LEARNERBLY 2016 - 2018
Role: COO & Chief Learning Officer, London
How can you transform a prototype into a fast-growing VC-backed organization?
Building an inclusive VC-backed startup
As the only woman on our leadership team, I co-founded Learnerbly with the mission of re-inventing learning for the workplace, transforming a prototype into a fast-growing diverse and inclusive business.
Fundraising
Co-create strategy and pitch presentation that helped raise $1.9 million from investors including Frontline, Playfair and CTO & Co-founder of Eventbrite.
Diverse Talent
Grew a team of 13 people with 40% women, 40% people of color, 8 nationalities represented.
L&D Impact
Led L&D Impact team to assess organizational needs, develop engagement strategies and implement training, retaining 100% of our 10 flagship clients with no dedicated Head of Learning.
Leadership Training
Facilitated 30+ transformational workshops and programs on inclusive leadership, executive presence and feedback.
Strategic Partnerships
Partnerships are core to our revenue model. Closed 44 coaching & training partners, including General Assembly, IDEO U, Former Head of Diversity at KPMG and Former BBC Executive Creative Director.
Watch this video interview with Melissa on Coaching for High Performance
Key Learnings
Your people are just as important as your product
Your team is everything when you are an early stage startup. Take the time to think intentionally about your culture, values and talent strategy from day one.
People don’t want to open another app, go to where learners are
Engage people beyond your app or platform - deliver content through the most convenient channels for your users. This could be Slack, Zoom, email or text message.
Your people should be happy by intention
Treat your employees as clients. Create a strategy and program of training, communication tools and feedback to ensure a successful rollout of an internal product at your company.
Read about how Melissa nurtured a culture of feedback and psychological safety at Learnerbly
“Melissa’s great strength lies in getting the most out of people – she sets clear targets and always checks in to see how everyone is doing.”
— Matthew Birchall, Editor
