B funding round, indicating media interest in the company’s growth and financial backing.
• TechCrunch: Covered Torch’s Series A funding, highlighting the company’s role in teaching empathy to executives.

Marketing Strategies

• Target Audience: Torch Leadership Labs primarily targets organizations seeking to enhance their leadership capabilities. This includes a broad range of professionals, from mid-level managers to seasoned executives, as well as entrepreneurs and team leaders. They focus on companies that recognize the strategic importance of leadership development for achieving business goals and fostering a strong leadership culture. Some of their clients include Reddit, Zendesk, Twitch, and FICO.
• Customer Acquisition: Torch employs a multifaceted approach, combining direct sales, inbound marketing, and strategic partnerships.
  • Direct Sales: Given their B2B model, direct sales efforts targeting organizations are key. They employ Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to acquire larger enterprise clients through targeted and personalized campaigns.
  • Inbound Marketing: Their website and blog serve as crucial acquisition channels, attracting potential customers searching for leadership development solutions online. They leverage customer testimonials and success stories to build trust and credibility.
  • Strategic Partnerships: The merger with Everwise in March 2020 and the acquisition of Praxis Labs in July 2025 were both geared at expanding the brand’s capabilities in delivering top-notch leadership development services, expanding reach, and increasing brand visibility.
• Content Marketing: Torch positions itself as a thought leader in the leadership development space through its content marketing strategy.
  • Blog: Their blog features articles on various leadership-related topics, including contextual coaching and navigating leadership in the age of AI.
  • Customer Stories: They utilize customer testimonials and success stories as social proof to demonstrate the effectiveness of their solutions.
  • Resources: They offer various leadership development resources as well as events and webinars to provide in-depth information and generate leads. They have also positioned themselves as a thought leader through the Leadership Evolution Report.
• Demographic Detail: The website traffic data reveals that 36.35% of Torch’s audience is from the US, followed by Spain (33.31%), Thailand (8.3%), Great Britain (6.24%), and India (2.72%).

Product & Innovation

Contextual Coaching

By tailoring leadership development to the specific needs and context of each organization, Torch ensures that learning translates into real-world impact and aligns with business objectives

Integrated Platform

Combining digital learning, mentoring, and coaching within a single platform creates a holistic and engaging learning experience, addressing the limitations of traditional, siloed approaches. Torch’s technology-human hybrid approach provides scalable, data-driven leadership development that drives measurable impact and organizational transformation. A key feature is the AI advisor, Coach Maya, which offers personalized, on-demand coaching support that complements live coaching sessions.

Experienced Coaches

Torch distinguishes itself through the caliber of its coaches, who bring a combination of deep business experience and proven coaching expertise. This ensures that leaders are guided by individuals who not only understand the theoretical aspects of leadership but have also navigated real-world business challenges.

Data-Driven Feedback Loop

Torch’s platform analyzes coaching conversations to identify emerging patterns and opportunities while maintaining the confidentiality of those sessions. This allows organizations to gain valuable insights into leadership trends and areas for improvement without compromising individual privacy. It also enables organizations to track progress and make informed decisions about leadership development.

The integration of technology throughout the coaching experience to streamline processes and provide actionable insights further enhances the innovative nature of Torch’s product and model.

Focus on Fundamental Capacities

Torch focuses on building fundamental leadership capacities rather than just skills. This involves developing deeper capabilities like adaptability, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for navigating complex and rapidly changing business environments. By emphasizing the development of core leadership qualities, Torch equips leaders to thrive.

Financials & Metrics

• Funding and Investments: Torch Leadership Labs has successfully raised over $70 million:
  • Series C: $40 million in May 2022, led by 137 Ventures.
  • Series B: $25 million in February 2021, led by Obvious Ventures.
  • Series A: $10 million in April 2019, led by Norwest Venture Partners.
  • Additional Funding: Data enrichment platforms such as PitchBook, Traxn, and Clay mention two Seed rounds and two Series A rounds.
• Employee Count:
  • 2025: 201-500
  • December 2022: 127
  • 2018: 130

Structure & Culture

Leadership

• Board of Directors
  • Co-founder, Executive Chairman: Cameron Yarbrough
  • Co-founder, Board Director: Keegan Walden, Ph.D.
  • Board Director, Advisor, Consultant: Cynthia Burks
  • James Joaquin
  • Edward Yip
• Executive Members 
  • Chief Executive Officer: Heather Conklin
  • Chief Technology Officer: Meena Bhatia
  • Head of AI Growth: Elise Smith
  • Chief Revenue Officer: Mark Wickware
  • Chief of Staff: Catherine Allen
  • Chief Marketing Officer: Lauren Grau
  • Head of Coaching Experience: Kathryn Coyle

Culture

Torch Leadership Labs’ culture is rooted in its mission to unlock potential through trusted relationships,  helping empower leaders and build strong teams. Their values, as reflected in their guiding principles and job postings, emphasize:

• People Development: “Pass the torch.” Leadership grows by developing others and sharing knowledge.
• Embracing Change: “Change is their catalyst.” Adapt quickly and innovate, viewing change as an opportunity.
• Optimism: “The future is bright.” Believe in a better tomorrow with positive outlooks and collective effort.
• Collaboration: “No one succeeds alone.” Success comes through trust, diverse perspectives, and working together.
• Self-Awareness: “Lead from the inside out.” Lead authentically by reflecting deeply and embracing personal growth.
• Going Deep: Commit to deep understanding for meaningful, lasting impact.
• Relationships Matter: Build trust and authentic connections for effective leadership.
• Ownership: Take accountability and responsibility for collective success.
• Winning Together: Celebrate team achievements; unity drives success.

Impact & Success

• Customer Feedback:
  • 96% coachee satisfaction rating.
  • Increased self-awareness and understanding of how others perceive their approaches.
  • Improved confidence, interpersonal skills, and stronger, more engaged teams.
  • Transformative experiences and positive influence on organizational culture.
• Success Stories:
  • Reddit: Personalized coaching for emerging leaders, aligning with the company’s values-driven culture.
  • Twitch: Coaching to help managers and ERG leaders build empathy, accountability, and leadership skills.
  • FICO: Development of confident leaders within their globally dispersed workforce.
  • Global apparel leader: Empowerment of women leaders by addressing systemic barriers and providing targeted group coaching.
  • Global biotech leader: Scaling of people-centered culture during rapid growth through individual and group coaching programs.

Growth & Future

Challenges and Risks

• Competition: Torch operates in a highly competitive market with numerous players offering various leadership development solutions.
• Maintaining Quality at Scale: As the company grows and expands its network of coaches, ensuring consistent quality and effectiveness in coaching services is crucial.
• Adapting to Market Trends: The leadership development landscape is evolving, with trends like AI integration and remote work, requiring Torch to adapt its solutions.

Future Plans

• Platform Expansion: Torch aims to continue enhancing its platform’s capabilities to provide greater value to customers.
• Customer Focus: Maintaining strong partnerships with existing customers and prioritizing customer success remains key.
• Scaling Operations: Torch plans to scale its operations effectively to meet the increasing demand for its solutions.
• Market Penetration: The company intends to expand its reach by serving both enterprise clients and high-growth companies.
• Go-to-Market Expansion: Torch aims to ramp up its go-to-market operations, increasing sales and marketing efforts.
• Talent Development and Inclusion: A core objective is to help organizations retain and develop talent while fostering more inclusive workplaces through leadership coaching.

Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs

• Solve a Real Pain Point, Then Scale Down: Torch initially targeted a niche pain point (high-level executive coaching) and achieved success. This foothold allowed them to expand their offerings to a broader audience (mentoring and digital learning), maximizing their reach within organizations. Don’t be afraid to start niche and then scale strategically.
• Embrace Strategic Acquisitions: Instead of building out a new product line from scratch, Torch acquired Everwise to rapidly gain a foothold in the digital learning and mentoring market. Sometimes, the fastest path to growth is through smart acquisitions.
• Motivation Fuels Monetization: Torch cleverly recognized the link between motivation and learning outcomes. By incorporating mentoring (a motivational driver) alongside digital learning, they increased engagement and, consequently, the value proposition of their platform. Think about how you can intrinsically motivate users to engage more deeply with your product.
• Don’t Reinvent the Wheel, Refine It: Torch didn’t create a revolutionary learning model; they combined existing methods (digital learning, mentoring, coaching) and enhanced them with a focus on contextualization and data-driven insights. Innovation often lies in optimizing existing solutions, not necessarily creating entirely new ones.
• The ‘Icebreaker’ Product Strategy: Torch’s high-value executive coaching acts as an ‘icebreaker,’ granting them access to organizations. This allows them to introduce their more accessible mentoring and digital learning products to a wider audience within the same company. Consider a tiered product strategy where a premium offering can unlock doors for broader market penetration.