We’re happy to announce that our family angel program (back 50+ entrepreneurs and donate all gains to charity; details here) has invested in Ace-Up. It is our 10th investment so far (portfolio here).

We had heard great things about the company and co-founder Will Foussier, and so, reached out to meet him.

The company offers a marketplace for executive coaching, which is a new and fast-growing space. I worked with an executive coach a few years ago and found it transformative. I learned yesterday that one of our Kepha CEOs has worked with an executive coach for the past three years and has also found it to be incredibly impactful.

The key, I think, is “fit.” But, it’s hard to find a coach that fits your situation. Who has the expertise you need? How do prior clients rate them?

Enter Ace-Up.

The company’s goal is make executive coaching available to everyone, not just senior executives. As an individual, you can go to the site and find a coach. Where the company really caught my eye, though, was that they’ve successfully been working with some large companies to allow them to offer coaching services to their employees.

The employer pays a seat fee per employee, the employee gets to “shop” for coaches until he/she finds the right fit, and the employee gets to work on price issues to expand his/her skill sets.

Revenue has been growing quickly, profitability is near, and some major customers have signed on. Personally, I’m convinced that we are just at the beginning of the executive coaching wave. We have coaches for sports, tutors for children, best practice leaders for companies, but we have almost no resources for personal and professional development.

We are really excited to be working with Will, moreover, who impressed us with his drive, thoughtfulness and sincerity. That the company has also been involved with two programs we really like, the Harvard i-Lab and TechStars, also mattered.

Thank you, Will, for letting us invest! We are very happy to know you and are excited to be working with you.