Abbey Research

What Abbey Research does

Abbey Research is a Philadelphia-area corporate training consultancy founded in 2016 by Dr. Kristen Donnelly (MSW, M.Div, PhD) and Dr. Erin Hinson (MA, PhD), who operate under the brand identity "The Good Doctors." The firm delivers research-based training programs and keynote presentations addressing workplace burnout, generational conflict, and communication challenges for corporations, organizations, universities, and associations. Core products include Corporate Trainings (online and in-person), Keynote Presentations, the multi-award winning book "The Culture of Burnout," a podcast, and a content marketing ecosystem spanning blog, weekly newsletter, YouTube, and major social platforms. Underlying methodology centers on proprietary frameworks including the 4 R's Model of Burnout Recovery (Rest, Rejuvenation, Realignment, Reconnection) and an 8-dimension Wheel of Well-Being, grounded in social science research and historical-cultural analysis rather than technology platforms.

The business model is primarily professional services with quote-based custom pricing determined through free Calendly discovery calls, supplemented by one-time book sales on Amazon. The GTM motion is sales-led and event-driven: relationship-driven sales leveraging testimonials and referrals, combined with active conference presence (including four TEDx appearances by Dr. Donnelly and scheduled PA Conference for Women 2026). Customer segments are vertical-oriented, with enterprise corporations as the primary segment, followed by universities/associations and sports organizations. Named enterprise clients span financial services (Flagstar Bank, Truist), sports (Orlando Magic, Big South Athletic Conference), higher education (Charleston Southern University), life sciences (Abcam), manufacturing (Ethox Chemicals, SATA), and housing (Pennrose, Hillsboro). The company has no external funding, no parent company, and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees, primarily the two co-founders with limited additional staff. Affiliated entities under a "Family of companies" umbrella include Abbey Products, Abbey Color, and Community Research Institute, though the structural relationship is not formally defined.

Name

Abbey Research

Legal name

Abbey Research

Website

https://abbey-research.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Abbey Research is a consultancy that offers training on business management and keynote presentations to organizations and universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Training Sessions: Both online and in-person corporate training programs focused on employee engagement and retention, addressing burnout, generational conflict, and communication. Delivered to corporations, organizations, universities, and associations.
2. Keynote Presentations: Speaking engagements at corporate events, conferences, and association meetings. Dr. Kristen Donnelly is described as an award-winning four-time TEDx speaker.
3. Book Sales: Sales of 'The Culture of Burnout: Why Your Exhaustion is Not Your Fault' through Amazon. Multi-award winning book. Also developing a second book 'Leading Through The Culture of Burnout' and a third book on generations, technology, and belonging.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Abbey Research delivers corporate training programs (online and in-person) and keynote presentations aimed at improving employee engagement and retention by addressing burnout, generational conflict, and poor communication. The company supplements these services with published books, including the multi-award winning 'The Culture of Burnout', and a podcast, all grounded in social-science research conducted by its two co-founders.

Product overview

Abbey Research is a corporate training firm operated by 'The Good Doctors' (Dr. Kristen Donnelly and Dr. Erin Hinson) offering a unified suite of products centered on employee engagement and retention. The core offerings include Corporate Trainings (online and in-person) and Keynote Presentations, both addressing burnout, generational conflict, and workplace communication. Supporting these are published books including the award-winning 'The Culture of Burnout' and an upcoming follow-up 'Leading Through The Culture of Burnout', along with a podcast and weekly blog content that extend their research-based approach to a broader audience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Trainings Interactive corporate training programs delivered online and in-person that focus on employee engagement and retention by addressing burnout, generational conflict, and poor communication. Designed for corporations, organizations, universities, and associations.
• Keynote Presentations Keynote speaking engagements for corporate events, conferences, and association meetings, delivering research-based insights on workplace culture, burnout, and employee engagement.
• The Culture of Burnout Multi-award winning book by Dr. Kristen Donnelly and Dr. Erin Hinson that explores why burnout is a cultural problem in America, explains how exhaustion is not the individual's fault, and provides practical steps toward balance. Available in Kindle and Paperback formats through Amazon.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved generational communication and empathy among staff
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Community Research InstituteminorOthersListed as part of the 'Family of companies' alongside Abbey Products and Abbey Color. Appears to be a related entity under common ownership rather than a formal partnership.
• Abbey ProductsminorOthersListed as part of the 'Family of companies' alongside Abbey Research and Abbey Color. Appears to be a related entity under common ownership rather than a formal partnership.
• Abbey ColorminorOthersListed as part of the 'Family of companies' alongside Abbey Research and Abbey Products. Appears to be a related entity under common ownership rather than a formal partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brené Brown: Research-based speaker, author, and corporate trainer focused on workplace culture topics including vulnerability, courage, and leadership. Truist executive explicitly compared Abbey Research's Dr. Donnelly to Brené Brown. Closest direct comparable in thought-leadership-driven training.
• VitalSmarts (Crucial Learning): Corporate training company offering courses on communication, influence, and change (e.g., Crucial Conversations, Crucial Influence). Highly comparable training-format and topic-overlap with Abbey Research's communication and intergenerational training offerings.
• LifeLabs: Workplace well-being, resilience, and performance training company delivering keynotes, workshops, and programs to enterprise clients. Closely comparable in format (research-based, founder-led, training plus keynote) and overlapping burnout/resilience subject matter.
• Simon Sinek: Optimist, author, and keynote speaker whose 'Start With Why' framework and TEDx talk pioneered thought-leadership-led corporate training. Highly comparable business model — founder-led, book-anchored, keynote and workshop delivery to enterprise clients.
• Wisdom Labs: Mindfulness, resilience, and workplace well-being training company offering workshops and online programs to enterprise clients. Overlaps with Abbey Research on burnout prevention and well-being, but with a mindfulness-meditation core rather than a social-science / cultural-analysis core.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Global analytics and advisory firm best known for employee engagement research, Q12 survey, and CliftonStrengths. Directly overlaps with Abbey Research's employee engagement and retention focus, but at vastly greater scale with proprietary assessment IP.
• FranklinCovey: Large established corporate training firm offering leadership, productivity, and culture change programs (e.g., The 7 Habits). Competes for the same enterprise L&D budget that Abbey Research pursues, but with a much broader curriculum and global delivery infrastructure.
• The Energy Project (Workday Peakon): Workplace energy, engagement, and well-being training now part of Workday Peakon. Directly overlaps with Abbey Research's burnout and employee engagement subject matter but delivers through a tech-platform-plus-training hybrid at greater scale.
• Blanchard: Established leadership and management training firm (SLII, Leading People Through Change). Competes for enterprise L&D budget on leadership development — a category adjacent to Abbey Research's generational and burnout-related leadership training.

Emerging players

• BetterUp: Tech-enabled coaching and well-being platform serving enterprise clients on employee development, resilience, and burnout prevention. Competes for the same corporate well-being and engagement dollars with a scalable, digital-first delivery model versus Abbey Research's bespoke approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/abbeyresearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyZF6ReNCjAQg1CEiiPhrBg
• Facebookfacebook.com/abbeyresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abbey-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/abbeyresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Abbey Research