BlueSteps
BlueSteps is a subscription-based executive career management platform owned by AESC, connecting 600,000+ senior executives with 16,000+ certified search professionals across 70+ countries through memberships offering coaching, job leads, benchmarking, and digital credentialing services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What BlueSteps does
BlueSteps, Inc. is a subscription-based executive career management platform and a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), a nonprofit professional association established in 1959. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York, the company connects 600,000+ senior executive members with 16,000+ AESC-certified executive search professionals operating across 70+ countries, serving C-suite executives, board directors, and senior leaders pursuing career advancement, board appointments, and C-level transitions. BlueSteps is positioned as the only career service with direct, exclusive access to the AESC member search-firm ecosystem, which collectively conducts 100,000+ executive placements annually.
The platform is a web-based member portal augmented by a suite of integrated modules: executive job leads sourced from AESC firms, an executive coaching service with complimentary introductory sessions, an eLearning library, compensation benchmarking tools, psychometric leadership assessments, online reputation management resources, and the VeriBlue digital credential wallet. Content resources include career guides, webinars, and reports. The architecture is a platform-plus-modules model in which the core membership subscription unlocks the network and job-board access, while coaching, assessments, benchmarking, and credentialing serve as both value-added benefits and potential upsell surfaces.
Revenue is generated primarily through recurring annual executive membership subscriptions, supplemented by premium executive coaching engagements and eLearning content. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and requires account registration, with promotional incentives such as a 'save50' discount code used for acquisition. Distribution combines self-serve website registration with institutional partnerships across 60+ business schools and alumni associations. The company is privately held with 11-50 employees, no external funding rounds, and no public revenue disclosure.
BlueSteps firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- BlueSteps
- Legal name
- BlueSteps, Inc.
- Website
- https://Bluesteps.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- BlueSteps is a subscription-based executive career management platform owned by AESC, connecting 600,000+ senior executives with 16,000+ certified search professionals across 70+ countries through memberships offering coaching, job leads, benchmarking, and digital credentialing services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
BlueSteps industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Career Services
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional & Business Services Marketplaces (Freelancers, SMB Services) (BPAMAHAG)
Keywords
Where BlueSteps is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
BlueSteps business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Executive Membership Subscriptions: Subscription-based membership providing access to recruiter connections, job leads, career resources, and member benefits. Membership tiers include access to coaching, eLearning, compensation benchmarking, and networking events.
- Executive Coaching Services: Personalized career coaching sessions with executive career advisors specializing in C-suite and board-level career strategy. Offered as an additional premium service to members.
- eLearning and Education: Online educational content including webinars, career guides, and professional development courses for executives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Executive Membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
BlueSteps product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BlueSteps, Inc. operates a subscription-based executive career services platform that gives senior executives, senior managers, and board directors direct access to AESC-certified executive recruiters and confidential job leads worldwide. Members receive a profile listing visible to more than 1,400 executive search firms and can purchase paid premium services including one-to-one career coaching, eLearning courses, compensation benchmarking, leadership assessments, online reputation management, and the VeriBlue digital credential wallet.
Product overview
BlueSteps operates as a platform-plus-modules career service architecture for senior executives. The core offering is the BlueSteps Membership, which provides direct access to AESC-certified executive recruiters and job opportunities. This core platform is enhanced by a suite of supplementary modules including Coaching, eLearning, Compensation Benchmarking, Leadership Assessments, Online Reputation Management, VeriBlue Wallet, and the Matthew Syed Growth Mindset program. The platform also features a Search Firms Directory and Open Executive Searches job board. Content resources include Career Guides, Reports, and Webinars. All services are tied to the AESC association, which has facilitated over 100,000 executive placements annually through its member firms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- BlueSteps Membership Annual subscription that creates a member profile visible to AESC-certified executive recruiters and unlocks access to confidential executive and board-level job leads worldwide.
- Executive Coaching Premium one-to-one career coaching services for senior executives and managers to support career transitions, executive positioning, and board readiness.
- eLearning Online learning catalog of courses covering leadership development and career management topics for senior executives and board directors.
- Compensation Benchmarking Tool that allows members to benchmark their compensation against peers by industry, region, and role to inform career and negotiation decisions.
- Leadership Assessments Personality and leadership style assessments intended to help senior executives understand their strengths and development areas as part of career planning.
- Online Reputation Management Personal branding and online reputation services that help senior executives enhance their digital presence and visibility to executive recruiters and boards.
- VeriBlue Wallet Digital credential wallet that securely stores and shares verified work history and professional credentials with recruiters and prospective employers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 25% faster career moves experienced by BlueSteps members
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use BlueSteps
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
BlueSteps technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
BlueSteps partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC)coreBlueSteps is a service of AESC, the industry-leading professional association for executive search consultants established in 1959. AESC sets standards for quality and ethics in the executive search profession worldwide. BlueSteps provides AESC members exclusive access to the platform's 600,000+ executive members and serves as the association's primary career services platform.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
BlueSteps competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a broad incumbent in professional networking with massive reach and an executive-focused Premium tier that competes for both recruiter attention and senior candidate time. While not executive-only, its scale dwarfs BlueSteps and it increasingly offers recruiter search and AI-assisted outreach.
- Robert Half International: Robert Half is a broad incumbent staffing and placement firm with a dedicated executive search practice. It overlaps with BlueSteps in serving senior-level job seekers and recruiting firms, though it operates much more broadly across white-collar staffing.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is one of the largest global executive search firms and an AESC member. It is comparable on the executive placement side and increasingly builds proprietary digital platforms for executive talent engagement.
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a broad incumbent and global executive search leader, also an AESC member firm. It competes on the recruiter side and increasingly offers digital talent platforms, overlapping with BlueSteps on the executive search market.
- Glassdoor: Glassdoor is a broad incumbent jobs and employer review platform with a professional audience. While it skews broader than executive-only, its salary benchmarking and recruiter outreach tools overlap with BlueSteps' compensation benchmarking and recruiter-introducing offerings.
Direct peers
- ExecuNet: ExecuNet is a direct peer offering a membership-based executive career management platform with networking, coaching, and job leads targeted at $100K+ professionals. It competes head-to-head with BlueSteps for executive member subscriptions and recruiter attention.
- Ivy Exec: Ivy Exec runs an executive-only membership platform featuring job leads, career resources, and a recruiter network. It directly competes with BlueSteps for the senior executive membership base and recruiter engagement.
- The Ladders: The Ladders is a direct peer focused on $100K+ job listings and executive career matching, operating a subscription model similar to BlueSteps. It targets the same C-suite and senior management candidate pool with recruiter-facing tools.
Emerging players
- ExecThread: ExecThread is an emerging player offering AI-driven executive job matching and a curated executive community; it overlaps with BlueSteps in targeting senior-level candidates with recruiter-introducing services, albeit with a more tech-forward approach.
Others
- Higher Executive Recruiting: Higher is an emerging professional services marketplace that provides an executive recruiter marketplace and compensation data tools, comparable as an ecosystem-adjacent service to BlueSteps' recruiter-directory and benchmarking features.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
BlueSteps social profiles
Digital presenceBlueSteps financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BlueSteps leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
BlueSteps funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BlueSteps 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 BlueSteps
What does BlueSteps do?
BlueSteps, Inc. operates a subscription-based executive career services platform that gives senior executives, senior managers, and board directors direct access to AESC-certified executive recruiters and confidential job leads worldwide. Members receive a profile listing visible to more than 1,400 executive search firms and can purchase paid premium services including one-to-one career coaching, eLearning courses, compensation benchmarking, leadership assessments, online reputation management, and the VeriBlue digital credential wallet.
Is BlueSteps a public or private company?
BlueSteps is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was BlueSteps founded?
BlueSteps was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is BlueSteps based?
BlueSteps is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does BlueSteps make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Executive Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are executive Coaching Services and eLearning and Education.
Who are BlueSteps's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are LinkedIn, Robert Half International, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry and Glassdoor. Direct peers are ExecuNet, Ivy Exec and The Ladders. ExecThread is listed as an emerging player. Higher Executive Recruiting is listed as an others.
Does BlueSteps have an API?
No public API is recorded for BlueSteps.
What industry is BlueSteps in?
BlueSteps's product category is Executive Career Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAHAG, Professional & Business Services Marketplaces (Freelancers, SMB Services). Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 7361.