Editor’s note: This is one of our Startups to Watch of 2022. See the rest here.
About a year and a half after June Blanks and Laurent Besancon launched Cooler Supply Co. as a subscription box service, they tweaked their business model to cater to employers hoping to keep their remote teams more engaged.
Cooler’s creators have adapted their work-from-home HR benefit for employees working anywhere. And they’re leaning into digital despite their initial inclination not to; they know the virtual world isn’t going anywhere.
The startup now offers a series of coaching cards, at $24.90 apiece, to guide professionals through the workday across three themes — well-being, focus and recharging. That’s alongside virtual workshops that run up to $3,000 and activity boxes, at $78, tailored to those experiences, Besancon said. “We think of this as a stackable, or configurable, offering that meets companies where they are in the kind of experience they want to provide, and at varying price points.”
Its digital product lines allow it to serve teams beyond the U.S., Blanks said. Cooler’s clients already include large organizations such as the World Bank, Amazon Web Services, City University of New York and law firms. Cooler plans to add “as many companies and universities as possible” in 2022, with its first offerings for students, Blanks told us. It’s also tapping into virtual conferences and staff meetings.
The two-person company works with external designers and shipping companies, even as it now teams up with coaches to help develop the content. The partners declined to disclose revenue, but Blanks said they’re projecting to double 2020 sales in 2021, after seeing an increase in the second half of last year. “Companies have gained interest in and put funds behind well-being and training,” she said, pointing to the Covid-era focus on “how the workforce is connected.”
Blanks, Cooler’s head of product, is also the mind behind D.C. cold brew company Junius Coffee. Besancon, Cooler’s head of coaching, is a professional executive coach and HR specialist with a background in staff and leadership development at the World Bank. They self-funded Cooler with a combined $60,000 and named the business for the organic “water cooler” exchanges between co-workers missing from the remote office environment.
A closer look
- Location: D.C.
- Founded: 2020
- Leadership: June Blanks and Laurent Besancon, co-founders
- What it does: Provides companies an HR benefit in the form of coaching cards, virtual workshops and activity boxes focused on well-being
- Employees: Two