Will Foussier, Founder & CEO "Ace-Up: Executive Coaching Re-Invented"

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The need to re-skill is essential for workers confronting AI with obsolescent knowledge. Techstars alum Ace-Up is addressing this problem with a software platform that makes executive coaching more accessible and accountable. Founder Will Foussier opened for us a fascinating window into this important but obscure industry.

Highlights include:

• Will Foussier a young Frenchman who studied in France and Switzerland, had stints at Ralph Lauren, Raymond James and the Clinton Global Initiative.
• At the Clinton Global Initiative Will Foussier had the opportunity to use an executive coach and came to realize how valuable it is.
• Companies ranging from GE to the dynamic startup LovePop are seeing the value of Ace-Up’s coaching platform.
• It’s expensive to hire people; coaching makes the most of company’s most valuable resource, its people.
• “We leverage technology to deploy personalized executive coaching in a way that is scalable, impactful and measurable.”
• At Sanofi, Ace-Up deploys coaching to more than 100 women leaders in 22 countries and in five different languages.
• The skills gap within organizations is wider than ever. In the 1990s people’s skills were relevant for almost 30 years, digitalization has reduced that to five years now. 2/3 of employees consider that they are not properly supported by their employers.
• Founding story: working as an analyst of the telecoms industry at Raymond James in London, Will wanted to do something more significant. This led him to the CGI where he learned how an executive coach can change your life.
• Will started to dream about using technology to make coaching more accessible.
• Ace-Up’s team is 18 people from diverse backgrounds.
• Sal talks about his early investment in Vedanta Biosciences, a leading company in the microbiome space. He invites those curious about the intriguing startups that abound in Boston to fill out the accredited investor form at AngelInvesBoston.com.
• Will credits the traction Ace-Up is getting to the effort to connect with a lot of people aided by the introductions and mentoring provided by Techstars. The stint at this top accelerator helped Ace-Up sharpen their message.
• Techstars’ focus on giving helped mold the culture at Ace-Up.
• Ace-Up wants to build a seamless platform for one-to-one remote learning that is progressive and keeps track of what works. They now have 500 coaches on their SaaS-enabled marketplace. The next step is to build value around this core market by providing rich learning content and benchmarking tools.
• Seeking to automate instructional design.
• Tend to work with the Chief People Officer or VP of Talent. User start by doing an assessment. The platform recommends coaches for the user to evaluate. Coach and employee/user jointly develop a coaching plan.
• The solution offered by Ace-Up is framed as a benefit for employees.
• By the end of 2019 Ace-Up expects to be at $2MM ARR by the end of 2020 they project $5MM ARR.
• By the end of 2019 they will be in 100 companies.
• The goal is to develop long-term collaborations with their client companies.
• 94% of Millennials consider that the reason to stay at a company is career development, this places an emphasis on companies supporting the development of their employees through executive coaching.
• It’s getting harder and harder for companies with bad cultures to compete in today’s marketplace. They can’t hide anymore.
• Building an employer brand is growing in importance.
• Will realized at the Clinton Global Initiative that his calling was to redistribute opportunities to others. Coaching is an amazing way to do that. Inspiring.
• Will and Sal speculate how by 2030 Ace-Up’s services could be broadly available.
• Will thinks that coaching and mentoring will inevitably continue to grow and that this trend will greatly benefit the country.
• Will’s advice to founders: (1) every moment counts, make the best of it, and (2) get out of your comfort zone.
• Will emphasizes the importance of having a vision, which at first may be unpolished but which eventually, through effort, can be refined.