Listen Here

| |

Conversation
Highlights

 

In today’s episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Nicholas Rudder, Co-founder and CEO of Sphere, a corporate education platform that’s raised $5 Million in funding, about why a better approach to career-advancement might be just around the corner, and what it is about Sphere’s comprehensive training and review services that make them ideally suited to provide it. By charting a participant’s progress through the interactive training sessions and into the post-education workplace to monitor critical ROI, Sphere is putting power back into the hands of people to take control of their learning experience.

We also speak about Nicholas’ move to San Francisco from his home country of Australia, what it meant to find himself in the tech startup Mecca, why the corporate education space has been so stagnant for so long, and why Sphere’s unique offering helps provide skills and guidance long after the classes come to an end.

Topics Discussed:

  • The current state of the Australian startup economy, and why Nicholas sees great potential in its future
  • Why Nicholas felt his formal business education was missing something critical, and how this led him to the idea for Sphere
  • Why the upskilling economy is in need of innovation, and why Sphere is the right player to provide it
  • Sphere’s unique system to chart education ROI from beginning to end, giving people more power over the skills which might shape their future
  • Why interactive education sessions are the ideal environment for most learners, and how Sphere makes it happen
  • The PLG strategy which Sphere has used to gain a foothold in the market, and why a good customer experience can be its own dividend

Actionable
Takeaways

Identify and Address Market Gaps:

Look for areas where existing solutions are outdated, ineffective, or fail to meet customer needs. Use your own experiences and frustrations as inspiration for creating a better product or service.

Leverage Product-Led Growth for Enterprise Sales:

Encourage individual signups and team adoption of your product to build momentum and credibility when approaching enterprise deals. Use data on existing usage and spend to demonstrate value and streamline conversations.

Differentiate Through Focus and Agility:

Stand out in a crowded market by focusing on a specific niche or customer segment, and by leveraging your agility to quickly adapt to emerging trends and technologies.

Tie Your Solution to Business Outcomes:

When selling to enterprises, emphasize how your product or service contributes to key business KPIs and delivers measurable ROI. Work with customers to track and demonstrate the impact of your solution.

Stay Ahead of Technological Shifts:

Keep a close eye on major technological advancements, like the rise of AI, and position your business to help customers navigate and leverage these shifts effectively. Continuously adapt your offerings to meet evolving needs and skill requirements.

Recommended Founder
Interviews

Daniel Birkholm

Founder & CEO of TalentHub

Daniel Birkholm, TalentHub: $6 Million Raised to Transform How Organizations Measure and Improve Their Hiring Experience

Nancy Xu

CEO & Founder of Moonhub

Nancy Xu, CEO & Founder of Moonhub: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Recruiting

Raghu Gollamudi

CEO and Co-Founder of Included

Raghu Gollamudi, CEO and Co-Founder of Included: $5.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Analytics

Allen Narcisse

Founder & CEO of Gigs

Allen Narcisse, Founder & CEO of Gigs: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Blue Collar Hiring

Chris Johnson

Growth Marketing Lead of Gun.IO

Chris Johnson, Growth Marketing Lead at Gun.IO: Competing in the Future of Freelance Developer Marketplaces

Prem Kumar

CEO | Co-founder of Humanly

Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly.io: $5.5 Million Raised to Build the Conversational Hiring Category

Stephen Johnston

CEO and Founder of GoodJob

Stephen Johnston, CEO and Founder of GoodJob: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Human Capital Management

Barb Hyman

CEO & Founder of Sapia AI

Barb Hyman, CEO & Founder of Sapia AI: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Recruiting

Matt Watson

CEO and Founder of Origin

Matt Watson, CEO and Founder of Origin: Over $70 Million Raised to Make Financial Wellness the Next Big Employee Perk

Joseph Fung

CEO of Uvaro

Joseph Fung, CEO of Uvaro: $15 Million Raised to Build the Career Success Platform Category

Hanns Aderhold

Founder and CEO of Cobrainer

Hanns Aderhold, Founder and CEO of Cobrainer: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Skills Data Platforms

Jared Pope

CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield

Jared Pope, CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield: $12 Million Raised to Eliminate Workplace Misconduct

Andres Blank

Co-founder & CEO of Fetcher

Andres Blank, CEO of Fetcher: $40 Million+ Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Automation

Virgile Raingeard

CEO of Figures

Virgile Raingeard, CEO of Figures: €8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compensation Intelligence

René Janssen

CEO and Founder of Lepaya

René Janssen, CEO & Founder of Lepaya: $85 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Training

Carlos Gonzalez

Founder & CEO of Product School

Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder & CEO of Product School: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Product Management Education

Amit Bhatia

CEO & Co-Founder of Data People

Amit Bhatia, Co-Founder and CEO of Data People: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Intelligence

Sebastian Schüller

Co-founder of HiPeople

Sebastian Schüller, Co-founder of HiPeople: $7 Million Raised to Develop Data-Driven Augmentation for Hiring Teams

Rob Whalen

CEO of PTO Exchange

Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange: $5M Raised to Empower Companies to Rethink Paid Time Off

Karoli Hindriks

Founder of Jobbatical

Karoli Hindriks, Founder of Jobbatical: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Mobility with AI-Powered Relocation Solutions

Ville Herva

CEO of BOLT.works

Ville Herva, CEO of BOLT.works: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Staffing

Omer Glass

Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace

Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace: $44 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Development

Tuck Hauptfuhrer

CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter

Tuck Hauptfuhrer, CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Job Search

Tom Griffiths

CEO and Co-founder of Hone

Tom Griffiths, CEO of Hone: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Training

Jason Lavender

CEO of Electives

Jason Lavender, CEO of Electives: $10M Raised to Redefine Corporate Training

John Kim

Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform

John Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting with a Marketplace for Specialized Talent

Chandler Malone

Founder of Bootup

Chandler Malone, Founder of Bootup: $2 Million Raised to Solve the Tech Talent Crisis

Jennifer Dulski

CEO & Founder of Rising Team

Jennifer Dulski, CEO & Founder of Rising Team: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Team Performance

Kelsey Bishop

Founder and CEO of Candor

Kelsey Bishop, Founder and CEO of Candor: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Professional Relationship-Building

Matthew Sydney

CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits

Matthew Sydney, CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of On-Demand Employee Benefits

Hanna Asmussen

CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze

Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze: Over $48 Million Raised to Build the Leading Global Mobility Platform for Companies and Employees

Avi Singer

CEO & Founder of Showd.me

Avi Singer, CEO & Founder of Showd.me: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compliance Training

Mike Adams

Co-Founder & CEO of Grain

Mike Adams, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain: $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings

Andy Berman

CEO and Founder of Vowel

Andy Berman, CEO and Founder of Vowel: $13 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings

Anthony Mironov

CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan

Anthony Mironov, CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan: $30 Million Raised to Power the Contractor Experience of the Future

Kevin Busque

CEO and Founder of Guideline

Kevin Busque, CEO and Founder of Guideline: $339 Million Raised to Help More Small Businesses Offer Retirement Plans

Siadhal Magos

CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview

Siadhal Magos, CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview: $14 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring

Mousa Yassin

CEO and Founder of Pixaera

Mousa Yassin, CEO and Founder of Pixaera: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of VR Safety Training

Michael Ioffe

CEO & Co-Founder of Arist

Michael Ioffe, CEO & Co-Founder of Arist: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Autonomous L&D

Kian Katanforoosh

CEO & Founder of Workera

Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Skills Intelligence Category

Albert Owusu-Asare

CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana

Albert Owusu-Asare, CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Payroll Infrastructure

Brett Martin

President and Co-Founder of Kumospace

Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Virtual Offices

Laura McGee

Founder and CEO of Diversio

Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Measure and Improve DEI

Wes Winham Winler

Founder/CEO of Woven

Wes Winham Winler, CEO of Woven: $11 Million Raised to Transform How Companies Recruit and Hire Developers

Sammy Singh

CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow

Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Staffing

Daniel Liebeskind

CEO and Co-Founder of Topia

Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Build Their Own Metaverse

Sam Naficy

CEO of Prodoscore

Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Productivity Measurement

Nicole Fuselier

VP of Marketing of Bonusly

Revenue-Driven Marketing: Insights from Nicole Fuselier of Bonusly

Ben Sesser

CEO & Founder of BrightHire

Ben Sesser, CEO & Founder of BrightHire: $36 Million Raised to Build the Interview Intelligence Category

Tony Jamous

CEO of Oyster

Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster: $220+ Million Raised to Build the Global Employment Platform (GEP) Category

Fraser Patterson

CEO and Founder of Skillit

Fraser Patterson, CEO and Founder of Skillit: $13 Million Raised to Tackle the Skilled Labor Crisis in Construction

Barbra Gago

CEO and Founder of Pando

Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Career Advancement

Sid Upadhyay

Co-Founder & CEO of WizeHire

Sid Upadhyay, Co-Founder & CEO at WizeHire: Over $30 Million Raised to Help SMBs Hire Great Talent

Nishika de Rosairo

CEO and Founder of HumanQ

Nishika de Rosairo, CEO and Founder of HumanQ: $3.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Human Development

Ian White

Founder of ChartHop

Ian White, Founder, CEO and CTO of ChartHop: $74 Million Raised to Build the Future of PeopleOps

Jason Radisson

CEO and Founder of Movo

Jason Radisson, CEO and Founder of Movo: Over $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Automation

Agapitos Diakogiannis

Co-founder & CEO of Seafair

Agapitos Diakogiannis, CEO of Seafair: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Maritime Recruitment

Ben Zweig

CEO of Revelio Labs

Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Workforce Intelligence

Jaclyn Chen

CEO of Benepass

Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Benefits Management

Achuthanand Ravi

Founder & CEO of Kula

Achuthanand Ravi, CEO of Kula: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting

Marcelo Lebre

President of Remote

Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder & COO of Remote: Nearly $500 Million Raised to Power the Distributed Workforce of the Future

Mike Fitzsimmons

CEO and Co-Founder of Crosschq

Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO & Co-Founder of Crosschq: $35 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring Intelligence

Matt Pierce

CEO of Immediate

Matt Pierce, CEO of Immediate: $15 Million Raised to Eliminate the Costly Price of Financial Stress in the Workforce

Josh Merrill

CEO of Confirm

Josh Merrill, CEO of Confirm: Over $11 Million Raised to End the Performance Review Nightmare

Will Sealy

CEO and Co-Founder of Summer

Will Sealy, CEO and Co-Founder of Summer: Over $18 Million Raised to Help Organizations Provide Student Loan Benefits

Peter Briffett

CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream

Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream: $370 Million Raised to Provide Financial Wellbeing for Every Frontline Employee

Warren Lebovics

Co-Founder of Pequity

Warren Lebovics, Co-Founder of Pequity: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Compensation