Lifebound
LifeBound is a Denver-based education company that trains and certifies US higher education faculty, advisors, and academic coaches in evidence-based coaching methodologies through tiered online courses ($497–$5,000) and a published book catalog, with cumulative reach to 5,000+ professionals and 1,000+ institutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lifebound does
LifeBound, LLC is a Denver-based education and training company founded in 2000 by Carol Carter that delivers evidence-based academic and professional coaching programs to US higher education institutions and the professionals who serve college students. Its core product portfolio is a tiered training ladder: a $497 one-day introductory course, a $1,500 three-day live virtual course, a $1,500 self-paced 18-hour online course, and a $5,000 65-hour Coaching Certification Program with seasonal cohorts. The underlying delivery mechanism is an online learning management system branded LifeBound Academy that supports live virtual, self-paced, and instructor-led formats, paired with human coaching sessions from ICF-credentialed trainers. The company also publishes a book catalog spanning middle school through college (Keys to College Success, Keys to Community College Success, high school study-skills series) and operates a by-invitation Healthcare Coaching vertical for caregivers and nurses.
The business model is a pure one-time-fee, pay-as-you-go structure across all training tiers and books — there are no disclosed subscriptions, recurring licenses, or enterprise SaaS contracts. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via the lifebound.com website with online registration and payment, supplemented by phone/email sales for institutional deployments and channel partnerships with TRIO Upward Bound, GlobalMindED, Dallas County Promise, Dakota's Promise, and NROC for audience extension. Customers are higher education administrators, faculty, advisors, and academic coaches at institutions including Purdue University, Kean University, San Diego State University, Indiana University, University of Colorado Denver, Dallas College, Lane Community College, and Western Governors University; the company claims 5,000+ professionals trained and 1,000+ institutions reached cumulatively. The firm is privately held, founder-owned, has no disclosed external funding, and operates with an 11–50 person team anchored by ~15 credentialed trainers and coaches.
Lifebound firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lifebound
- Legal name
- LifeBound, LLC
- Website
- https://lifebound.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- LifeBound is a Denver-based education company that trains and certifies US higher education faculty, advisors, and academic coaches in evidence-based coaching methodologies through tiered online courses ($497–$5,000) and a published book catalog, with cumulative reach to 5,000+ professionals and 1,000+ institutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Lifebound is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lifebound business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- Training Course Fees: One-time fees for coaching training courses including 1-Day Introduction ($497), 3-Day Training ($1,500), and Self-Paced Training ($1,500). Revenue is generated per participant with no recurring component.
- Coaching Certification Program: Comprehensive certification program priced at $5,000 per person with 65 hours of total time commitment including prerequisite coursework, online sessions, cohort work, and coaching practice.
- Book Sales: Sale of print and digital books for 5th grade through college students including Keys to College Success ($30 digital), Study Skills for High School Students ($16.95), and other educational titles ranging from $12.95 to $16.95 for physical books.
- Healthcare Coaching (By Invitation): Specialized coaching courses for caregivers and healthcare professionals, offered by invitation only through April Rice.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 1-Day Introduction to Coaching - Foundational coaching skills for educators |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 3-Day Online Coaching Training - Deeper dive into academic coaching skills |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Self-Paced Online Training - Comprehensive 15-hour coaching course with mentoring |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Coaching Certification - Full certification program with cohort-based learning |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Educational Books - Print and digital resources for students |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Lifebound product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lifebound provides academic and professional coaching training, certification programs, and educational books primarily for higher education institutions, faculty, advisors, and academic coaches. Its core offerings include a 1-Day Introduction to Coaching, a 3-Day Live Virtual Coaching Training, a Self-Paced Online Coaching Course, and a 65-hour Coaching Certification Program, supported by a catalog of student-facing books and free resources such as webinars, newsletters, and a College ROI guide.
Product overview
LifeBound is an education technology and training company that provides a comprehensive suite of academic coaching products and educational resources for higher education institutions. The core product portfolio consists of professional development courses including the 1-Day Introduction to Coaching, 3-Day Coaching Training, Self-Paced Coaching Course, and the 65-hour Coaching Certification Program. These training products work together to equip faculty, academic coaches, and administrators with coaching skills to support student success, mental health, and career readiness. Supporting the training courses, LifeBound publishes a range of books for students from middle school through college (Keys to College Success, Keys to Community College Success, high school and middle school student books) and resources including The ROI Blueprint guide, webinars, and newsletters. A specialized Healthcare Coaching program serves caregivers by invitation. The company focuses on evidence-based coaching methodologies to bridge academic success with workforce readiness.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LifeBound Academy: Online learning platform for self-paced coaching courses
- Keys to College Success
- Keys to Community College Success
- LifeBound Academic & Professional Coaching Skills Training
Products and services
- 1-Day Introduction to Coaching An introductory coaching training course that equips faculty, staff, and academic coaches with foundational coaching strategies to support student success. Offered online in a live, interactive format for up to 20 participants.
- 3-Day Coaching Training A comprehensive three-day live virtual coaching course covering mental health support, retention strategies, career readiness, and interactive coaching practice. Designed for faculty, staff, and academic coaches with 18 hours of training content.
- Self-Paced Coaching Course An 18-hour self-paced online training (15 hours of self-paced content plus three 1-hour private sessions with a LifeBound Coach) that equips academic coaches with evidence-based coaching methods to enhance mental health, student success, and career readiness.
- Coaching Certification Program A 65-hour certification program building coaching competencies through personal coaching sessions, professional development, peer-to-peer coaching, 1:1 client sessions, and group facilitation. Requires prerequisite completion of the 3-Day, 5-Day, or Self-Paced course.
- Healthcare Coaching By-invitation-only coaching courses for caregivers and healthcare professionals, including a Home Healthcare Nursing Success Course and training for CNAs and direct care workers.
- Keys to College Success A book that sets the standard for connecting academic success to success beyond school, teaching students how to apply strategies within college, career, and life. Available in e-book format with online interactive assessments.
- Keys to Community College Success A book for community college students available in e-book format with online interactive assessments, focused on connecting academic success to career success.
- High School Student Books A series of books for high school students including Study Skills For High School Students, Making The Most Of High School, Junior Guide to Senior Year Success, Critical & Creative Thinking for Teenagers, Sophomore Guide to College & Career, Leadership For Teenagers, Majoring In The Rest Of Your Life, and Dollars & Sense.
- Middle School Student Books Books for middle school students including Success in Middle School, People Smarts for Teenagers, and Gifts and Talents for Teenagers.
- Stop Parenting Start Coaching A book for parents on using coaching strategies as parenting tools to help children become self-knowing and accountable.
Quantifiable outcome
- Students who participated in coaching programs improved on multiple measures including higher likelihood of earning 2.0+ GPA and greater persistence to following year
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Lifebound
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Lifebound technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Lifebound partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- TRIO Upward BoundcoreTRIO Upward Bound is a federal outreach and student services program designed to identify and provide services for disadvantaged college students. LifeBound partners with Upward Bound programs to extend coaching training reach to first-generation and low-income students.
- GlobalMindEDcoreGlobalMindED is a community working to close the equity gap in education from early childhood through higher education. LifeBound participates in GlobalMindED conferences and collaborates on improving outcomes for underserved student populations.
- Dallas County PromiseminorDallas County Promise is a collaborative initiative working to increase college completion rates in the Dallas County area. Partnership extends LifeBound's reach to community colleges and universities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
- Dakota's PromiseminorDakota's Promise works to increase postsecondary completion rates for students in South Dakota. Partnership supports LifeBound's mission to improve student success through coaching in the upper Midwest region.
- NROC (National Repository of Online Courses)coreNROC hosts LifeBound webinar recordings including 'Academic Coaching: Promoting Student Resilience in Uncertain Times' and 'High-Impact Summer Bridge Strategies' on their professional development platform, extending LifeBound's content distribution to a wider higher education audience.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights6 records
Lifebound competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- InsideTrack: InsideTrack provides one-on-one coaching for college students to improve persistence, retention, and completion—directly competing with LifeBound's core academic and professional coaching training mission for higher-ed buyers.
- Beyond12: Beyond12 delivers coaching to college students, especially first-generation and underrepresented learners, to drive graduation and career outcomes—an overlapping student-success coaching model with LifeBound.
- College Possible: College Possible runs near-peer coaching programs for low-income and first-generation college students to improve completion rates, serving a similar institutional and student-success buyer base as LifeBound.
- Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides one-on-one college access and success coaching for first-generation students, addressing retention and graduation—directly comparable to LifeBound's institutional coaching programs.
- CoachTrainingEDU: CoachTrainingEDU offers ICF-accredited life and academic coach certification programs, directly comparable to LifeBound's Coaching Certification track for educators and academic coaches.
- Institute for Life Coach Training: ILCT offers ICF-accredited coach training and certification programs with specialty tracks including academic coaching—competing with LifeBound's certification and training curriculum.
Broad incumbents
- International Coaching Federation (ICF): ICF sets the dominant coach credentialing standard and accredits training programs including LifeBound-aligned ones; it is the broader incumbent that defines the market in which LifeBound's certification competes.
- Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE): CCE provides board-certified coach credentials (BCC) and accredits coach training programs, overlapping with the credentialing layer LifeBound's certification program feeds into.
Emerging players
- Studypool: Studypool offers on-demand homework help and tutoring, adjacent to LifeBound's student success/study skills content but focused on transactional tutoring rather than coach training for institutions.
- WGU Academy: WGU Academy (affiliated with Western Governors University, where LifeBound's Sarah Zeren also works) provides online preparatory courses for college readiness, an adjacent student-success offering that shares LifeBound's coaching-trained buyer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lifebound social profiles
Digital presenceLifebound financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lifebound leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Lifebound funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lifebound M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lifebound
What does Lifebound do?
Lifebound provides academic and professional coaching training, certification programs, and educational books primarily for higher education institutions, faculty, advisors, and academic coaches. Its core offerings include a 1-Day Introduction to Coaching, a 3-Day Live Virtual Coaching Training, a Self-Paced Online Coaching Course, and a 65-hour Coaching Certification Program, supported by a catalog of student-facing books and free resources such as webinars, newsletters, and a College ROI guide.
Is Lifebound a public or private company?
Lifebound is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lifebound founded?
Lifebound was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lifebound based?
Lifebound is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lifebound make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Training Course Fees are the primary driver. The others are coaching Certification Program, book Sales and healthcare Coaching (By Invitation).
Who are Lifebound's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are InsideTrack, Beyond12, College Possible, Bottom Line, CoachTrainingEDU and Institute for Life Coach Training. Broad incumbents are International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE). Emerging players are Studypool and WGU Academy.
Does Lifebound have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lifebound.