Hands On
Hands On is a privately held boutique learning and organizational development consultancy founded in 1998, with 500+ specialists across 15+ countries. It delivers practitioner-led leadership, team, and life sciences technical training to Fortune 100 and growth-stage enterprise clients via customized programs and coaching.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hands On does
Hands On is a privately held boutique learning and organizational development consultancy founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco, with additional offices in New York, Cherry Hill, and London. The firm employs more than 500 specialists across 15+ countries and is led by co-founder and Managing Partner Kathryn Matz. Its core offering is professional services delivered through customized learning programs, organizational transformation consulting, executive and team coaching, and embedded L&D outsourcing. A distinctive positioning is practitioner-led facilitation, with facilitators drawn from senior operating roles at life sciences, technology, and financial services companies. The product portfolio spans leadership development, team development, diversity and inclusion, values and culture, internal talent mobility, and L&D outsourcing, organized into program categories covering business skills, communication, influencing, professional development, and life-sciences-focused technical skills (drug discovery, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, market access, GxP compliance).
The business model is professional services revenue, with two streams: individual participant fees (USD 500 per session, bookable via Calendly) and customized enterprise engagements delivered as flat-fee programs. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-based, targeting Fortune 100 and growth-stage enterprise clients. Customer concentration is tilted toward life sciences (including Johnson & Johnson, Genentech, Gilead, Dompe, Olema Oncology, Vaxcyte, Assembly Bio, BridgeBio) with additional presence in financial services (JPMorgan Chase, T. Rowe Price) and technology (DocuSign, Atlassian). Marketing is conducted primarily through content marketing, LinkedIn, and email, with the April 2025 formation of the firm's first Advisory Board signaling institutional formalization. There is no proprietary technology platform, and the company's competitive position rests on its 25+ year domain expertise, named practitioner roster, and curriculum depth rather than software.
Hands On firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hands On
- Legal name
- Hands On LLC
- Website
- https://handscom.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Hands On is a privately held boutique learning and organizational development consultancy founded in 1998, with 500+ specialists across 15+ countries. It delivers practitioner-led leadership, team, and life sciences technical training to Fortune 100 and growth-stage enterprise clients via customized programs and coaching.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Hands On is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Hands On business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Learning Program Fees: Revenue generated from participant fees for learning programs. Each session carries a participant fee of USD 500.00. Organizations with multiple participants may receive a discounted flat fee.
- Learning Program Design and Delivery: Hands On can design and deliver custom learning curriculum, provide all content, materials and facilitators, manage programs including communications, scheduling and reporting, and manage state reporting for funded learning programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual participant fee for learning programs |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Organization discounted rate |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Hands On product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hands On is a boutique learning and organizational development consultancy that delivers customized learning programs, executive coaching, and organizational transformation services to enterprise clients. The firm designs and delivers curriculum, provides facilitators and coaches, manages program operations and reporting, and runs individual professional development sessions priced at USD 500 per participant. Its core specialization is life sciences learning (drug discovery, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, market access, GxP), supported by leadership development, team development, and coaching offerings.
Product overview
Hands On is a boutique learning and organizational development consultancy founded in 1998, offering a comprehensive portfolio of professional development services. The core offering consists of consulting services in Learning & Organizational Development, Change & Transformation, Coaching, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Development, and Team Development. These services are delivered through structured learning programs organized by skill category: Business Skills (strategic planning, budgeting, Agile/Design Thinking), Communication Skills (storytelling, executive presence), Influencing Skills (stakeholder management), Technical Skills (life sciences-focused clinical operations, regulatory affairs, market access, GxP compliance), and Professional Development (career advancement, personal branding). The company also offers Executive Coaching with a roster of named coaches, Simulation-Based Learning experiences including biopharma business simulations, and the High Potential Leadership Series for next-generation leaders. A distinguishing feature is the Advisory Board service providing strategic access to industry experts. All offerings are available for direct engagement, and the company also provides Learning & Organizational Development Outsourcing for organizations seeking embedded L&D support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Learning and Organizational Development
- Change and Organizational Transformation
- Executive and Team Coaching
- Leadership Development
- Team Development
- Learning and Capability Development
Companies that use Hands On
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hands On technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Hands On partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hands On competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BTS: BTS is a global consultancy that designs business simulations, leadership programs, and salesforce effectiveness solutions for Fortune 1000 clients. It is the closest direct peer to Hands On in combining boutique business-simulation methodology with multi-vertical enterprise learning delivery.
- Center for Creative Leadership: CCL is a research-driven leadership development provider offering executive programs, coaching, and custom leadership solutions globally. It is a direct peer in the high-end leadership development space and a candidate comparator for Hands On's High Potential Leadership Series.
- BetterUp: BetterUp is an enterprise coaching and leadership development platform combining 1:1 executive coaching with AI-driven development content. It is a direct peer in enterprise coaching and leadership development and competes for the same executive L&D budget at Fortune 1000 customers.
- Wilson Learning: Wilson Learning is a global learning and performance company focused on sales, leadership, and employee development solutions for large enterprises. It is a direct peer in customized leadership and influencing-skills training similar to Hands On's Influencing Skills programs.
- The Townsend Group: The Townsend Group is a pharmaceutical training and development consultancy that provides life-sciences-specific commercial sales, leadership, and medical training. It is the most directly comparable life-sciences-niche peer to Hands On's Technical Skills Programs portfolio.
Broad incumbents
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with significant leadership development, executive coaching, and talent management practices. It is comparable to Hands On as a much larger incumbent operating in the same enterprise L&D and executive-coaching space.
- FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey sells leadership, productivity, and organizational effectiveness training content and delivery across global enterprises. It overlaps Hands On's leadership development, values/culture, and team development offerings as a content-and-delivery incumbent.
- GP Strategies: GP Strategies provides performance transformation, custom learning solutions, and L&D outsourcing to large enterprises globally. It is a comparable broad incumbent in the corporate L&D outsourcing category that overlaps Hands On's outsourced L&D practice.
- DDI (Development Dimensions International): DDI is a global leadership and talent development consultancy that designs assessment-driven leadership programs for large organizations. It overlaps Hands On's leadership development and assessment-based simulation offerings as an established incumbent.
- Skillsoft: Skillsoft provides enterprise training content, leadership development programs, and compliance/GxP learning for regulated industries including life sciences. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Hands On in technical training for life sciences and leadership content.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Hands On social profiles
Digital presenceHands On financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hands On leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Hands On funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hands On 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 Hands On
What does Hands On do?
Hands On is a boutique learning and organizational development consultancy that delivers customized learning programs, executive coaching, and organizational transformation services to enterprise clients. The firm designs and delivers curriculum, provides facilitators and coaches, manages program operations and reporting, and runs individual professional development sessions priced at USD 500 per participant. Its core specialization is life sciences learning (drug discovery, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, market access, GxP), supported by leadership development, team development, and coaching offerings.
Is Hands On a public or private company?
Hands On is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Hands On founded?
Hands On was founded in 1998.
Where is Hands On based?
Hands On is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hands On make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Learning Program Fees are the primary driver. The others are learning Program Design and Delivery.
Who are Hands On's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BTS, Center for Creative Leadership, BetterUp, Wilson Learning and The Townsend Group. Broad incumbents are Korn Ferry, FranklinCovey, GP Strategies, DDI (Development Dimensions International) and Skillsoft.
Does Hands On have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hands On.