Max Muller & Associates

What Max Muller & Associates does

Max Muller & Associates is a privately held professional services firm (LLC) founded in 1990 and headquartered in the Kansas City/Overland Park area, providing customized corporate training, professional speaking, and management consulting services. Core offerings include tailored workshops across topics such as HR legalities, OSHA compliance, leadership, customer service, technical writing, and entrepreneurship; a roster of expert trainers and keynote speakers; custom curriculum design; and consulting services covering payroll policies and procedures handbook review/drafting, employee policy handbook development, and confidential internal investigations for private companies, county governments, sheriff's departments, universities, nonprofits, and Indian Tribes. The firm maintains a dedicated Native American Interests Section that delivers sovereignty-aware training in partnership with NNAHRA, including the Tribal Management Professional (THRP) certification program.

The business operates a sales-led, event-driven go-to-market: prospective clients contact a senior training consultant (Laurianne Hilmer) for a needs analysis, and engagements are priced by quote based on presentation type (keynote, keynote + breakout, training), customization, program length, and travel. Delivery is in-person or virtual (webinars, audio-conferences, podcasts). Revenue is generated entirely through professional services fees — training delivery, speaking, consulting, and custom curriculum design — with multi-year contract billing referenced for some engagements. The company has no proprietary technology platform, though it operates a subsidiary branded 'sped' (speak.net) as a delivery wrapper; the asset base is the curated trainer roster (e.g., former Kansas City Mayor Sly James, TEDx and Kauffman FastTrac-affiliated trainer Alana Muller, Toastmasters Accredited Speaker Barbara Khozam) and the accumulated content library of 3,000+ seminars reaching 100,000+ individuals. Customer logos span federal agencies (FBI, FEMA, NASA, OSHA), defense (US Air Force, US Navy, GE Aviation), and large enterprise (Microsoft, Sony, Kaiser, Verizon, Xerox), with explicit non-solicitation restrictions in California.

Name

Max Muller & Associates

Legal name

Max Muller & Associates, LLC

Website

https://maxmullerassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Max Muller & Associates is a privately held Kansas City-based training and consulting firm offering customized workshops, keynote speakers, custom curriculum design, and HR/employee handbook consulting to government agencies, tribal enterprises, nonprofits, and large corporations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sales, Customer Service & Soft Skills Training (BPACANAD)

Keywords

• Corporate training services
• Professional speaking engagements
• Employee handbook consulting
• Customized workshop programs
• Tribal management certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Program Delivery: Fees for customized training programs, workshops, and seminars delivered by expert trainers. Pricing depends on presentation type (keynote, keynote and breakout, training), level of customization, program length, and travel requirements.
2. Professional Speaking: Fees for business speakers and convention speakers for corporate and government events.
3. Consulting Services: Business consulting services including payroll policies and procedures handbook review/drafting, employee policy handbook services, and confidential internal investigations.
4. Custom Curriculum Design: Fees for designing tailored curriculum and workshop programs specific to client needs and desired outcomes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Max Muller & Associates delivers customized corporate training, professional speaking, custom curriculum design, business consulting, payroll and employee policy handbook services, and confidential internal investigations to public, private, nonprofit, military, and tribal government and enterprise clients. Engagements are tailored through a needs analysis and delivered via in-person or virtual formats by a curated roster of credentialed expert trainers and speakers.

Product overview

Max Muller & Associates is a training and consulting company offering a portfolio of professional development services including tailored workshops, professional speakers and trainers, custom curriculum design, and business consulting. The company serves public, private, nonprofit, military, and Native American governments and enterprises. The core offerings consist of customized seminars covering topics such as business writing, change management, communication skills, customer service, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, finance, healthcare, HR, leadership, OSHA compliance, project management, sales, stress management, and technical skills. A dedicated Native American Interests Section provides culturally tailored programs for Indian Country. Additional services include payroll policies handbooks, employee policy handbooks, and confidential internal investigations. The company also maintains a roster of expert trainers including specialists in networking, HR legalities, inventory control, government infrastructure, technical writing, and customer service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coffee Lunch Coffee: A networking-focused company founded by Alana Muller, speaker, workshop facilitator, coach and author. WBENC-Certified WBE.

Products and services

• Tailored Workshops Customized seminars and workshops across multiple business sectors including public, private, nonprofit, military, and Native American governments. Topics include business writing, change management, communication skills, customer service, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, finance and accounting, healthcare, leadership, OSHA compliance, project management, and more.
• Professional Speakers and Trainers Booking and provision of expert speakers and trainers, including Alana Muller, Max Muller, Sly James, Pamela Fagan, Joni Wickham, Kathy Boté, Lorinda Lewis, Barbara Khozam, and Tal D. Moore, specializing in networking, HR legalities, inventory control, infrastructure, leadership, and technical writing.
• Custom Curriculum Design Design of tailored curriculum and workshop programs specific to client needs and desired outcomes, ensuring culturally sensitive and contextually relevant learning experiences.
• Business Consulting Services Business consulting services providing organizations with expert guidance on operational and strategic needs, including workforce development, compliance, and organizational effectiveness.
• Payroll Policies and Procedures Handbook Reviewing, updating, or drafting employee payroll policies and procedures handbooks covering payroll processing, timekeeping, wage calculation, benefits administration, tax withholding, and compliance reporting.
• Employee Policies Handbook Services Revising and updating existing employee policy handbooks or crafting new ones, covering attendance, leave policies, employee conduct, and code of ethics, tailored to state-specific laws and regulations.
• Confidential Internal Investigations Discreet internal investigations for noncriminal employee misconduct or malfeasance, conducted with complete neutrality for private sector companies, county governments, sheriff's departments, universities, nonprofits, and Indian Tribes.
• Native American Interests Section Dedicated practice offering programs tailored to the unique cultural and sovereignty requirements of Indian Country, including workshops on workplace harassment protection, tribally-owned enterprise customer service, harassment investigations, and employee engagement, in partnership with NNAHRA.
• Managing For Success In Native American Governments & Enterprises (THRP Certification Program) A comprehensive training program designed to enhance participants' managerial skills and capabilities in a culturally sensitive and contextually relevant manner, leading to Tribal Management Professional (THRP) certification. Delivered in collaboration with NNAHRA.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 individuals reached across 3,000+ presentations in the US, England, and Canada (Max Muller alone)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Native American Human Resource Association (NNAHRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic collaboration to deliver the 'Managing For Success In Native American Governments & Enterprises' training program. Barb Griffin, THRP serves as Administrative Manager. Tal D. Moore serves as Director of the NNAHRA Foundation. The program is specifically designed for tribal governments and tribally-owned enterprises, addressing culturally sensitive management training needs. Max Muller holds the THRP designation (Tribal Management Professional).
• Ewing Marion Kauffman FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlana Muller, a trainer for Max Muller & Associates, formerly served as President of Kauffman FastTrac, a division of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. She remains a Certified FastTrac Facilitator through the Kaufmann Foundation.
• Coffee Lunch CoffeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlana Muller founded Coffee Lunch Coffee (a WBENC-Certified WBE) and serves as its CEO. She delivers networking, entrepreneurship, and women in business programs under the Max Muller & Associates umbrella through this vehicle. Coffee Lunch Coffee offers a companion blog (CoffeeLunchCoffee.com) and the Enterprise.ing podcast.
• American Public Square at JewellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlana Muller serves as Community Director for American Public Square at Jewell, an organization that brings together non-like-minded people for civil conversation on controversial topics. She launched KC Common Good, a standalone 501(c)(3), to give the Kansas City Metropolitan Area access to hope and opportunity.
• Enterprise Bank (NASDAQ: EFSC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlana Muller serves on the board of Enterprise Bank (NASDAQ: EFSC), a financial institution in the Kansas City area.
• Coro Kansas CityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlana Muller is an alumna of Coro Kansas City and the Civic Council's Kansas City Tomorrow program, indicating community leadership development partnerships.
• speak.net / spedminorOthersspeak.net (sped) is a subsidiary company of Max Muller & Associates, branded as 'A Max Muller & Associates Company'. It appears to be a technology or delivery platform for speaking/training services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• VitalSmarts (Crucial Learning): Training company built on New York Times bestselling content (Crucial Conversations, Crucial Influence) delivered via certified instructors to enterprise — comparable in content-plus-trainer delivery and leadership/communication training topics.
• Sandler Training: Global sales, leadership, and customer service training franchise operating through a network of authorized trainers serving SMB and enterprise — comparable in customized trainer-network delivery and professional services revenue model.
• BigSpeak Speakers Bureau: Speakers bureau connecting event organizers with business keynote speakers and trainers — directly comparable in professional speaker sourcing and convention speaker business.
• Dale Carnegie & Associates: Long-established corporate training firm offering customized courses in leadership, customer service, communication, and sales — directly comparable in service mix, customization model, and target buyer (enterprise + government).
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Provider of leadership, management, and customer service training programs delivered through a network of certified trainers to enterprise clients — comparable in trainer-roster delivery model and corporate training focus.
• The Harry Walker Agency: Premier speakers bureau representing high-profile keynote and business speakers for corporate and association events — comparable in curated speaker roster model and enterprise event booking GTM.
• The Humphrey Group: Specialized firm focused on communication and presentation skills training for executives — comparable in communication/leadership training delivery and customized curriculum model.

Broad incumbents

• Toastmasters International: Global organization focused on communication and leadership skills development through club-based training; relevant comparator for the public-speaking/communication training portion of Max Muller's offering.
• FranklinCovey: Larger established player offering leadership, productivity, and execution training with content IP (7 Habits) — broader portfolio but overlapping customer base in enterprise and government.

Emerging players

• Burson Speakers (part of Burson Group): Bureau-style offering of business and keynote speakers for corporate events — adjacent comparator in the speakers bureau space where Max Muller's roster competes for engagements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Max Muller & Associates