Sharpist, a Berlin-based online coaching provider, announced that it has raised $23 million as a part of its Series A funding round.
The round was co-led by Endeit Capital and Capnamic with participation from selected business angels, including the former VP of Workplace at Meta Julien Codorniou, French venture studio Founders Future, and Porsche Ventures, the venture capital unit of Sharpist’s customer Porsche AG, and existing investors Vorwerk Ventures and btov Partners.
With the new financing, the startup plans to fuel its mission to drive the growth of organisations and their people through digital coaching and personalised learning journeys. It will accelerate growth across Europe and product development with a focus on product experience.
Founded in 2018 by Hendrik Schriefer and Fabian Niedballa, Sharpist is a people development solution focusing on 1:1 digital coaching sessions. The platform provides companies with personal business coaches from an international network of certified coaches via its mobile and web app, supplemented with personalised learning content. As such, it also delivers measurable business outcomes for global enterprise clients through a digital people development platform.
Commenting on the funding, Co-founder and CEO of Sharpist, Hendrik Schriefer, said,
“The fresh capital allows us to further invest in our industry-defining product experience and gradually position Sharpist as the market leader for digital coaching in Europe. We plan to bring our leading coaching and people development experience to other promising regions, starting with the UK and Ireland. We are excited to partner with our new investors Endeit Capital, Capnamic, and Porsche Ventures on our mission to become the leading platform for career and people development – we will substantially benefit from their vast experience in building strong, multi-national leaders.”
Since its launch, Sharpist has had an exciting journey and already clients such as STRABAG, Franke, and Otto Group are using the platform to retain and grow talent. At the end of 2021, Zalando, Metro, and BASF joined the impressive customer roster.
Co-Owner and Partner of Endeit Capital, Martijn Hamann, said,
“By supporting Sharpist, we are further executing our belief in intelligent empowerment. The startup is a prime example as it connects the next generation workforce with selected and certified coaches through their data-driven platform. In the $300bn+ corporate learning and development market, we see an untapped market for digital coaching. We are excited to support a strong and innovative European tech scale up driving Employee Empowerment, Leadership Development and Organizational Transformation.”
Sharpist coaches are certified by highly reputable organizations, have extensive management and executive experience, and have over 10 years of coaching practice. Upholding the inclusion and diversity principles, the global community of coaches possess a variety of personal and professional backgrounds and offer coaching sessions in over 30 languages.
Jörg Binnenbrücker, Managing Partner at Capnamic, added:
“I firmly believe that the EdTech sector is one of the most promising areas for growth. Innovative ways of teaching and coaching remotely, like Sharpist is providing through its digital and highly personalized one-on-one approach, are fundamentally changing how we learn and grow. Sharpist is clearly leading the space and has become the trusted provider of many of DACH’s largest enterprises. We are excited and look forward to supporting Hendrik and Fabian in building on their existing success.”
Taking the journey forward, Sharpist plans to double the size of its 100-people strong team in 2022, cementing its position as a leader in the digital coaching market. Additionally, the company also plans to expand to new markets, including the UK and Ireland, opening a branch in London in the coming months.
In February 2020, Sharpist had raised €4.6 million in its seed funding round led by Vorwerk Ventures, with participation from co-investors btov Partners and APX.
