The Professional Alternative
The Professional Alternative is a private UK-based professional training and coaching firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in Birmingham, serving clients seeking alternative professional development services under co-founder Derek Southall.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Professional Alternative does
The Professional Alternative is a privately held professional training and coaching company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Its sole documented principal is Derek Southall, listed as director and co-founder. Based on the available firmographic data, the company operates in the professional development services category, broadly aligned with the competitive UK market for executive, career, and skills-based coaching. No customer logos, pricing, headcount, partnership, certification, or product portfolio detail is on record; the company's public website (theprofessionalalternative.com) was inaccessible at the time of capture, returning only a loading/verification placeholder rather than substantive company content.
The underlying technology, product surface, and delivery mechanism (in-person, virtual, blended, asynchronous) are not disclosed in the input data. There is no evidence of proprietary platforms, published curricula, certification frameworks, or technology integrations. As such, this description limits itself to the verifiable firmographic envelope: a small, founder-led, single-site UK training/coaching firm with no disclosed external capital, channel partnerships, or marketing footprint.
The business model is similarly under-specified: no pricing tiers, contract structures, customer segments beyond a 'Horizontal' segmentation heuristic, or revenue mechanics are documented. Given the absence of disclosed funding rounds, partnerships, enterprise customers, or alternative revenue streams (e.g., licensing, content marketplace), the most plausible default is a services-led model where the founder delivers coaching/training engagements directly to individual or corporate clients on a project or retainer basis. Any inference beyond this — recurring revenue mix, average contract value, channel composition — would exceed what the input supports.
The Professional Alternative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Professional Alternative
- Website
- https://theprofessionalalternative.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Professional Alternative is a private UK-based professional training and coaching firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in Birmingham, serving clients seeking alternative professional development services under co-founder Derek Southall.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Professional Alternative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Training and Coaching
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Performance & Accountability Coaching (EDABANAD)
Keywords
Where The Professional Alternative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
The Professional Alternative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
The Professional Alternative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Professional Alternative is a professional training and coaching company based in Birmingham, United Kingdom, founded in 2020. The company delivers training and coaching services aimed at supporting professional development for its clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Professional Training and Coaching
Companies that use The Professional Alternative
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
The Professional Alternative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Professional Alternative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Expansion highlights1 record
The Professional Alternative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dale Carnegie Training: A long-established global provider of professional training, leadership development, and executive coaching programs — directly comparable to The Professional Alternative's stated training and coaching focus, with a similar buyer profile of mid-market and corporate clients.
- FranklinCovey: Sells leadership, execution, and organizational performance training and coaching content globally — a direct competitor for corporate training and coaching budgets and one of the most recognized brands in the executive coaching space.
- The Ken Blanchard Companies: A leadership and management training/coaching firm built around The Ken Blanchard content library; comparable because it monetizes a defined training/coaching methodology for corporate and individual buyers, similar to what a specialist UK coach would offer.
- BTS: A business strategy execution and leadership development consultancy that combines consulting with coaching and training — directly comparable on the business-acumen and strategy coaching dimension.
- DDI (Development Dimensions International): A specialized leadership and selection training firm that delivers leadership development programs and executive coaching to global enterprises — directly comparable on training methodology and target buyer.
Broad incumbents
- Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): A large, well-established leadership development institution offering executive coaching, training programs, and certifications — competes for the same corporate leadership development budget as a specialist coaching firm.
- Korn Ferry: A global organizational consulting firm with a substantial leadership and executive coaching practice; an incumbent competitor for executive coaching mandates rather than a head-to-head direct peer.
Emerging players
- BetterUp: A coaching platform combining AI-driven matching with a global network of executive coaches — an emerging/coaching-tech competitor that competes for the same enterprise coaching budget via a digital delivery model.
- Sounding Board: A tech-enabled executive coaching platform serving enterprise customers; competes with traditional coaching firms by offering scalable coaching via a curated coach marketplace, including for UK-based corporate clients.
- McChrystal Group: A leadership advisory firm offering executive coaching and team performance consulting to corporate and government clients — comparable on the leadership coaching/advisory axis for similar buyer personas.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat1 record
Key risks3 records
Key highlights3 records
Customer concentration
The Professional Alternative social profiles
Digital presenceThe Professional Alternative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Professional Alternative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Professional Alternative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Professional Alternative 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 The Professional Alternative
What does The Professional Alternative do?
The Professional Alternative is a professional training and coaching company based in Birmingham, United Kingdom, founded in 2020. The company delivers training and coaching services aimed at supporting professional development for its clients.
Is The Professional Alternative a public or private company?
The Professional Alternative is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Professional Alternative founded?
The Professional Alternative was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Professional Alternative based?
The Professional Alternative is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are The Professional Alternative's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dale Carnegie Training, FranklinCovey, The Ken Blanchard Companies, BTS and DDI (Development Dimensions International). Broad incumbents are Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and Korn Ferry. Emerging players are BetterUp, Sounding Board and McChrystal Group.
Does The Professional Alternative have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Professional Alternative.
What industry is The Professional Alternative in?
The Professional Alternative's product category is Professional Training and Coaching. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABANAH, Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching, with a secondary code of EDABANAD, Performance & Accountability Coaching. Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8200.