About Leaders

What About Leaders does

About Leaders, legally Dr. Mary Kay, Inc., is a privately held leadership development company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Queen Creek, Arizona. It is founder-operated by Dr. Mary Kay Whitaker, a leadership professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with over 30 years of coaching experience. The firm sells a portfolio of proprietary leadership training products centered on the Ultimate Leader System, a six-module, 51-lesson curriculum covering leadership groundwork, connection building, conflict resolution, motivational drivers, expectations, and accountability, supplemented by the Ultimate Communication Hack course and the Team Motivation Assessment. Delivery is offered in three tiers: self-paced online, live interactive Zoom sessions for teams of up to five managers, and in-person two-day retreats at client sites for teams of up to ten managers.

The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: a WordPress-based learning management system built on Thrive Apprentice for course delivery and ThriveCart for payment processing. All premium content is hosted inside About Leaders University, the subscriber-facing LMS platform launched in 2022. The company also distributes a free lead magnet, the Ultimate Guide to Conflict Resolution PDF, to support top-of-funnel demand capture. Notably, the offering is explicitly human-led and non-AI, with no algorithmic personalization, AI coaching, or automated assessment logic underpinning the curriculum.

About Leaders operates a hybrid go-to-market combining self-serve e-commerce for individual managers with a sales-assisted enterprise motion featuring complimentary discovery calls and customized proposals. Its enterprise reference list includes GE, Bosch, Koch Industries, Terex, the Department of Energy, Red Cross, Mars Pet Care, and Leo A Daly, suggesting historical reach across manufacturing, energy, government, nonprofit, and consumer goods sectors. Revenue is generated from online course subscriptions, premium live training engagements, executive coaching, and ancillary income from sponsored guest posts and affiliate links. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent entity, and a 1–10 employee headcount, positioning it as a small, founder-led professional services and content business rather than a venture-backed scale platform.

Name

About Leaders

Legal name

Dr. Mary Kay, Inc.

Website

https://aboutleaders.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

About Leaders is a privately held, founder-led leadership development company selling the proprietary Ultimate Leader System and related courses to enterprise clients and individual managers through a WordPress-based LMS, live training, and executive coaching.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Leadership Assessment, 360 Feedback & Development Planning (EDABAAAK), Team & Group Executive Coaching (Leadership Teams) (EDABANAF), Organizational Culture & Values-Based Leadership (EDABAAAE), Talent Management & Leadership Advisory (Succession, Performance, Culture) (BPACAJAH)

Keywords

• Leadership development training
• Executive coaching services
• Management training programs
• Team motivation assessment
• Conflict resolution training

Headquarters

HQ city

Queen Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Online Leadership Courses: Self-paced online courses including Ultimate Leader System, Ultimate Communication Hack, and Team Motivation Assessment. Sold individually with one-time purchase or subscription options through ThriveCart.
2. Interactive Team Training: Live virtual training combining self-paced modules with 3 two-hour Zoom sessions with Dr. Mary Kay for teams of up to 5 managers. Premium pricing tier.
3. In-Person Training Retreats: On-site two-day training events with Dr. Mary Kay at client location for teams of up to 10 managers. Highest-tier premium offering with customized delivery.
4. Executive Coaching: Personalized one-on-one leadership coaching and development plans for individual leaders and executives.
5. Guest Posts and Sponsored Links: Sponsored content placement on the website with fees ranging from guest posts and sponsored links. Guest posts include one sponsored link and one dofollow link. Content runs for 12 months.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

About Leaders delivers the Ultimate Leader System, a proprietary six-module leadership development program covering leadership groundwork, meaningful connections, conflict resolution, motivational drivers, clear expectations, and accountability. Offerings are delivered via self-paced online courses, interactive live virtual Zoom training, on-site two-day retreats, and one-on-one executive coaching for individual managers and enterprise clients. Supporting products include the Ultimate Communication Hack course, Team Motivation Assessment tool, and free conflict resolution resources, all hosted on the proprietary About Leaders University LMS platform.

Product overview

About Leaders offers a portfolio of leadership development products centered around the Ultimate Leader System, a comprehensive training program delivered through their proprietary LMS platform About Leaders University. The product lineup includes three core offerings: the Ultimate Leader System (a multi-module training with self-paced, interactive, and in-person formats), Ultimate Communication Hack (a communication skills course), and Team Motivation Assessment (an online assessment tool). The company also provides a free resource (Ultimate Guide to Conflict Resolution PDF) and supplementary services including executive coaching, organizational development, and customized training programs. All products are focused on human-led, non-AI leadership development rather than technology-based solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ultimate Leader System: The primary leadership training program with 6 modules covering leadership groundwork, meaningful connections, conflict resolution, motivational drivers, clear expectations, and accountability.
• Ultimate Communication Hack
• Team Motivation Assessment
• About Leaders University

Products and services

• Ultimate Leader System A comprehensive six-module online leadership training program with 51 lessons covering leadership groundwork, connection building, conflict resolution, motivational drivers, expectations, and accountability. Delivered via three formats: self-paced online, interactive Zoom-based training for teams of up to 5 managers, and on-site two-day retreats for teams of up to 10 managers. Bonuses include 360° Assessment, Motivation Assessment, and a 155-page Action Plan Workbook. Designed for individual managers, enterprise leadership teams, and executives across industries.
• Ultimate Communication Hack

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50,000 leaders trained across hundreds of organizations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Development Dimensions International (DDI): Global leadership and talent development provider selling assessments, leadership programs, and executive coaching to large enterprises. Overlaps directly with About Leaders' enterprise offering and 360° assessment content.
• FranklinCovey: Large, publicly-traded leadership and organizational performance training company offering the '7 Habits' and related curricula. Operates globally with a facilitator network and enterprise sales force, making it a broader incumbent in the same leadership development space About Leaders serves.
• Dale Carnegie & Associates: Long-established global training company offering courses in leadership, communication, and team engagement. Comparable in target audience (managers and individual contributors) and course-based delivery model, but with a much larger franchise network.
• Skillsoft: Enterprise learning platform offering leadership, compliance, and technology courses. Competes with About Leaders in the enterprise tier via broader content library, AI coaching tools, and global delivery infrastructure.
• Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning: Sells Harvard-authored leadership content, courses, and learning journeys to enterprises. A much larger, institutionally-backed competitor targeting the same enterprise leadership development buyers, including those served by About Leaders' premium tiers.

Direct peers

• Crucial Learning: Formed by the merger of VitalSmarts and Crucial Conversations, this company specializes in training managers and teams to handle difficult conversations and change — a near-exact thematic overlap with About Leaders' Conversation Map and conflict resolution content.
• Center for Creative Leadership: Nonprofit research and leadership development provider offering assessments, executive coaching, and programs. Comparable on the assessment and executive coaching dimensions, with deeper research credentials but less direct-to-consumer course reach.
• Mind Tools: Subscription-based digital learning platform focused on management, leadership, and communication skills for individual professionals. Competes most directly with About Leaders' self-paced Ultimate Leader System and Ultimate Communication Hack courses.
• John Maxwell Company: Leadership development brand selling courses, coaching certification, and team training built around a single high-profile founder. Highly comparable structure to About Leaders, including founder-led brand, trademarked methodologies, and team training offerings.
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Management and leadership training firm built around 'The One Minute Manager' and Situational Leadership II. Directly competes for the same mid-market and enterprise leadership development budgets via workshops, coaching, and digital learning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 About Leaders