I founded HumanQ (previously known as Experiential Insight) in 2019 because it was my life’s calling. Super cheesy, I know, but it’s actually true!
I’ve always been extremely passionate about helping individuals reach their full potential, because I have experienced firsthand how the right development can literally unlock an individual’s life.
From a very young age my parents encouraged me to appreciate the value of both education and extracurricular development activities through a myriad of sports and arts classes. I don’t recall a single day when I didn’t have after-school classes whether it was gymnastics, painting, ballet, swimming, piano or something else. Growing up in the intersection of formal education, sports, and arts taught me a lot about working hard to gain pleasure from using both sides of my brain. Even after a formal university business education, I continued to find ways to actively participate in the arts through dance, design and art installations – all of which was extremely satisfying because I was able to activate and unleash all sides of me – without having to make difficult choices.
As I went through university, I realized that the opportunity my parents had given me was truly a gift. Formal education systems were not designed to unlock full brain thinking and being. We were told to pick whether we wanted to be an engineer or a nurse or a fashion designer… but the opportunity to be an engineer full time and fashion design as a side passion was not even a consideration for many, simply because we weren’t taught to think or live this way.
When I first started my career in corporate America, the lack of choice to live and function as a whole human – simply because we had other passions and pleasures that made us whole – didn’t exist. Starting from our education system, and perpetuating through the corporate world, there was an entire workforce who at some point started to question why they were in their job, what purpose they were having, and what their next chapter could be – if only they had the courage to take action.
While individuals were struggling at a micro level, organizations were challenged at a macro level because it was becoming a business imperative to create workforces that were unlocked at their full potential… happy, fulfilled, and doing the best work of their lives. And training just wasn’t cutting it.
As my passion for human development kept expanding, I knew I had to do something big to create the opportunity I wanted every employee around the world to have access to. I founded HumanQ with the vision that every human should have access to living their best life, and that needed to start at the workplace because, for better or worse, the workplace is where we spend the majority of our lives.
I wanted to create a psychologically safe space where intimate groups of individuals could come together to increase their self awareness, build their confidence, create belonging for themselves and others, have courageous conversations, and create more impact at their jobs, which would ultimately drive more purpose in their lives – professionally and personally. After all, who doesn’t want to be a rock star in the things they do?
The pandemic has created a shift in what’s important to individuals and how they prioritize. At HumanQ we have been at the center of that structured conversation since I founded the company in 2019 as a digital group coaching platform that leverages a network of global expert coaches to deliver value to our customers. In typical marketplaces, the coach and the employee are connected and define the service between themselves. Conversely, HumanQ is a structured marketplace where the coaches and employee groups go through a predefined development journey, where the power of development lies within the group, rather than solely on the individual.
Organizations have also been sorely lacking development opportunities that sit at the intersection of individual-focused and organization-focused programs, but true development is not about one or the other. Regardless of what workplace policies state, we want to give individuals a framework and safe space to communicate, learn from each other, and grow as well-rounded individuals so everyone wins.
This shift in power from the organization to the employee is further amplified in the number of boardrooms who are adding human resource experts to their directorships where talent management now tops the list of areas that need more time and attention in the boardroom, and even ahead of strategic oversight for the first time 1 .
I’m humbled that we’ve managed to build a business that has societal impact and still qualifies for venture capital backing. I met Steve Jang from Kindred Ventures a year and a half ago, and immediately knew that he was the venture capitalist I wanted behind HumanQ. Steve had a vision that meshed with mine for what HumanQ was capable of achieving in changing the lives of employees globally. So when Steve led our $2 million seed round of funding, I was ecstatic to be backed by an early stage venture capital fund which has a track record of investing in startups that have become innovative platform companies such as Uber, Coinbase, Postmates, Tala, Tonal, and Color Health. In addition, notable angels including Toast CFO Elena Gomez, Natus Medical CHRO Lisa Paul, Google Head of Engineering Dinesh Chahlia, and several other angels from leading organizations also participated in this round of financing.
Today, the HumanQ digital platform offers employees of its global corporate customers an opportunity to connect with each other through live video streaming during group coaching sessions. HumanQ’s coach-led group sessions span various company and societally-relevant topics to create support, accountability, and connection among the workforce and community. Through the intersection of technology and human interaction, HumanQ increases purpose, empowerment and connection for employees in their customer organizations, who include Microsoft, LinkedIn, Chobani, Spark New Zealand, Bidgely, VMware, Penn State University and Stanford University, among others – where remote, hybrid and in-office populations have an opportunity to solve for cross-geographical and cross-functional collaboration and innovation.
Nearly half of global employees are unhappy in their jobs today, and nearly 43 percent say they frequently think of quitting 2 . But 94 percent of employees going through HumanQ digital group coaching programs are more engaged in their organization, and 96 percent are more equipped to add value, with 90 percent saying they would recommend their group coaching program to a colleague or friend – a significant turnaround for employees, and consequently their organizations.
The future of HumanQ excites me every day – we have already delivered in over 55 countries, and we’re scaling to reach thousands of employees in multiple companies. Even through we’ve only just scratched the surface of this giant journey ahead of us, we get “love notes” from employees telling us how HumanQ has changed their happiness and impact at their job, and their overall outlook on life. That’s when we sit back and smile for a moment knowing that this is the change we want to create in the world.
We’re also adding to our badass team, so if you’re interested in chatting, please send me a note. To view
our open positions, click here.
1 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-04/it-s-taken-a-pandemic-to-get-the-boardroom-in-touch-with-the-workforce
2 https://www.cnbc.com/2013/09/17/nearly-half-of-the-worlds-employees-unhappy-in-their-jobs-survey.html
