The Culture MRI

What The Culture MRI does

The Culture MRI is a SaaS platform that measures and transforms organizational culture through a proprietary assessment framework rooted in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Founded by organizational psychologist Benjamin Ortlip after three decades of culture-shaping work for organizations including UPS, Delta, Salesforce, and Chick-fil-A, the company delivers a 61-question, six-minute anonymous survey called the Motivational Response Index® that scores fifteen psychological needs underlying job satisfaction and motivation. Results are surfaced through the Culture Operations® Dashboard, which converts engagement data into dollar-value metrics and remediation steps, supplemented by a Culture Growth Plan® blueprint and monthly expert touchpoint calls under a twelve-month subscription.

The platform is built entirely on commercial off-the-shelf SaaS infrastructure—Google Workspace, Google Data Studio, Make, and PointerPro—with no proprietary AI or machine-learning components disclosed. The company sells via an enterprise field sales motion targeting HR leaders and senior executives, with demo scheduling funneled through Calendly and pricing held as quote-based; ancillary revenue comes from the Amazon bestseller 'Culture Is The New Leadership' published through Ivy League Press in 2024. The Culture MRI is privately held, bootstrapped with no institutional funding rounds disclosed, and headquartered in the Atlanta, Georgia area under a small named leadership team of Founder Benjamin Ortlip, President Bob Keator, Director of Technology David Watters, and Lead Psychologist Dr. Kelsey George.

Customer segments skew toward mid-market and enterprise organizations across multiple verticals, with named engagements including Pegasus Residential and SeaWorld; broader Fortune 500 logos (UPS, Delta, Salesforce, Chick-fil-A) reflect the founder's prior consulting relationships rather than confirmed current SaaS subscribers. Marketing is driven by content (blog, podcast appearances, email lead capture) anchored on the book and Ortlip's thought leadership, while product credibility is supported by a 2023 Duquesne University research study and a registered portfolio of trademarks including Culture MRI®, Motivational Response Index®, Culture Operations®, Culture Growth Plan®, and Craft, Cause, Community™.

Name

The Culture MRI

Legal name

The Culture MRI

Website

https://theculturemri.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Culture MRI is a SaaS platform that measures and transforms organizational culture via its proprietary Motivational Response Index® assessment and Culture Operations® dashboard, serving mid-market and enterprise clients through 12-month subscription engagements with monthly expert touchpoint calls.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Engagement Software

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Personality & Behavioral Assessments (BPACAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emotional Intelligence, Motivation & Culture-Fit Assessments (BPACAMAI)

Keywords

• Employee engagement software
• Culture assessment platform
• Organizational culture measurement
• Employee retention analytics
• Workplace motivation assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Cumming

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Culture MRI® Software Subscription: 12-month subscription to the Culture MRI® system including access to the assessment platform, dashboard monitoring, and monthly touchpoint calls with experts to guide organizational transformation.
2. Book Sales - Culture Is The New Leadership: Sale of the bestselling book 'Culture Is The New Leadership: How Great Companies Inspire Millennials, Ignite Performance, and Win the War for Talent' published by Ivy League Press in 2024.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Culture MRI® is a SaaS platform that measures and transforms organizational culture through a proprietary 61-question, 6-minute anonymous survey (Motivational Response Index®) that identifies 15 critical psychological needs driving job satisfaction and motivation. Results are delivered through the Culture Operations® Dashboard with dollar-value metrics on engagement, accompanied by a 12-month subscription including monthly expert touchpoint calls and a dynamic Culture Growth Plan® for remediation.

Product overview

The Culture MRI is a SaaS platform providing a comprehensive system for measuring and transforming workplace culture. The core offering consists of The Culture MRI® Assessment (61-question survey measuring 15 psychological needs), The Motivational Response Index® framework, the Culture Operations® Dashboard for monitoring and analytics, and the Culture Growth Plan® for remediation guidance. The company also publishes the book 'Culture Is The New Leadership'. The system is delivered via a 12-month subscription with monthly touchpoint calls.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Motivational Response Index®: Identifies the 15 critical needs that determine job satisfaction and motivation. A proprietary assessment tool measuring employee psychological needs.
• Culture Operations® Dashboard
• Culture Growth Plan®
• World-Class Culture Operations®
• Craft, Cause, Community™

Products and services

• The Culture MRI® Assessment A 61-question confidential survey taking approximately 6 minutes to complete, measuring the 15 critical psychological needs that determine job satisfaction and motivation. Designed for enterprise HR leaders and executives seeking a more comprehensive and less burdensome alternative to traditional engagement surveys.
• Motivational Response Index® (MRI) Proprietary assessment methodology identifying 15 critical needs that determine job satisfaction and motivation, serving as the scientific framework underlying the Culture MRI® Assessment. Built on Maslow's needs-based theory expressed as Craft, Cause, and Community™ motivators.
• Culture Operations® Dashboard A monitoring and business intelligence dashboard that tracks retention and engagement, displays an overall engagement score with granular filters, provides customized remediation steps, and places dollar values on culture investments to enable ROI evaluation. Used by enterprise HR and people leaders to monitor and improve culture.
• Culture Growth Plan®

Quantifiable outcome

• 46% of employee performance determined by engagement level (UCLA study)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core infrastructure and research validation.

• Google Workspacecore infrastructureTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Workspace is utilized for database and application logic in The Culture MRI® platform. Multi-factor authentication is implemented for secure access. Access is provided to employees on an as-needed basis for support and maintenance.
• Google Data Studiocore infrastructureTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Data Studio is used for Business Intelligence Reporting. All data uploaded is stored in Google Cloud Storage. Platform provides visualization and reporting capabilities for culture metrics.
• Make (formerly Integromat)core infrastructureTechnology or IntegrationMake platform handles platform integration and workflow automation for The Culture MRI® service delivery. Supports connection between various system components.
• PointerPro (formerly Survey Anyplace)core infrastructureTechnology or IntegrationPointerPro is used for data collection and analysis. The survey platform collects employee responses for the Culture MRI® assessment methodology.
• Duquesne Universityresearch validationStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch study conducted by Duquesne University in 2023 validated Ortlip's Culture MRI® process. Academic validation of the methodology provides credibility and research backing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Energage / Top Workplaces: Employee engagement surveys and culture benchmarking provider behind the Top Workplaces program; directly comparable culture-measurement methodology and survey-driven offering.
• Culture Amp: Employee engagement and culture survey SaaS serving mid-market and enterprise; the most direct modern competitor to The Culture MRI's assessment-and-dashboard offering.
• 15Five: Continuous employee performance and engagement platform with pulse surveys and manager dashboards; competes with The Culture MRI for HR leader budgets in culture measurement.
• Quantum Workplace: Employee engagement surveys, pulse surveys, and culture benchmarking SaaS for mid-market and enterprise; closely mirrors The Culture MRI's assessment-plus-actionable-insights positioning.
• Great Place to Work: Culture assessment, certification, and benchmarking organization (Best Companies to Work For); competes with The Culture MRI in certifying and benchmarking workplace culture for enterprises.
• Peakon (Workday): Employee engagement and listening platform (acquired by Workday); a direct SaaS competitor offering pulse surveys and analytics similar to The Culture MRI's dashboard.
• Limeade (TinyPulse / Officevibe): Employee well-being and engagement SaaS built around TinyPulse and Officevibe pulse-survey products; comparable culture and engagement measurement offering for mid-market.
• Gallup: Long-standing leader in employee engagement surveys via the Q12 methodology and CliftonStrengths; directly comparable as a culture and engagement assessment provider to enterprises.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Viva Glint: Enterprise engagement survey platform (originally Glint, now part of Microsoft Viva); broad incumbent offering overlapping employee listening functionality with The Culture MRI's assessment platform.
• Qualtrics (Employee Experience): Experience management platform with a dedicated employee-experience and engagement module; competes with The Culture MRI for enterprise HR budgets across surveys and dashboards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culture-mri

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Culture MRI