Second City Works

Corporate Training and Professional Development Servicessecondcityworks.com

Second City Works is the B2B corporate training division of The Second City, applying improvisational theater techniques to professional development programs. It serves Fortune 1000 enterprises across in-person workshops, on-demand learning, and custom events from Chicago, Toronto, and New York.

Company typePrivate
Founded1959
HeadquartersChicago, United States
Headcount101–250
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Second City Works does

Second City Works is the corporate training and professional development division of The Second City, a 60+ year comedy and improvisation institution founded in Chicago in 1959. Operating as a B2B professional services firm, Second City Works applies improvisational theater techniques to enterprise learning, delivering programs that target communication, collaboration, leadership, agility, storytelling, and negotiation skills. Its offering spans three core products: Team Building Workshops & Coaching (live, customized facilitation delivered on-site or at Second City facilities), On-Demand Learning (an asynchronous video training library covering ethics, compliance, anti-harassment, and talent development under subscription or per-module pricing), and Custom Events & Entertainment (bespoke corporate events, emcee services, brand activations, and comedy programming).

The underlying technology is the improv-based methodology refined over decades, paired with academic-research partnerships for curriculum validation. Distribution combines an enterprise field-sales motion directed at Fortune 1000 accounts with a virtual/on-demand self-serve channel for broader reach. Go-to-market targets Fortune 1000 enterprises as the primary segment (over 600 served cumulatively), with secondary segments in startups, healthcare providers, and post-merger organizations. Pricing is quote-based rather than published, reflecting program customization and integration with client materials. Operations span Chicago (headquarters), Toronto, New York City, and global virtual delivery. The business is privately held as a division of The Second City; no external funding rounds, M&A, or public ownership are evidenced.

Second City Works firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Second City Works
Legal name: The Second City
Website: https://secondcityworks.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1959
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 101–250 employees
Short description: Second City Works is the B2B corporate training division of The Second City, applying improvisational theater techniques to professional development programs. It serves Fortune 1000 enterprises across in-person workshops, on-demand learning, and custom events from Chicago, Toronto, and New York.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Second City Works industry classification

Industry

Product category: Corporate Training and Professional Development Services
NAICS: Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Management Consulting Services (54161)
SIC: Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
akta.pro primary industry: Corporate Team-Building & Offsite Services (HSACADAF)
akta.pro secondary industry: Collaboration, Teamwork & Conflict Resolution (EDAAAKAF)

Keywords

Corporate training
Professional development
Improvisation training
Team building workshops
Executive education

Where Second City Works is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Chicago
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

Second City Works business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Team Building Workshops & Coaching: Professional development programs delivered through fun, interactive exercises that help organizations improve business-critical skills. Programs are tailored to client needs and can be delivered in-person at client locations or at Second City facilities.
On-Demand Learning: Asynchronous video-based training library covering topics such as ethics and compliance, anti-harassment, and talent development. Ready-to-view professional-crafted training modules offered as subscription or per-module access.
Custom Events & Entertainment: Custom content, events, and experiences including corporate event hosting at world-class facilities, emcee services, tailored comedy shows, brand activations, and creative entertainment solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Second City Works product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Second City Works is the corporate training division of The Second City, selling improv-based professional development programs to enterprise clients. Its core offerings include facilitated team-building workshops and coaching, an on-demand asynchronous learning library covering topics such as ethics, compliance, anti-harassment, and talent development, and custom corporate events and entertainment experiences. Programs are designed to improve communication, collaboration, leadership, agility, and innovation capabilities for organizations.

Product overview

Second City Works is a comedy and improv-based corporate training and professional development platform. The offering consists of three interconnected core products: Team Building Workshops & Coaching for live, interactive professional development sessions; On-Demand Learning for asynchronous, humor-driven training modules on topics like ethics, compliance, and talent development; and Custom Events & Entertainment for bespoke corporate events, brand activations, and entertainment experiences. The products share a foundation in improvisation techniques and are designed to improve communication, collaboration, agility, and leadership skills across organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Team Building Workshops & Coaching Live, interactive professional development programs that drive performance improvements through fun, improv-based exercises. Designed for enterprise teams to practice business-critical skills such as communication, collaboration, leadership, and innovation. Delivered at client locations or at Second City training centers.
On-Demand Learning Asynchronous video-based training library that uses humor-activated content to deliver ready-to-view, professionally crafted training modules on topics including ethics and compliance, anti-harassment, and talent development. Offered via subscription or per-module access globally.
Custom Events & Entertainment Custom content, events, and entertainment experiences for corporate teams, including world-class facility hosting, emcee services, tailored comedy shows, and brand activations. Designed for company meetings, off-sites, brand activations, and other corporate occasions.

Quantifiable outcome

Transformed over 600 Fortune 1000 companies through research-based improv techniques

Companies that use Second City Works

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Second City Works technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Second City Works partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Second City Works competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Dale Carnegie Training: Dale Carnegie Training is one of the longest-standing corporate training providers, offering courses in communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills to enterprise clients globally. It is directly comparable to Second City Works in targeting Fortune 1000 buyers with soft-skill and professional development programs, though it lacks the improv/comedy brand moat.
Wilson Learning: Wilson Learning is a global provider of sales, leadership, and interpersonal skills training serving large enterprises with customized programs and assessments. It competes with Second City Works for L&D and HR budgets at Fortune 1000 companies, with overlapping leadership and communication offerings.
Corporate Visions: Corporate Visions provides sales and customer conversation training to B2B enterprises through workshops and digital programs. It is comparable to Second City Works' sales messaging and negotiation offerings, targeting similar enterprise sales enablement buyers.
Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts): Crucial Learning delivers enterprise training in communication, influence, and leadership skills with both live workshops and digital courseware. It competes with Second City Works in the same buyer segment (L&D leaders at large enterprises) and overlaps heavily on communication, feedback, and difficult-conversation use cases.
Mandel Communications: Mandel provides communication skills and message-crafting training to Fortune 500 enterprises through live workshops and coaching. It is closely comparable to Second City Works' workshops-and-coaching product, addressing executive communication, presentation, and influence outcomes for large corporate clients.

Emerging players

appliedimprovisation: The Applied Improvisation network is a global community of practitioners using improv techniques for organizational, educational, and therapeutic applications. It represents the broader emerging improv-based training category that Second City Works operates in, though without Second City's brand scale.

Broad incumbents

Coursera for Business: Coursera for Business is a subscription-based enterprise learning platform covering professional development, leadership, and soft skills. It competes with Second City Works' digital offering for the same enterprise L&D budget pool, leveraging university partnerships for credibility.
Linkage (Accenture): Linkage, now part of Accenture, provides leadership development and organizational effectiveness training to senior executives and HR leaders at large enterprises. It competes for the same senior leadership development budgets as Second City Works' leadership programs.
LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning is a scaled digital learning platform offering thousands of soft-skill and business courses via subscription to enterprise customers. It is a direct competitor to Second City Works' On-Demand Learning product, with vastly larger catalog breadth and lower price points.
BTS Group: BTS is a global consulting and training firm specializing in business acumen, sales transformation, and leadership development simulations for large enterprises. It overlaps with Second City Works on enterprise soft-skill and leadership development but operates at a larger scale and broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Second City Works financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Second City Works leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Second City Works funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Second City Works M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Second City Works

What does Second City Works do?

Is Second City Works a public or private company?

Second City Works is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.

When was Second City Works founded?

Second City Works was founded in 1959. It employs 101 to 250 people.

Where is Second City Works based?

Second City Works is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.

How does Second City Works make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Team Building Workshops & Coaching is the primary driver. The others are on-Demand Learning and custom Events & Entertainment.

Who are Second City Works's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Dale Carnegie Training, Wilson Learning, Corporate Visions, Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts) and Mandel Communications. appliedimprovisation is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Coursera for Business, Linkage (Accenture), LinkedIn Learning and BTS Group.

Does Second City Works have an API?

No public API is recorded for Second City Works.

What industry is Second City Works in?

Second City Works's product category is Corporate Training and Professional Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACADAF, Corporate Team-Building & Offsite Services, with a secondary code of EDAAAKAF, Collaboration, Teamwork & Conflict Resolution. Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8742.