Character Lab
Character Lab was a Philadelphia-based nonprofit founded in 2013 that provided free, research-based playbooks and resources to help parents and teachers develop children's character strengths in gratitude, kindness, self-control, curiosity, growth mindset, and creativity. It sunset operations in June 2024.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Character Lab does
Character Lab was a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization founded in 2013 with the stated mission of advancing the science and practice of character development. The organization served two primary user segments: parents seeking actionable, science-based advice for developing character strengths in their children, and teachers seeking evidence-based classroom resources and playbooks. Co-founded by Angela Duckworth, the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the organization anchored its credibility to peer-reviewed academic research in positive psychology and behavioral science.
Character Lab's product offering consisted of a digital content library organized around six core character strengths — Curiosity, Gratitude, Self-Control, Kindness, Growth Mindset, and Creativity — grouped into three domains (Heart, Mind, Will). Core deliverables included six evidence-based Playbooks, a weekly 'Tips of the Week' email cadence, and downloadable activities such as Gratitude Journals, Gratitude Letters, Three Good Things exercises, WOOP for Classrooms (a goal-setting methodology based on Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions research), and classroom posters and slide decks. Each playbook was co-developed with named academic contributors including Scott Barry Kaufman, James C. Kaufman, Giacomo Bono, Kyla Haimovitz, David Yeager, Julia Revord, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and Gabriele Oettingen. The technology footprint was a static content website with no app, no public API, no SDK, and no third-party integrations.
The business model was non-commercial: all content was distributed free of charge under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, meaning there was no pricing model, no revenue capture mechanism, and no disclosed funding rounds or donor base in the input data. The organization operated with 1-10 employees throughout its life. In June 2024, Character Lab sunset operations and converted its website to a legacy site, ceasing active program delivery.
Character Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Character Lab
- Legal name
- Character Lab
- Website
- https://characterlab.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Character Lab was a Philadelphia-based nonprofit founded in 2013 that provided free, research-based playbooks and resources to help parents and teachers develop children's character strengths in gratitude, kindness, self-control, curiosity, growth mindset, and creativity. It sunset operations in June 2024.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Character Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Character Development Education
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Study Skills & Academic Success Guides (Students) (EDAGAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Kids & Family Curated Content Platforms (MPACAKAL), Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE)
Keywords
Where Character Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Character Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Marketing channels3 records
Character Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Character Lab produced and freely distributed science-based educational content for parents and teachers focused on developing character strengths in children. Its core offerings included six Character Playbooks (Curiosity, Gratitude, Self-Control, Kindness, Growth Mindset, Creativity), weekly Tips of the Week, and a library of classroom activities and downloadable resources. All content was provided at no cost under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Product overview
Character Lab is a nonprofit organization that sunset operations in June 2024. Its product offering consists of Playbooks (six evidence-based guides covering character strengths: Curiosity, Gratitude, Self-Control, Kindness, Growth Mindset, and Creativity), Tips of the Week (weekly actionable advice), and educational Activities/Resources (Gratitude Journal, Gratitude Letter, Three Good Things, WOOP for Classrooms, Slides for Teachers, and Classroom Posters). These resources work together as a content library providing parents and teachers with science-based guidance for developing children's character strengths across heart, mind, and will dimensions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Character Lab
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Character Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Character Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves4 records
Expansion highlights1 record
Character Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Character.org: National nonprofit dedicated to character education in schools and communities. Directly comparable as a character development organization serving parents and educators with research-backed frameworks and free resources.
- 7 Mindsets: Edtech company providing character development and SEL curriculum and tools for schools. Comparable as a commercial character education provider serving K-12 educators with structured, evidence-informed content.
- Search Institute: Nonprofit research organization behind the Developmental Assets framework for positive youth development. Directly comparable as a research-driven organization providing frameworks and resources for character development in young people.
- Making Caring Common: Harvard Graduate School of Education initiative focused on character and ethical development in young people. Closely comparable as an academic-anchored character development initiative providing parent and educator resources.
- CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): Leading organization advancing social-emotional learning in K-12 education. Directly comparable as a research-based nonprofit providing frameworks, resources, and educator guidance for character/SEL development.
- Greater Good in Education: Education arm of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, offering research-based resources on character strengths and well-being for educators. Directly comparable as a university-based character development content platform.
Emerging players
- PERTS (Stanford Center for Open and Reproducible Learning Science): Stanford-based center developing scalable interventions around growth mindset, belonging, and other non-cognitive skills. Comparable as a research-based organization producing evidence-based character development tools for educators.
Broad incumbents
- KIPP Public Schools: Large national charter school network with character development as one of its explicit pillars. Comparable as a major educational organization that embeds character development into its core program at scale.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Character Lab social profiles
Digital presenceCharacter Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Character Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Character Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Character Lab 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 Character Lab
What does Character Lab do?
Character Lab produced and freely distributed science-based educational content for parents and teachers focused on developing character strengths in children. Its core offerings included six Character Playbooks (Curiosity, Gratitude, Self-Control, Kindness, Growth Mindset, Creativity), weekly Tips of the Week, and a library of classroom activities and downloadable resources. All content was provided at no cost under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Is Character Lab a public or private company?
Character Lab is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Character Lab founded?
Character Lab was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Character Lab based?
Character Lab is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Character Lab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Character.org, 7 Mindsets, Search Institute, Making Caring Common, CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) and Greater Good in Education. PERTS (Stanford Center for Open and Reproducible Learning Science) is listed as an emerging player. KIPP Public Schools is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Character Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Character Lab.
What industry is Character Lab in?
Character Lab's product category is Character Development Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAIAJ, Study Skills & Academic Success Guides (Students), with a secondary code of MPACAKAL, Kids & Family Curated Content Platforms. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.