EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Penny AI | November 02, 2022
Penny AI, a global leader in data-driven direct sales enablement, is launching Learning Solutions, to empower social sellers with engagement-based micro-learning.Having raised $27 million in Series B funding, Penny is committed to investing in onboarding, continuous learning and social commerce to innovate how sellers are set up for success from day 1. Today’s launch is the industry’s first micro-learning experience embedded into a social sales enablement platform. Learning Solutions delivers big wins in small doses right in the flow of work.
To lead the development of the Learning Solutions product, Penny AI brought in Lauren Mason Carris, Ph.D. for her expertise in adult learning and skills-based personalized learning software. Lauren built out a product team to develop a behavior-based digital learning experience that marries how adults actually learn with what social sellers need in order to succeed.
“The hardest part of building a business is juggling learning while doing. Our new Learning Solutions delivers continuous training in the place of work (Penny) allowing sellers to learn about the industry, their company and business-building activities all while completing tasks. In effect sellers are learning while doing, For learning to work, it must be effective, relevant, just enough, and just in time. So that’s exactly what we’ve built.”
Lauren Mason Carris, VP of Product at Penny.
Learning Solutions is the natural next step to support social sellers as they build their business with Penny. It’s the first platform in the market that combines learning science with in-the-flow application of learned material. Learning Solutions include:
A best-in-class social selling curriculum
Gamified learning experience
Micro-doses of content
Skills application for revenue-focused tasks
Insights into learning retention and business impact
The ability for partners to turn their own content into behavior-based learning modules
Learning Solutions is designed to solve corporate and sellers onboarding challenges, ensuring every seller receives the right training at the right time, so they can successfully build a business. When I talk to anyone in the social sales community, be it corporate teams, leaders or sellers, one of the top challenges to organizational growth and long-term success is the staggering levels of seller churn because of ineffective onboarding and training,” says David Abbey, CEO & Co-Founder of Penny AI. Software done right changes lives and I believe that with Penny Learning Solutions we’ll see time to revenue for new sellers decrease, seller retention increase, efficiency and overall confidence increase, and as a result the life time value of the end customer increase.
About Penny
Penny is an AI-powered platform built for modern social sellers. Focused on customer-centric processes that help the field build and grow their businesses with simple, repeatable steps in small pockets of time, Penny is customized to suit the unique business needs of each client.CEO & Co-founder, David Abbey and CTO & Co-founder, Chirs Noble created Penny to support David’s wife’s global social sales business when all other online tools were lacking the customer-centric approach so crucial to social sales success. Fast forward to today, Penny is transforming the social sales industry having identified a gap in the $200 billion industry for digital innovation that drives revenue growth, seller retention and customer satisfaction.
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CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
Training Industry, Inc. | December 15, 2022
Qstream, the leading enterprise microlearning and knowledge reinforcement platform that revolutionizes how businesses empower their employees through individualized learning, was recognized by Training Industry, the leading research and information resource for corporate learning leaders, as a 2022 Top Assessment and Evaluation Watch List Company. This marks the third consecutive year Qstream has been selected for the award. Qstream's award-winning technology works alongside your existing learning tools and programs to create engaging, personalized learning journeys that are scalable and measurable. Employing a unique approach to evaluating training effectiveness and measuring outcomes, Qstream assesses learners' knowledge levels in real time and provides managers with insights, analytics, and coaching recommendations on team and individuals proficiency. At a higher degree, these insights allow organizations to correlate learner proficiency to job performance and business impact. Additionally, Qstream's integration capabilities with the LMS, HR Systems, CRM and other tools combine this data with proficiency metrics to provide a holistic view of workforce performance.
"Typically, managers merely guess which topics their employees need training on. With Qstream, managers can assess their team's baseline knowledge and capabilities which helps them recognize where knowledge gaps are,With Qstream, learning leaders and managers get insight into where to focus their training efforts, saving them time and money. We are thrilled that Training Industry recognizes the value that Qstream brings to our customers and are honored to receive this award for the third year in a row."
Dan Whelan, CEO at Qstream.
It's critical that organizations take a more strategic approach to L&D in 2023," says Lauren Boynton, Director of Customer Success and Strategic Accounts at Qstream. "Qstream's programmatic approach enables continuous learning journeys that promote exponential employee growth and business success. This recognition solidifies our place in the learning ecosystem as organizations move toward this model.
About Qstream
Qstream is the leading enterprise microlearning and knowledge reinforcement solution proven by science and in practice to boost learner performance. Hundreds of organizations rely on Qstream to build high-performance teams by delivering a personalized and agile learning experience that delivers the highest levels of retention, engagement and efficiency along with analytics that provide precision insights and expose a real-time view of performance readiness.
About Training Industry, Inc.
Training Industry is the most trusted source of information on the business of learning. Our authority is built on deep ties with more than 450 expert contributors who share insights and actionable information with their peers. Training Industry's courses, live events, articles, magazine, webinars, podcast, research and reports generate more than 7.7 million industry interactions each year, while the Top 20 Training Companies Lists help business leaders find the right training partners.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
Springboard | November 11, 2022
Springboard, an industry-leading online learning platform preparing students for in-demand, high-growth careers, today, announced a partnership with Uwill, the leading teletherapy solution for colleges and students, to provide mental health support for online learners. As the need for mental health support increases nationwide, Uwill's solution utilizes need and preferences to immediately match students with a diverse team of licensed and available counselors. The services will be integrated into Springboard's existing platform, and will be available to learners in addition to existing human support such as one-to-one mentorship and career counseling.
"At Springboard, our ambitious vision centers around transforming lives through education and career advancement - and we know that this type of growth and transformation needs a strong foundation of mental health, In partnering with Uwill, we can meet students where they are by providing support through the same platform they're using for their education."
Gautam Tambay, Co-founder and CEO at Springboard.
Springboard is launching this teletherapy option at a time of increasing mental health challenges reported by education providers nationwide, where, according to HigherEdToday, nontraditional learners scored significantly higher on a number of mental health ratings than their traditional learning counterparts, specifically on depression, anxiety, and overall life stress.Uwill is uniquely suited to support the needs of Springboard learners to ensure they do not face barriers to mental health support," said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Uwill.
Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first Higher Ed therapist matching platform and wellness environment. The solution offers an immediate connection to an available licensed counselor based on student preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a 24/7/365 crisis connection, wellness programming, detailed reporting and support. Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions worldwide including Berklee Online, Union College, Whitman College, and East Carolina University to ensure their mental health and wellness environment meets student needs.
About Uwill
Uwill has become the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students. The most cost-effective way to complement a college's mental health offering, Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions including Boston College, University of Michigan, American Public University System, and University of Maryland, College Park. Uwill was named as one of Boston's hottest companies by BostInno, and now, more than 1 million students have access to the Uwill platform. Investors and supporters are a who's who including hip-hop legend Daryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C. For more information, visit uwill.com.
About Springboard
Founded by Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay in 2013, Springboard is on a mission to transform one million lives through education by 2030. More than 20,000 students across 100+ countries have used Springboard to advance their careers through the platform's comprehensive, mentor-led online learning programs. Graduates have landed jobs with employers like Microsoft, Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Deloitte, Intel, IBM, Salesforce and more. Springboard has also trained corporate teams at Visa, Gusto, and The North Face. Springboard was recently named one of the 2022 GSV EdTech 150 — a list of the world's most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Springboard is a 2020 Inc. 5000 company based in San Francisco, recently named a Top Workplace for Women by Elpha, and is backed by leading venture capital firms including Telstra Ventures, Vulcan Capital, SJF Ventures, Reach Capital, Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corp., Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.
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