BlueSteps

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.

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

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

• Executive career services
• Executive recruitment
• Career management
• Executive coaching
• Leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. eLearning and Education: Online educational content including webinars, career guides, and professional development courses for executives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1959BlueSteps 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

Broad 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

• Xx.com/BlueSteps
• Facebookfacebook.com/167865216670811
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluesteps-com
• Instagraminstagram.com/bluesteps_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 BlueSteps