Growing Leaders

What Growing Leaders does

Growing Leaders is a non-profit youth leadership development organization founded in 2003 by Dr. Tim Elmore and headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia. Since 2023 it has operated under Maxwell Leadership Foundation following a merger with John C. Maxwell's non-profit. The company develops and licenses iLead (formerly Habitudes), a research-driven, peer-to-peer K-12 leadership curriculum structured around 16 core leadership values and 48 micro-lessons delivered through a four-part lesson architecture: Memorable Images, Meaningful Conversations, Making Choices, and Making Changes. The curriculum is offered in tiered formats for Elementary, Middle School, High School, and College/University segments, distributed via a self-serve digital platform (app.habitudesonline.com) for individual classrooms and through assisted district pilot programs for larger implementations.

Revenue is generated through a mix of subscription-based curriculum licensing (Basic, Single Classroom, Whole School tiers), paid district and state pilot programs with professional development, book sales (including Patrick M. Erwin's 'I Love This Place'), and speaker/training engagements. Go-to-market combines direct sales to K-12 schools and districts, event-driven demand generation (webinars, professional development, speaker bookings), and community-led content marketing through a blog, newsletter, and two podcasts (School on a Mission and Leadership Unscripted). The Maxwell Leadership Student Ambassador (MLSA) program operates as a grassroots channel with chapters in Atlanta, GA and Columbia, SC.

The company reports reaching 5 million students across 120+ countries, with educator-reported outcomes including 92% stronger classroom culture after one iLead cycle, a 2.4x increase in student self-confidence, and a 78% reduction in discipline referrals among high-participation groups. Strategic partnerships include the Maxwell Leadership Foundation, the Education Association (TEA), and the Georgia Center for Education Innovation. The organization employs 11-50 people and revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Growing Leaders

Legal name

Growing Leaders

Website

https://growingleaders.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Growing Leaders is a non-profit that develops and licenses iLead, a peer-to-peer K-12 leadership curriculum built around 16 core values and 48 micro-lessons. Operating under Maxwell Leadership Foundation since 2023, it serves schools, districts, and universities in 120+ countries through tiered subscriptions, district pilots, books, and speaker services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Leadership Curriculum

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG)

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• K-12 character education
• Leadership curriculum
• Student life skills
• Educational resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Peachtree City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Curriculum Licensing/Subscription: Growing Leaders generates revenue through tiered curriculum licensing for schools and districts. Plans include Basic (16 Student Tables), Single Classroom, and Whole School options with varying levels of content access, video training libraries, slide decks, and extension materials.
2. Book Sales: Sale of published books including 'I Love This Place' by Patrick M. Erwin with bulk pricing discounts for educators (10-29 books: 10% off, 30-49 books: 20% off, 50+ books: custom pricing).
3. Speaking and Training Services: Revenue from booking speakers, trainers, and facilitators for schools, conferences, and professional development events.
4. District Pilot Programs: Paid pilot programs for districts and states including 1-year digital access, professional development, implementation coaching, and impact assessment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Growing Leaders provides research-driven, peer-to-peer leadership curriculum for K-12 schools and colleges, delivered through image-based learning methodologies (Habitudes/iLead). The curriculum includes 16 core leadership values and 48 micro-lessons across grade-level tiers for elementary, middle school, high school, and college/university students, supported by a digital platform (habitudesonline.com) and integrated leadership development resources.

Product overview

Growing Leaders offers iLead, a unified values-based K-12 leadership curriculum (formerly Habitudes) created by Dr. John C. Maxwell and Dr. Tim Elmore, now powered by Maxwell Leadership Foundation following a 2023 merger. The portfolio includes tiered iLead programs for Elementary, Middle School, High School, and College/University, plus the Maxwell Leadership Student Ambassador (MLSA) program. Supporting resources include the Growing Leaders Blog, NextGen Leadership Insider Newsletter, School on a Mission Podcast, Leadership Unscripted Podcast, leadership assessment quizzes, and published books. The iLead curriculum features 16 core leadership values, 48 micro-lessons with four components (Memorable Images, Meaningful Conversations, Making Choices, Making Changes), and is available in Basic, Single Classroom, and Whole School pricing tiers with digital platform access, video training, slide decks, and parent engagement resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iLead: A values-based K-12 leadership curriculum that equips students with character, confidence, and critical life skills. Previously known as Habitudes.

Products and services

• iLead Curriculum
• Maxwell Leadership Student Ambassador (MLSA) Program
• I Love This Place Book
• Speaker and Training Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of educators report stronger classroom culture after one iLead cycle
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Dr. John C. MaxwellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Leadership guru and author of 150+ books on leadership development. Provides proven principles that power the iLead curriculum. Growing Leaders was founded by Dr. Tim Elmore and is powered by the proven principles of John C. Maxwell.
• Maxwell Leadership FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2023, John Maxwell and Tim Elmore merged their non-profits to form Maxwell Leadership Foundation, creating a more powerful team combining Tim's image-based curriculum methodology with John C. Maxwell's proven leadership principles. This strategic merger strengthened Growing Leaders' curriculum foundation.
• Dr. Tim ElmorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder of Growing Leaders and creator of the Habitudes/iLead curriculum methodology. Bestselling author with 35+ books. International speaker who equips educators, coaches, and parents to develop leadership in the next generation.
• TEA (The Education Association)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner listed on the company website. TEA supports education professionals and works with Growing Leaders on leadership development initiatives.
• Georgia Center for Education InnovationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting educational innovation initiatives in Georgia.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Panorama Education: Well-funded K-12 SEL and student-success platform used by thousands of districts. Overlaps with iLead at the district administrator level where Panorama's measurement tools increasingly sit alongside or compete against iLead's impact assessment package.
• Move This World: Social-emotional learning curriculum provider for K-12, selling school-wide and district licenses with a video-based delivery model that intersects with iLead's media-rich classroom resources.
• BASE Education: Digital SEL curriculum for secondary students with self-paced modules and progress monitoring, overlapping with iLead's high school tier, particularly in alternative and credit-recovery school settings.

Broad incumbents

• FranklinCovey Education: Parent organization of Leader in Me; broader enterprise leadership and education business with consultant-led implementations comparable in scope to Growing Leaders' district pilot and speaking engagements.
• Newsela: Large K-12 content and SEL platform that districts often include in instructional bundles. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but part of the same district curriculum review committees that decide on iLead adoption.
• Nearpod: Broader K-12 instructional platform that includes SEL-adjacent content and lesson delivery used by thousands of schools. While not directly competitive in core leadership content, it can displace iLead in advisory-block adoption decisions via its all-in-one pitch.

Direct peers

• Second Step (Committee for Children): Research-backed SEL curriculum for K-8 that is among the most widely adopted programs in U.S. schools. Competes for the same advisory-period and whole-school slots that iLead targets.
• 7 Mindsets: K-12 leadership and SEL curriculum sold on school- and district-wide licenses. Overlaps iLead's image- and values-based methodology with packaged lesson plans, professional development, and assessment.
• CharacterStrong: Direct competitor offering character education and social-emotional curriculum for K-12 schools with tiered school-wide pricing. Targets the same educator and administrator buyers as iLead and competes head-to-head on the Whole School annual subscription tier.
• Leader in Me: FranklinCovey Education's K-12 whole-school leadership program, the closest direct competitor to iLead. Both sell tiered leadership curricula into elementary, middle, and high schools targeting similar administrators and district buyers with comparable subscription licensing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/growingleaders
• FacebookFacebook.com/growingleadersinc
• InstagramInstagram.com/growingleaders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Growing Leaders