Growing CT tech startup CoachEm uses AI to develop online training for sales managers

HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER CoachEm co-founder and CEO Colum Lundt in his Putnam office.

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In Putnam, a town of just over 9,000 residents in the quiet northeast corner of Connecticut, a technology startup is harnessing artificial intelligence to develop an online training program for sales managers.

CoachEm was founded by four colleagues who have worked together in the sales-coaching industry for a decade. They’re tapping into rising demand for online training, prompted by the seismic shift to remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The startup is also targeting what co-founder and CEO Colum Lundt, 50, says is a void in training and support tools for sales management.

“In the past, people could overhear each other,” Lundt said. “They were in an office. Now, with the pandemic, these managers with no training are trying to deal with people, 90% of whom are working remotely. And so, it’s infinitely more difficult. It’s kind of a perfect storm for them, and a perfect opportunity for us to help them be much more intentional, managing and coaching based on data.”

CoachEm signed its 18th customer in early November, and expects to achieve profitability in the first quarter of 2025. Lundt said he and his co-founders have invested “several million” dollars into the training platform. The company recently sold a $1.15 million equity stake to an outside investor.

That funding will fuel ongoing refinements to the program and help pay for branding and marketing, Lundt said.

Lundt expects to double his 13-person staff by the close of next year. He said revenue will have grown by 400% year-over-year by the close of 2024. He expects similar growth in 2025.

“We anticipate 2025 to be kind of a breakout year for us in terms of growth, just based on some of the deals we have in the works,” Lundt said.

How it works

CoachEm’s software interfaces with clients’ existing customer relationship management (CRM) systems, pulling call logs and other data to analyze where sales staff are excelling or struggling. It suggests tailored interventions for managers to apply to specific staff.

For example, CoachEm’s program might recognize a sales representative needs to work on their average sales cycle length — the time between first contact and a sales closing — either because that period is increasing, or too far off the pace of better-performing employees.

CoachEm’s AI platform analyzes performance indicators and then identifies the most pressing issues, like if a salesperson has a low percentage of follow-up connections with potential clients.

It then recommends interventions, or digestible improvement actions that could involve online tutorials or role-playing.

“The typical sales leader is like a coach screaming from the sidelines that we need more shots on goal,” Lundt said. “Yeah, we know that, but where is the coaching?”

CRM systems have a tremendous amount of data, but managers typically don’t have time to sift through the information manually, Lundt said.

CoachEm’s data-driven approach keeps managers “in the loop,” giving them the tools to coach staff and keep them accountable, he said.

“So, we kind of think about it like a one-two punch,” Lundt said. “We enable them with the training, and we equip them with the technology. And that helps them really operationalize excellence week over week, month over month.”

CoachEm is a subscription service with costs varying by number of participants and a menu of options. It is geared toward tech businesses and its website includes testimonials from online companies like Parchment, SchoolStatus and SamCart.

The founders

Matthew Benelli

Michael Myers

The four CoachEm co-founders came together at Revenue Performance Group (RPG), a New Hampshire-based sales training company launched in 2014. Founded by Lundt, Michael Myers and Matthew Benelli, the consulting company used methodology and materials from Sandler Training.

Lundt said the team flew all over the world, providing training to large companies like Microsoft and Oracle, as well as smaller ones that would later hit it big, like software company Gong.

Sandler bought RPG, a top seller of its products, in 2019. Lundt was brought onboard to run global sales. He was promoted to Sandler’s chief revenue officer in early 2020.

Rebecca Schmidt

Benelli and Myers also made the move to Sandler, as did Rebecca Schmidt, who had been an RPG vice president.

Lundt said Sandler’s sales grew 215% from 2020 to 2021, and then the company was purchased in 2022 by a private equity firm.

Lundt said his team from Revenue Performance Group had “a significant chunk” of ownership. Following the sale, Lundt, Benelli, Myers and Schmidt launched CoachEm.

The company’s small office in Putnam is close to Lundt’s home in Woodstock.

CoachEm

Industry: Technology/Sales Training

Top Executive: Colum Lundt, Co-Founder & CEO

HQ: Putnam

Employees: 13

Website: coachem.io

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