The Empathy Lab

What The Empathy Lab does

The Empathy Lab, Inc. is a privately held, 100% Black-owned empathy training and community practice company founded in 2018 by Shelton J. Davis in Atlanta, Georgia. Its core offering is the Empathy Decathlon®, a registered-trademark, 10-skill training framework that treats empathy as a trainable muscle, combining human-centered design, cognitive behavioral research, and an athletic training metaphor. The framework is delivered through live facilitated workshops (in-person and via Zoom), a printed/digital Playbook, and supporting assets such as the Listening Blockers PDF, with no software-as-a-service or algorithmic technology underlying the methodology.

The company operates a community-led go-to-market motion anchored by the Empathy Athlete Community (EAC) on Discord, with weekly free and paid live practices (Wednesdays and Fridays) and a low-cost $5.55/month Empathy Standup subscription as the entry tier. Enterprise revenue comes from the Full Decathlon Team Practice (Marathon Practice), a 6-week minimum engagement starting at $10,000, sold directly via founder-led outreach and discovery calls, plus shorter Empathy Team Talks. Named customers include Nationwide Insurance, FHI360, GCI Health, Pupil Labs, Verusen, PR Council, and MAFN, spanning insurance, international development, healthcare communications, technology, supply chain, and non-profit verticals. Additional revenue comes from merchandise (Empathy Athlete T-Shirts at $25, Vote Empathy T-Shirts with proceeds to the Equal Justice Initiative, and a $5 Pen Pal handwritten letter product) and a Patreon channel.

Name

The Empathy Lab

Legal name

Empathy Lab, Inc.

Website

https://empathylab.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Empathy Lab is an Atlanta-based empathy training practice that delivers the Empathy Decathlon®, a proprietary 10-skill framework, through enterprise workshops, a Discord-based community, and live facilitated sessions for corporate teams, non-profits, and individuals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Team Workshops: The Full Decathlon Team Practice is a 6-week minimum engagement at a starting investment of $10,000. Includes a Discovery session, Empathy Decathlon Playbook for each participant, pre/mid/post surveys, office hours, and 3 Empathy Standup handoff sessions. Sold directly to enterprise teams and organizations.
2. Empathy Team Talks: Shorter interactive team sessions where Empathy Lab interacts with a team to assess empathy culture and introduce Empathy Decathlon tools. One-time or recurring engagement.
3. Empathy Athlete T-Shirt: Empathy Athlete branded merchandise sold at $25.00 per t-shirt via the company's e-commerce shop. Each purchase signifies membership in the Empathy Athlete community.
4. Empathy Lab Pen Pal: A $5.00 handwritten letter product where founder Shelton Davis writes first and sends stickers and sketches. A novelty/community engagement product.
5. Empathy Standup Subscription: Recurring monthly subscription at $5.55/month for access to weekly Empathy Standup practice sessions. Structured as a low-cost entry point to the Empathy Lab community.
6. Empathy Athlete Community Membership: Subscription membership providing full access to the Empathy Decathlon curriculum, weekly live practices (Wednesdays and Fridays), a Discord-based community, resource library, recorded sessions, and an Empathy Athlete t-shirt and practice pack upon reaching 6-month membership milestone.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Empathy Lab sells empathy training and practice experiences built on its proprietary Empathy Decathlon® framework. Core offerings include enterprise team workshops (the Full Decathlon Team Practice — a 6-week minimum engagement starting at $10,000), shorter Team Talks for empathy culture assessment, a recurring individual subscription (Empathy Standup at $5.55/month), and a Discord-based membership community (Empathy Athlete Community). Revenue is rounded out by branded merchandise (t-shirts, Pen Pal letters).

Product overview

The Empathy Lab operates as an empathy training and community practice company built around the Empathy Decathlon framework—a 10-skill training series. The core offerings include personalized company workshops (Marathon Practice starting at $10,000 for 6 weeks), Empathy Team Talks for assessments, and Empathy Standup subscriptions ($5.55/month) for recurring practice. The Empathy Athlete Community (EAC) is a Discord-based membership providing weekly live practices and curriculum access. Physical merchandise includes t-shirts (Empathy Athlete and Vote Empathy at $25) and a Pen Pal letter service ($5).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Empathy Decathlon®: A registered trademark framework consisting of 10 empathy skills designed to condition empathy muscles and empower collective success.

Products and services

• Full Decathlon Team Practice (Marathon Practice) A 6-week minimum enterprise team workshop engagement for organizations that walks teams through the 10-skill Empathy Decathlon® framework. Includes a Discovery session with 5–8 practices, an Empathy Decathlon Playbook for each participant, pre/mid/post surveys, office hours, and 3 concluding Empathy Standup handoff sessions. Targeted at enterprise and mid-market teams; investment starts at $10,000.
• Empathy Team Talks Shorter interactive team sessions in which Empathy Lab works with a team to assess empathy culture and introduce Empathy Decathlon® tools and frameworks. Intended as a one-time or recurring engagement for teams evaluating empathy culture before committing to longer team workshops.
• Empathy Standup A recurring weekly 30-minute group empathy practice subscription at $5.55/month, modeled on agile standups. Each session includes a warm-up (5 senses check-in, Energy & Baggage review), an empathy skill workout, cool down, and a guided send-off. Designed as a low-cost recurring entry point to the Empathy Lab practice for individuals.
• Empathy Athlete Community (EAC) A subscription membership community operated on Discord with weekly LIVE empathy practices (Wednesdays 9am & 12:30pm ET; Fridays 11am ET) via Zoom. Provides full access to the Empathy Decathlon® curriculum, worksheets, videos, a resource library, recorded sessions, a job board, and partnership announcements. Members at the 6-month milestone receive an Empathy Athlete t-shirt and practice pack.
• Empathy Decathlon® The flagship proprietary 10-skill empathy training framework and practice guide that serves as the foundation for all Empathy Lab offerings. Covers micro-skills such as Energy & Baggage inventory, listening, curiosity, apologizing, and compassionate action; grounded in human-centered design, cognitive behavioral research, and athletic-training principles.
• Empathy Athlete T-Shirt Branded t-shirt representing the official Empathy Athlete designation, sold at $25 per shirt in sizes Small through XXXL. Available via the company's own e-commerce storefront at shop.empathylab.io; each purchase signifies community membership.
• Vote Empathy T-Shirt T-shirt sold via the company's e-commerce shop with proceeds going to the Equal Justice Initiative, priced at $25 per shirt.
• Empathy Lab Pen Pal A $5 handwritten letter product in which founder Shelton Davis writes first and includes stickers and sketches on post-its. Recipients are encouraged to write back; positioned as a community engagement / novelty product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Empathy Lab has coached almost 500 LIVE empathy practices since 2018, demonstrating sustained operational scale and execution.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Constellations CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Constellations Community in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district served as the venue partner for the FHI360 Empathy Decathlon workshop in October 2022. The partnership enabled bilingual (Spanish) facilitation in a community space aligned with Empathy Lab's values.
• That's Deep with Eden & Jess PodcastminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmpathy Lab founder Shelton Davis appeared as a guest on the That's Deep podcast, discussing empathy practice and building an empathy-focused community. The podcast serves as a marketing and thought leadership channel for Empathy Lab.
• Manage Me Podcast with Todd DaughertyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerShelton Davis appeared as a guest on the Manage Me Podcast to discuss empathy practice and leadership. Podcast serves as a top-of-funnel thought leadership channel.
• BetterTeams by Leigh Ann RodgersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmpathy Lab partnered with BetterTeams for a live empathy practice session co-facilitated with Leigh Ann Rodgers. Joint community event to practice empathy skills together.
• Culture of Empathy — Empathy Activists CircleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmpathy Lab participated in the Empathy Activists Circle 5 hosted by Culture of Empathy (Edwin Rutsch), a monthly empathy circle dialogue series for empathy activists, practitioners, and researchers working to build the empathy movement.
• PR Council (PR Council Hone Your Empathy Program)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmpathy Lab co-developed and delivered the 'Hone Your Empathy to Deliver Inclusivity and Belonging' program for the PR Council, a professional association serving PR and communications professionals.
• MAFN (Midwest Association of Food Banks)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmpathy Lab delivered a September 30th online Empathy Decathlon workshop to MAFN members, adapting the 10-skill framework for the food bank network's professional community.
• IDC 2021 (Innovation Design Conference)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerShelton Davis presented at IDC 2021 on 'Empathy Fuels Innovation: Empathy Decathlon', a speaking engagement at the Innovation Design Conference serving as a thought leadership and brand awareness channel.
• Serenbe StoriesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerShelton Davis was featured on Serenbe Stories to discuss the power of empathy, reaching Serenbe's community audience as a thought leadership channel.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mind Gym: Mind Gym is a behavioral change training company delivering in-person and virtual programs to enterprise teams on soft skills like resilience, leadership, and collaboration. Comparable to Empathy Lab in its program-based, facilitated approach to team behavior change at enterprise scale.
• LifeLabs Learning: LifeLabs Learning delivers manager and team training in soft skills including communication, feedback, and emotional intelligence. Directly comparable to Empathy Lab's Marathon Practice model in serving enterprise teams with facilitated skill-building workshops at similar price points.
• Torch Leadership Labs: Torch provides leadership coaching and development programs targeted at managers and teams inside organizations. Comparable to Empathy Lab in offering structured coaching engagement for people leaders, but with a heavier technology platform approach.

Broad incumbents

• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Ken Blanchard Companies delivers leadership development and management training programs to enterprise organizations using proprietary frameworks. Comparable to Empathy Lab in leveraging proprietary methodologies for enterprise team training, but with much deeper market penetration and a broader curriculum.
• BetterUp: BetterUp is a scaled coaching and mental fitness platform serving enterprise teams globally. Comparable to Empathy Lab in selling team-level behavioral training to HR/L&D buyers, but operates via a tech-enabled coaching marketplace rather than a proprietary framework.
• Center for Creative Leadership: CCL is a globally recognized leadership development research and training provider serving enterprise and government clients. Comparable to Empathy Lab in the leadership/behavioral training space, but with research-backed programs at institutional scale.
• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey is an established leadership and effectiveness training company serving Fortune 500 organizations with frameworks like The 7 Habits. Comparable to Empathy Lab in the enterprise training/behavior change category, but at vastly greater scale and brand recognition.

Emerging players

• Mursion: Mursion uses VR-powered simulations to train interpersonal and soft skills for enterprise teams. Comparable to Empathy Lab in targeting empathy/communication skill development for corporate buyers, but differentiated by VR delivery rather than live facilitated practice.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theempathylab
• Instagraminstagram.com/theempathylab
• Xx.com/theempathylab

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 The Empathy Lab