Young Heroes

What Young Heroes does

Young Heroes is a Netherlands-based, founder-led HR tech and coaching startup that helps organizations attract, engage, and retain young professionals, with a particular focus on Gen Z talent. The company sells through a B2B, founder-led motion targeting HR and L&D leaders, anchored by a proprietary four-step Early-Career Experience framework (Inspire, Research, Learn, Realize) that combines inspirational sessions, organizational diagnostics, learning programs, and implementation support. Its named customers span Dutch healthcare (UMCG, ProCare BV), higher education (NHL Stenden), social services (Veilig Thuis Groningen), food manufacturing (Royal Steensma), sports (Sportief Besteed Groep), and professional services (Loo van Eck).

The core product is a coaching and mentoring platform for young professionals, augmented by in-person workshops and DISC-based assessments. The platform is web-based (built on Next.js), but underlying technical architecture is not publicly disclosed; no public API, SDK, mobile app, or AI/ML capabilities are referenced in the source material. The offering extends to a smaller direct-to-consumer motion serving individual young professionals and a 'For Coaches' segment that signals an emerging two-sided ecosystem.

The business model combines professional-services revenue (custom B2B engagements with multi-year contract cadence implied) with platform/program subscriptions and a coach network. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based, consistent with a bespoke consulting motion. The company has raised a single disclosed €400,000 seed round in May 2023 from G-Force Capital and NOM (the Northern Netherlands regional development agency) and operates with 1–10 employees out of Groningen, Netherlands.

Name

Young Heroes

Legal name

Young Heroes

Website

https://youngheroes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Young Heroes is a Netherlands-based HR tech and coaching startup that helps organizations attract, engage, and retain young professionals (especially Gen Z) through a proprietary four-step Early-Career Experience framework, delivered via consulting engagements, a coaching platform, and in-person workshops to Dutch HR and L&D leaders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Career Talent Development Consulting

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Management (LMS) & Talent Development (BPACAPAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG)

Keywords

• Early-career development
• Talent retention consulting
• Gen Z engagement
• Employee coaching services
• HR learning programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Groningen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. B2B Consulting & Workshops: Engagement-based professional services for HR teams and leadership: inspirational sessions, research/diagnostics, learning programs, and implementation support following the 4-step Early-Career Experience framework. Likely project/engagement-based with potential for recurring programs.
2. Platform & Program Subscriptions: Subscription or program-based access to the Young Heroes platform for organizations, providing learning/coaching programs for cohorts of young professionals (DISC assessments, coaching sessions, in-person workshops).
3. Coach Network & Individual Coaching: Revenue from individual young professionals and a network of coaches; offers a 'For Coaches' segment implying a marketplace or partner model that may generate referral, licensing, or platform-fee revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Young Heroes helps organizations attract, engage, and retain young professionals (especially Gen Z) through a proprietary four-step Early-Career Experience methodology (Inspire, Research, Learn, Realize). It combines in-person workshops, data-driven organizational diagnostics, one-on-one coaching, DISC assessments, and a coaching/mentoring platform to design and implement structured early-career learning strategies for HR and L&D leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early-Career Experience Program (4-step engagement) Structured four-step consulting and engagement program (Inspire, Research, Learn, Realize) for HR and L&D leaders to design and implement early-career learning strategies that retain young professionals, delivered through workshops, data capture, and change management support.
• Young Heroes Coaching & Mentoring Platform Coaching/mentoring platform that connects young professionals with coaches, delivers DISC assessments, coaching sessions, in-person workshops, and provides HR leaders with tools and data-driven insights to support cohorts of early-career employees.
• One-on-One Coaching Engagement One-on-one coaching sessions for young professionals focused on personal development, professional skills, and career direction, delivered by coaches in the Young Heroes network (e.g., engagement referenced by ProCare BV and NHL Stenden participants).
• Inspirational Workshops & Leadership Programs In-person inspirational sessions, leadership programs, and workshops for organizational leaders and teams to put Gen Z and early-career engagement on the agenda and share practical examples (e.g., Leadership Program at UMCG).
• For Coaches Network Partnership Partnership offering for independent coaches to join the Young Heroes network and deliver coaching engagements to young professionals, providing access to structured early-career assignments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of companies indicate problems with, and are concerns about, young professionals (market context).
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CoachHub: Berlin-based digital coaching platform serving enterprise HR and L&D buyers across Europe. Highly comparable to Young Heroes in offering structured coaching engagements and a coach marketplace, with a broader geographic footprint and deeper enterprise penetration that Young Heroes will encounter when expanding beyond the Netherlands.
• Lepaya: Amsterdam-based power skills and L&D provider offering cohort-based training and coaching for early-career and mid-career professionals. Directly competes with Young Heroes in the Dutch market for HR/L&D budget targeting the same Gen Z and early-career segment, with a more developed productized curriculum and corporate client base.
• Torch: Coaching and leadership development platform that combines 1:1 coaching with team development programs for organizations. Comparable in delivering coaching-led early-career and leadership development to HR leaders, with a more established US footprint and a similar platform-plus-coach-network model.
• Coaching.com: Coaching platform and marketplace that powers enterprise coaching programs and connects organizations with a network of coaches. Closely comparable to Young Heroes' coach-network and program model, though operating primarily in the US with a broader coaching taxonomy rather than a Gen Z early-career focus.

Broad incumbents

• BetterUp: Global coaching and workforce development platform combining 1:1 coaching, AI-driven personalization, and leadership programs for enterprise HR buyers. Operates at significantly greater scale and breadth than Young Heroes and competes for the same retention-driven L&D wallet, especially among multinational clients.
• 15Five: Employee performance and engagement platform used by HR teams to develop and retain talent. Adjacent to Young Heroes' retention value proposition, with overlapping buyer (HR leaders) and engagement/coaching features, though 15Five is a performance-management suite rather than a Gen Z early-career specialist.
• TalentLMS: Cloud-based learning management system used by HR and L&D teams to deliver structured training programs. Comparable to the platform portion of Young Heroes' offering, especially for cohort-based early-career learning, but operates as a horizontal LMS rather than a vertical early-career specialist.
• GoodHabitz: European learning and development content library and platform headquartered in the Netherlands. Overlaps with Young Heroes' L&D positioning for HR buyers, but addresses the audience with a broad, off-the-shelf content catalog rather than the bespoke early-career specialization Young Heroes emphasizes.
• Degreed: Global learning experience platform that aggregates skills development, content, and pathways for enterprise workforces. Competes with Young Heroes for HR/L&D budget focused on retention and development, but addresses it with a broad learning infrastructure play rather than an early-career coaching specialization.

Regional players

• Springest: Dutch learning marketplace and comparison platform that helps professionals and organizations discover training providers. Adjacent to Young Heroes' offering — both target Dutch HR/L&D buyers for professional development — but Springest is a marketplace aggregator rather than a direct coaching/early-career specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/youngheroesplatform

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Heroes