Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion

What Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion does

Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion (EASL) is a UK-based, B Corp-certified training, education, and business development company founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Kevin and Sarah Duncan. The company sells a portfolio of more than 10 business books under the Concise Advice series (covering strategy, innovation, thinking, performance, sustainability, ethics, and career development), and revenue is generated through five distinct streams: one-time book sales via Amazon and retail channels, freemium online courses on the FreshLearn-hosted Online Academy, corporate signature training programmes, individual business mentoring, and board facilitation services. Its two proprietary methodology frameworks — the trademarked ACES System® (skills self-assessment) and PLANET System® (sustainability/ESG) — underpin both the product catalogue and the services portfolio.

The underlying technology layer is lean: a WordPress website hosting blogs, podcasts, and SlideShare-style distributes content, supplemented by FreshLearn as the hosted e-learning infrastructure for paid video courses. No proprietary platform, mobile app, or bespoke AI system is built; the company has instead focused on content production and distribution via third-party channels (Amazon, FreshLearn, LinkedIn, LID Radio, SlideShare). Customer reach is demonstrated through 250,000+ cumulative book copies sold across 20+ languages and 25,000+ people trained over the company's lifetime, with named enterprise references including Royal Mail, Microsoft, Channel Four, Moonpig, Everything Everywhere, and Coley Porter Bell.

The business model is a hybrid professional-services-plus-product model, with no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue. The company is founder-owned, operates with a team of two, and commits a minimum of 5% of annual revenue to charitable causes under its "Create, Educate, Donate" philosophy. Distribution is primarily direct for services (training, mentoring, board facilitation) and platform-mediated for products (Amazon for books, FreshLearn for courses). The company is currently operating with no evidence of acquisition, closure, or restructuring.

Name

Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion

Legal name

Expert Advice Online

Website

https://expertadviceonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion (EASL) is a UK-based, B Corp-certified training and education company founded by Kevin and Sarah Duncan, offering business books, online courses, corporate training, mentoring, and board facilitation to businesses and individual professionals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Development & Business Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Business training services
• Professional development courses
• Business books publishing
• Corporate team training
• Business mentoring coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Direct sales of business advice books through Amazon and retail channels. Books cover topics including strategy, innovation, thinking, performance, sustainability, and career development.
2. Online Academy Courses: E-learning platform offering courses in strategy, innovation, working, thinking, business bullshitting, and sustainability. Courses include video modules with 30-40 minutes of footage per module plus support materials. Some courses offered free, others available for purchase.
3. Signature Training Programs: In-person and virtual training sessions for teams covering topics like point of view development, persuasion, excellence, brainstorming, and other business skills.
4. Business Mentoring: Personal coaching and mentoring services for individuals based on decades of experience.
5. Board Facilitation: Leadership team facilitation services for navigating tricky issues in turbulent times.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Expert Advice | Sleeping Lion (EASL) is a UK-based training, education, and business development firm that creates and sells concise visual business books, online video courses, in-person/virtual signature training, business mentoring, and board facilitation services. The portfolio is structured around proprietary frameworks (The ACES System® for skills self-assessment and The PLANET System® for sustainability/ESG) and operates on a Create, Educate, Donate philosophy. Founders Kevin and Sarah Duncan lead content creation, training delivery, and advisory work for businesses, leadership teams, and individual professionals worldwide.

Product overview

Expert Advice | Sleeping Lion (EASL) is a B Corp training, education, and business development company operated by husband-and-wife team Kevin and Sarah Duncan. The company operates a multi-format product portfolio centered on business books (published under the Concise Advice series), online courses delivered through the Online Academy on FreshLearn, signature training programs, and consulting services. Their core methodology frameworks include The ACES System for skills self-assessment and The PLANET System for sustainability/ESG. The book portfolio includes over 10 titles covering topics such as strategy, innovation, performance, ethics, career development, and workplace skills. The Online Academy offers six courses including Smart Business Strategy, Smart Business Innovation, Smart Business Working, Smart Business Thinking, Smart Bullshit-Free Business, and Building a Sustainable Business. Additional offerings include business mentoring, board facilitation services, podcasts, and themed blogs. The company's stated purpose is to Create, Educate, and Donate, with a commitment to donate a minimum of 5% of annual revenue to charitable causes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The ACES System®: A comprehensive skills self-assessment and self-improvement system.
• The PLANET System®
• Concise Advice Series
• Signature Training
• Online Academy

Products and services

• The ACES System® A proprietary, trademarked skills self-assessment and self-improvement system for professional development across multiple business areas, sold as part of the Concise Advice methodology.
• The PLANET System® A proprietary, trademarked sustainability and ESG framework providing the foundation for EASL's sustainable business books, free self-audit tools, and bespoke advisory services.
• Smart Performance (Book) A concise business book covering performance improvement techniques and methodologies, sold through Amazon and other retail channels.
• The Sustainable Business Book A guide to building resilient businesses through sustainable practices and ESG principles, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Diagrams Book A visual guide presenting 60 ways to solve any problem using diagrams and visual techniques, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Ideas Book A guide containing 50 techniques for generating ideas more effectively, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Smart Thinking Book A business book offering 60 bursts of business brilliance with fast provocations for meetings and thinking, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Excellence Book A guide presenting 50 ways to be your best and fulfil individual and team potential, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Ethical Business Book A non-preachy, practical guide to sustainability and ethical business practices, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Smart Strategy Book A guide covering 50 ways to solve tricky business issues with 7 key strategies for businesses, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Early Career Book A guide for starting out and stepping up in one's career journey, part of the Concise Advice series.
• The Intelligent Work Book A visual guide to sorting out life and work, covering essential workplace skills, part of the Concise Advice series.
• Signature Training A bespoke suite of in-person and virtual training programmes designed to build smart performing teams, covering topics like point of view development, persuasion, excellence, brainstorming, consultative leadership and sophisticated selling, delivered directly to corporate clients.
• Business Mentoring Personalised business mentoring and coaching services for individuals and leaders, based on Kevin and Sarah Duncan's decades of experience working with leadership teams.
• Board Facilitation (in turbulent times) Facilitation service for leadership teams navigating tricky issues in turbulent times, leveraging over 40 years of experience working with leadership teams.
• Smart Business Strategy Course An online video course on designing and writing strategies across commercial, brand, customer, sales, people, innovation and communication areas with 50 approaches, hosted on FreshLearn.
• Smart Business Innovation Course An online video course on running brainstorms and generating ideas, covering 60 approaches for generating, developing, judging, and selling ideas, hosted on FreshLearn.
• Smart Business Working Course An online video course providing a visual guide to sorting things out, covering thinking, doing, working, planning, presenting, selling, negotiating and career progression, with over 250 visuals, hosted on FreshLearn.
• Smart Business Thinking Course An online video course providing 70 pieces of distilled wisdom in sticky-note format with anecdotes for stimulating meetings and thinking on growth, communication, innovation, creativity and relationships, hosted on FreshLearn.
• Smart Bullshit-Free Business Course An online video course taking a serious approach to removing jargon and nonsense from business, explaining its origin, use and abuse, and how to replace it with better communication alternatives, hosted on FreshLearn.
• Building a Sustainable Business Course An online mini-course introducing sustainable business topics including protecting the planet, employees, customers, and ethical marketing, adapted from The Ethical Business Book and hosted on FreshLearn.
• Greatest Hits Blog Online blog offering condensed wisdom from over 500 business books, with over 350 business book summaries posted on the Greatest Hits Blog.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250,000 copies of business books sold worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FreshLearncoreTechnology or IntegrationFreshLearn platform hosts the Online Academy, providing the e-learning infrastructure for delivering video courses, modules, and support materials to customers globally.
• LID RadiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerPodcast appearances on LID Radio covering business topics including growth, creativity, solving tricky business issues, and adapting to business change.
• Danish-UK AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration on webinars including 'We are Talking – Innovation' event, engaging cross-border business community.
• AmazoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary retail distribution channel for books, making titles available globally through Amazon UK and international marketplaces.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kevinduncan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/expert-advice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Expert Advice / Sleeping Lion