99minds

What 99minds does

99minds LLC is a Fremont, California-based executive coaching and tools practice founded in 2018 by Sanil Pillai, an ICF Professional Certified Coach with 15+ years of prior tech leadership experience and 7+ years coaching VPs, directors, and engineering managers (including time at Modern Health). The company's core offering is 1:1 executive coaching (45- and 60-minute sessions) sold directly via a scheduling link and gated by a free initial session, targeting tech leaders facing ambiguity, organizational change, and the leadership implications of AI adoption.

The product surface extends beyond coaching into a small portfolio of AI-enabled tools and content: QuickRethink (an AI-powered reframing tool), CoachDojo (an AI coaching practice simulator with quizzes and simulations), an AI Readiness Assessment that segments respondents into three stages, a Well-being Map assessment across six life areas, two facilitated workshops (The Happiness Playbook and AI and Leadership), a self-paced Udemy course (Resilience During Your Job Search), the "A Good Enough Life" newsletter, and the Amazon-published book "The Coaching Lens." The founder also operates enabll.ai as a separate AI Career Platform and AI Adoption Consultancy.

The business model combines subscription-style recurring revenue from 1:1 coaching sessions (quote-based, not publicly priced) with one-time revenue from online courses (Udemy marketplace pricing) and professional services revenue from facilitated workshops (custom-quoted). Distribution is direct (Calendly-style booking) for coaching, marketplace-based for courses, and inquiry-based for workshops. There is no disclosed external funding, no institutional investors, and headcount is reported at 1-10, indicating a founder-anchored practice rather than a scaled coaching firm.

Name

99minds

Legal name

99minds LLC

Website

https://99minds.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

99minds is a founder-led executive coaching practice (Sanil Pillai, ICF PCC) that serves tech managers, directors, and VPs with 1:1 coaching, AI-era leadership workshops, assessments, and AI-enabled tools (QuickRethink, CoachDojo).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Coaching Services

NAICS

Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator-Led Course Hosting & Monetization Platforms (EDAFAIAC)

Keywords

• Executive coaching services
• Leadership development training
• AI readiness assessment
• Career wellbeing coaching
• Leadership workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Fremont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Coaching Sessions: 1:1 coaching sessions (45 or 60 minutes) focused on real leadership situations. Sessions provide clarity and specific next steps. Coaching is non-clinical and focused on professional development.
2. Online Courses: Self-paced online courses hosted on third-party platforms like Udemy. Includes courses such as 'Resilience During Your Job Search' available on Udemy marketplace.
3. Facilitated Workshops: Hands-on workshops delivered in-person or virtually. Topics include 'The Happiness Playbook' and 'AI and Leadership'. Interest collection via website forms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

99minds provides 1:1 executive coaching sessions (45 or 60 minutes) for tech managers, directors, and VPs focused on leadership decision-making, stakeholder navigation, and leading in an AI-driven environment. It also sells facilitated workshops (The Happiness Playbook, AI and Leadership), self-paced online courses via Udemy, and standalone digital assessments and AI tools (AI Readiness Assessment, Well-being Map, QuickRethink, CoachDojo).

Product overview

99minds is a coaching and tools platform for tech leaders. The core offerings include Executive Coaching for Tech Leaders (1:1 coaching sessions), the AI Readiness Assessment (a 3-4 minute reflection tool), and facilitated workshops (The Happiness Playbook and AI and Leadership). Additional offerings include self-paced courses (Resilience During Your Job Search on Udemy), a Well-being Map Assessment for life balance evaluation, and subscription to the A Good Enough Life newsletter/blog. The founder also maintains separate products including QuickRethink (AI-powered situational coaching tool), CoachDojo (AI coaching practice simulator), and enabll.ai (AI career platform and adoption consultancy).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QuickRethink: A tool to get a fresh perspective on specific situations
• CoachDojo
• A Good Enough Life

Products and services

• Executive Coaching for Tech Leaders One-on-one coaching sessions (45 or 60 minutes) for managers, directors, and VPs in tech to make better decisions, handle complexity, and lead effectively in an AI-driven world. Coaching is non-clinical and focused on professional development.
• AI Readiness Assessment A 3-4 minute digital assessment that categorizes respondents into three stages (Aware but Not Integrated, Experimenting Without Leverage, Integrating with Intent) to reflect on AI-era leadership readiness.
• Well-being Map Assessment A 2-3 minute assessment that evaluates six life areas and categorizes them into Concerning, Good Enough, and Exciting buckets to identify where attention is needed.
• The Happiness Playbook Workshop An interactive workshop delivered in-person or virtually that helps participants systematically build, protect, and grow happiness using a three-bucket categorization and a personalized weekly happiness planner.
• AI and Leadership Workshop A facilitated workshop that helps leaders understand AI's transformative impact on leadership, teams, and organizations and how to adapt and lead effectively in the AI era.
• Resilience During Your Job Search A self-paced online course on Udemy that provides proven strategies for remaining motivated and resilient during job search, including cognitive reframing, mindfulness practices, and stress management techniques.
• QuickRethink A standalone AI-powered tool that provides a fresh perspective on specific user situations, used as a self-serve entry point that can funnel users toward coaching services.
• CoachDojo A practice platform where coaches can practice coaching with an AI client and receive real-time feedback through simulations and quizzes.
• The Coaching Lens A book available on Amazon with practical nuggets for beginner coaches and an engaging read for general audiences, used as a credibility-building standalone product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients navigate uncertainty, clarify core values, and define next steps with confidence
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Long-established leadership development and employee engagement firm with CliftonStrengths and manager coaching programs. Serves the same leadership-development buyer as 99minds but with decades of brand, content IP, and enterprise footprint.
• Modern Health: Mental health and wellbeing platform for employers where the founder of 99minds previously built his coaching practice. Broader wellbeing/therapy scope, but overlapping buyer (tech employers), overlapping coach network, and overlapping AI-coaching product direction.
• Center for Creative Leadership: Nonprofit leadership-research and executive-education institution offering leadership programs, coaching, and assessments. Comparable in serving senior leaders and using assessment-led development, but at significantly larger institutional scale.
• Calm: Consumer and B2B meditation, sleep, and wellbeing app. Comparable in addressing the stress/burnout pain points 99minds' well-being offerings target, but delivered through a subscription app rather than 1:1 coaching.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a large leadership and executive coaching practice. Comparable in serving VP/C-suite leadership-development needs, but as part of a much broader talent consulting portfolio.
• Fierce Conversations: Leadership training and coaching company selling workshops and programs to enterprises and individual leaders. Comparable in offering facilitated workshops and coach training, but with a more established brand and enterprise sales motion.
• Headspace Health: Mental health and wellbeing platform formed by the Headspace–Ginger merger, selling to employers and health plans. Competes for the same 'wellbeing at work' budget as 99minds' Happiness Playbook workshop, but at much larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• BetterUp: Largest enterprise coaching platform combining 1:1 coaching, AI tools, and assessments for leaders and managers. Most direct competitor at scale, selling into the same tech-leader buyer with similar AI-readiness messaging.
• CoachHub: Enterprise digital coaching platform offering 1:1 coaching with a global coach pool. Closely comparable business model and target buyer (senior leaders and managers) but with a more enterprise/SaaS delivery orientation.

Emerging players

• Marshall Goldsmith Partners: Executive coaching firm built around a single marquee coach and a network of credentialed partners. Closely comparable to 99minds in its founder-led, branded-coach model — useful benchmark for how a personal-brand coaching practice scales (or doesn't).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@enabllaiexplains

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 99minds