Happiness Academy

What Happiness Academy does

Happiness Academy is a privately-held, founder-led positive psychology education and training business headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia. Founded by Mirna Šmidt — one of the first people in Europe to hold a Master's in Applied Positive Psychology from Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge, where her thesis focused on training flow — the company delivers science-based content built around a proprietary '12 Pillars of Happiness' framework. The product portfolio spans multi-week virtual courses (e.g., 12 Steps to Happiness, The Art of Resilience, Deep Dive into Flow, Build Powerful Mindset), low-priced in-person workshops in European cities, on-demand video content, custom corporate keynotes, and premium immersive Learning Getaways (3-10 day retreats priced at 1,780-2,460 EUR per person) held in distinctive Croatian locations such as an Istrian villa and the Lastovo lighthouse. A related sub-brand, Trainers' Toolbox, targets the B2B segment of trainers and coaches with positive psychology tools.

The underlying technology stack is minimal and explicitly non-proprietary: live virtual courses are delivered via Zoom in small groups of 8 participants, on-demand content uses standard pre-recorded video, and there is no custom platform or AI component. The competitive differentiation rests on the founder's expertise, the structured 12-pillar curriculum, and a multi-channel content marketing engine (weekly newsletter, podcast on YouTube/Spotify/Apple, free email courses, the Positive Psychology Tribe Facebook group, and meetup communities in Zagreb and Amsterdam).

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market combining direct-to-consumer course and workshop sales, enterprise/corporate training and keynote engagements (with named clients including IBM, Cisco, Amazon, UniCredit, L'Oréal Paris, and others), and community-led growth. Revenue is generated across at least seven product streams: virtual courses (~680 EUR per participant), in-person workshops (~30 EUR), on-demand workshops (85-97 EUR), premium learning getaways (1,780-2,460 EUR), corporate keynotes and customized training (professional services pricing), gift cards, and indirect sponsorship of free content. The company is small (approximately 5 employees, with the founder as primary trainer), has no disclosed external funding, and operates as a founder-owned initiative with full personal control.

Name

Happiness Academy

Legal name

Happiness Academy

Website

https://happiness-academy.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Happiness Academy is a Zagreb-based, founder-led positive psychology education business founded by Mirna Šmidt, delivering science-based training through virtual courses, workshops, learning getaways, and corporate keynotes for individual consumers and enterprise clients across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Coaching

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Mindfulness, Stress Management & Resilience Training (EDAMAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workplace Wellness & Wellbeing Education (EDAAAHAN), Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG), Wellness & Mindfulness Classes (Yoga Workshops, Meditation, Breathwork) (THAJAKAK)

Keywords

• Positive psychology training
• Wellbeing workshops
• Corporate keynote speaking
• Resilience coaching programs
• Mindfulness retreats

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Virtual Courses: Live virtual courses (12 Steps to Happiness at 680 EUR, Art of Resilience at 680 EUR, Deep Dive into Flow, Mindset course) delivered via Zoom in small groups of 8 participants over multiple modules with 2h calls each.
2. In-Person Workshops: Live workshops in Amsterdam, Zagreb, and guest-workshop locations (Krakow, London, Porto, Florence, Cape Town, Barcelona, Berlin). Topics include positive psychology intro, mindfulness, strengths, flow, life design, and workplace wellbeing. Priced at 230 HRK (approx. 30 EUR) for standard workshops.
3. Keynotes and Speeches: Custom-designed keynote presentations for corporate events, conferences, and organizational gatherings. Delivered in English or Croatian. Client list includes IBM, Cisco, Hive Europe, Women in Data Science conference, and others.
4. Learning Getaways: Immersive multi-day retreats (3-10 days) at unique locations. Pricing varies from 1,780 EUR to 2,460 EUR per person depending on room type and booking timing. Includes accommodation, meals, workshops, and activities.
5. On-Demand Workshops: Self-paced pre-recorded content. Take a Leap to Happiness 2h workshop priced at 97 EUR. Future on-demand courses planned.
6. Gift Cards: Gift cards available for purchasing workshops, virtual courses, coaching, and other Happiness Academy experiences.
7. Corporate Customized Training: Customized learning experiences designed and delivered for organizations seeking to enhance team wellbeing and performance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Happiness Academy designs and delivers positive psychology education through live virtual multi-week courses, in-person workshops in European cities, custom corporate keynotes and training, on-demand pre-recorded workshops, and multi-day immersive learning retreats. Its curriculum is organized around a proprietary 12-Pillars of Happiness framework covering presence, positive emotions, engagement/flow, resilience, strengths, mindset, gratitude, meaning, and positive relationships. Offerings are sold both to individual learners (open enrollment) and to corporate clients (customized team wellbeing, leadership, and engagement programs).

Product overview

Happiness Academy offers a comprehensive portfolio of positive psychology educational products centered around their proprietary '12 Pillars of Happiness' framework. The core offerings include virtual courses (12 Steps to Happiness, The Art of Resilience, Deep Dive into Flow, Build Powerful Mindset, and Positive Psychology Toolbox for Trainers), on-demand workshops (Take a Leap to Happiness, Life Design), live workshops, keynotes and speeches, and immersive Learning Getaways. Products are delivered through multiple formats including small-group live virtual sessions, pre-recorded on-demand content, in-person workshops in European cities (Amsterdam, Zagreb, and others), and multi-day retreat experiences in Croatia. The company also offers gift cards and a podcast as supplementary offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Trainers' Toolbox: A project through which Mirna Smidt develops creative tools for trainers and coaches, offering positive psychology toolbox courses specifically designed for trainers and coaches.

Products and services

• 12 Steps to Happiness Virtual Course A 12-session live virtual course for individual adult learners, run in a small cohort of 8 participants over weekly 2-hour calls. The program covers 12 modules grounded in positive psychology and neuroscience, with experimentation between sessions and tools for everyday implementation.
• The Art of Resilience Online Course A 9-module live virtual course for individual learners, delivered in cohorts of 8 via 2-hour Zoom calls, focused on science-based mindset and resilience tools for thriving in challenging times.
• Deep Dive into Flow Online Course A 6-module course providing tools and techniques for training flow state, combining positive emotion in the moment with a sense of meaning in activities.
• Build Powerful Mindset Online Course A 10-module course on reengineering thinking for wellbeing and success, helping participants gain new perspectives, build clarity, and sustain motivation.
• Positive Psychology Toolbox for Trainers and Coaches A 9-module program designed for practicing trainers, coaches, and learning professionals, providing diverse, practical, and engaging positive psychology and neuroscience-based tools for use with their own clients.
• Take a Leap to Happiness Workshop A 2-hour on-demand, pre-recorded workshop introducing the foundations of happiness and wellbeing through the 12 pillars framework, with practical science-based tools, priced at 97 EUR.
• Life Design Workshop A 3-hour online workshop in which individual learners create a big life vision and an immediate action plan, leaving with clarity and motivation to put both into practice, priced at 85 EUR.
• Learning Getaways Immersive 3-10 day learning events at distinctive locations in Croatia (including an Istrian villa in Tinjan and the Lastovo lighthouse), combining positive psychology topics with experiences, discussions, and personal development for small groups.
• Keynotes and Speeches Custom-designed keynote presentations for corporate events, conferences, and organizational gatherings on happiness, resilience, and positive psychology, delivered in English or Croatian.
• Workshops Live in-person workshops delivered in Amsterdam, Zagreb, and other European cities on topics including positive psychology, mindfulness, positive emotions, strengths, flow, life design, and positive psychology at the workplace.
• Corporate Customized Training Customized learning experiences designed and delivered for organizations seeking to enhance team wellbeing, resilience, and performance, sold through a consultative corporate sales process.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available in specific amounts or for specific Happiness Academy experiences, redeemable for workshops, virtual courses, coaching, and other Happiness Academy offerings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Flow state training shown to increase satisfaction, creativity, performance, problem-solving, and motivation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 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

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Potential Project: Corporate mindfulness and workplace wellbeing training provider delivering evidence-based programs to enterprise clients globally. Direct peer to Happiness Academy's corporate keynote and training motion, with overlapping customer base (Fortune 500) and similar focus on positive psychology and resilience interventions.
• The Flourishing Center: Offers positive psychology certification programs, workshops, and corporate training based on Martin Seligman's PERMA model. Direct peer to Happiness Academy with overlapping curriculum foundations, similar target audiences (individuals and corporate), and comparable course/workshop delivery model.
• Six Seconds: Global non-profit network providing emotional intelligence and wellbeing education to individuals, schools, and corporations. Comparable to Happiness Academy in its evidence-based wellbeing curriculum and corporate training delivery, with deeper methodology (EQ framework) and broader geographic reach.
• Positive Psychology Institute: Provides training, certifications, and education in positive psychology for coaches, practitioners, and organizations. Direct peer offering similar science-based content and serving an overlapping audience of practitioners and individuals seeking personal development, with a stronger certification angle.
• Wisdom Labs: Science-based wellbeing training company offering courses on mindfulness, resilience, and positive psychology to organizations. Comparable to Happiness Academy's enterprise training model with focus on evidence-based wellbeing curriculum, though more digitally scaled and enterprise-focused.

Broad incumbents

• BetterUp: Enterprise coaching and wellbeing platform combining AI-driven matching with 1:1 coaching for resilience, mindfulness, and performance. Overlaps with Happiness Academy's enterprise corporate wellbeing value proposition, but operates at vastly greater scale with proprietary technology, a large coach network, and heavy enterprise sales motion.
• Mindvalley: Global personal growth and transformation education platform offering courses on mindfulness, happiness, and wellbeing. Comparable to Happiness Academy through its science-based personal development curriculum and small-group cohort delivery, but vastly larger scale, broader course catalog, and proprietary platform technology.
• Calm Business: Enterprise arm of the Calm meditation and wellbeing app, offering subscriptions to employees for mindfulness, sleep, and resilience content. Competes with Happiness Academy in the corporate wellbeing space with a much larger content library, mobile platform, and enterprise sales motion.

Emerging players

• Action for Happiness: Non-profit movement promoting happiness and wellbeing through free courses, community groups, and evidence-based content. Comparable audience overlap (individuals seeking positive psychology tools) and community-led growth motion, though delivered as a movement rather than paid training business.
• The Happiness Research Institute: Copenhagen-based think tank and education provider focused on happiness, wellbeing, and quality of life research, with corporate training and public events. Comparable through its research-grounded approach to wellbeing and European focus, though more research/advocacy-led than commercial training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HappinessAcademy?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/myhappinessacademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/happiness-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/happinessacademy
• Pinterestpinterest.co.uk/happinessacadem

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 Happiness Academy