Guidely, a Phoenix startup that connects people with personal growth coaching, has raised $4 million in a seed round. The funding will help the fledgling company further develop its technology and increase its headcount.
Guidely is a platform that aims to help people navigate life's challenges by pairing users with mentors, counselors, healers and coaches, which the company collectively calls its guides. Users can consult guides on topics including divorce, money, careers and communication or on more elusive subjects like spirituality, self-discovery and finding one’s purpose.
Amir Glogau, co-founder and CEO of Guidely, said he’s served as a connector by pairing friends with resources in his personal life, but he said building this company will help connect many more people to the resources they need.
“I feel like I prepared for my entire life, both from the business side and on my personal development side,” he said.
The company was founded in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic upended life on Earth, but Glogau said pandemic turbulence is just the latest hardship the world is enduring and that broader access to personal development has been in need for a long time.
In addition to co-founding Guidely he also runs Citrine Capital in Phoenix and serves as an “active chairman” for PRO EM Operations, one of the largest event services companies in the Valley, though he said building Guidely is his main focus at the moment. Glogau is from Israel and he approaches business with his personal ethos of “soul leadership,” as he previously told the Business Journal.
The $4 million seed funding mostly comes from Tarl Robinson, the CEO of Plexus Worldwide, a multilevel marketing company based in Scottsdale. Glogau and some other friends also contributed to the seed round.
Global vision
The Covid-19 pandemic has now killed more than 5.3 million people across the world, including more than 23,000 Arizonans. Pandemic trauma has driven people to mental health companies like Talkspace and BetterHelp, but Glogau thinks that the trend will expand even more.
“The entire world of mental health and alternative approaches for mental health is really just the beginning of it,” he said. “We’re pioneering a space that I think will be gigantic.”
Guidely is in the process of hiring about 10 people now, but the seed funding will support hiring up to 50 people, most of whom will be in and around Phoenix.
The funding will also be used to improve the matching process between users and guides with artificial intelligence, a feature that Glogau called the company’s secret sauce. Marketing is also a key use of the funding, so people know that this service is available and accessible.
There are currently about 100 guides on the platform spread over 17 countries. Right now users can get in touch with Guidely and have an introduction session with co-founder Shannon Woodruff, who will assess a user’s needs and give them ideas about who to pair with. Woodruff previously led the vetting process of all the guides on the platform.
The initial consultation is free, but after that guides set their own rates, including lots of options for sessions under $100, all the way up through a $10,000 package for a single four hour session with an intentional communication coach or a $15,000 package for sessions spread over three months.
Glogau said the company will also roll out a membership plan in the first quarter of next year, because big goals like finding one’s purpose do not happen in a single session.
When asked what he envisions for the long term future of Guidely, Glogau said he had goosebumps thinking about the company's potential impact.
“[We picture] having a huge impact on people's lives all over the world. Really transforming, helping them transform, to be a better version of themselves,” he said. “And be accessible to as many people as we possibly can, I think it's essential for us.”
