Pillars
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Pillars does
Pillars (legally Pillars of Wall Street, LLC) is a New York-based financial training company founded in 2013 by former investment bankers. It delivers premium finance education to three primary customer segments: financial institutions and corporates (investment banks, private equity, venture capital, consulting, accountancy, government), business schools (top 20 MBA programs), and individual professionals. Its product portfolio centers on two delivery modes: expert-led live training (in-person or webinar, customized per client) and Pillars Online, a cloud-based LMS offering bundled learning paths and individual courses with post-assessment certification. Supporting offerings include one-on-one coaching for interview prep and associate/VP promotion, the Pillars Leader View dashboard for enterprise managers, and free resources such as Deal of the Month M&A cheatsheets that serve as top-of-funnel content.
The company's business model combines professional services revenue (custom-priced live training delivered daily worldwide, one-on-one coaching) with recurring subscription revenue (monthly Pillars Online access, multi-year enterprise contracts). Pricing is quote-based for businesses and not publicly disclosed; group rates are available for individuals through public course offerings. NASBA accreditation enables the platform to issue CPE credits to CPAs, creating a compliance-driven pull into the accountancy vertical. The GTM motion is sales-led: enterprise field sales to large financial institutions, inside sales via contact forms and demos, and a community-led channel through business school partnerships that drive student referrals.
Operationally, Pillars runs with a lean team of roughly 10 employees and is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, M&A activity, or parent company. It claims global delivery across the US, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, with instructors having delivered live courses to hundreds of thousands of participants cumulatively since 2013. The company reports a near-99% hire rate for individuals completing live training and 25-60% learning retention rates when on-demand content complements live instruction, compared with 8-10% for traditional learning alone.
Pillars firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pillars
- Legal name
- Pillars of Wall Street, LLC
- Website
- https://trainpillars.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pillars industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Financial Training and Professional Education Services
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Finance, Banking & Capital Markets (EDAAAPAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)
Keywords
Where Pillars is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pillars business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Live Training Services: In-person and webinar-based training customized to client needs. Delivered daily around the world to clients ranging from the largest institutions to one-on-one individual training. Includes interview preparation, technical skills (Excel, modeling, valuation), and behavioral training.
- On-Demand eLearning: Pillars Online subscription platform offering bundled learning paths and individual courses. Certifications delivered following post-assessment. CPE credits available for CPAs via NASBA accreditation.
- One-on-One Coaching: Personalized training programs including interview preparation, day-one-readiness training, and advanced placement role preparation for Associate/VP level promotion work.
- Deal of the Month Cheatsheets: M&A deal analysis resources provided as part of the training curriculum and resource library.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Custom enterprise pricing for businesses |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Public courses for individuals and small groups |
| Subscription | Monthly | On-demand learning via Pillars Online |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Pillars product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pillars delivers premium financial training through live in-person and webinar-based instruction, an on-demand eLearning platform (Pillars Online), and personalized one-on-one coaching. Programs cover Excel, PowerPoint, accounting, financial modeling, valuation, M&A, capital markets, and behavioral skills, with NASBA-accredited CPE certifications. Training is customized to client needs and serves businesses, individuals, and business schools.
Product overview
Pillars is a premium financial training company offering a unified portfolio centered on Pillars Online (on-demand eLearning) and Live Training (in-person/webinar instruction), supplemented by personalized One-on-One Training and the Pillars Leader View management dashboard. The ecosystem serves three primary segments: businesses (team training with progress tracking), schools (student interview prep and day-one readiness), and individuals (self-paced courses and coaching). A free Hot M&A Deals resource provides real-world deal analysis. Together, these products form a comprehensive financial education platform combining live instruction, self-paced learning, and data-driven performance management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pillars Online: On-demand eLearning portal offering bundled courses and individual courses for targeted skill development in finance, accounting, modeling, and valuation.
- Pillars Live Training
- Deal of the Month
Products and services
- Pillars Online Cloud-based on-demand eLearning platform offering bundled learning paths for core finance concepts and individual courses for targeted skills, with certifications delivered upon post-assessment completion. NASBA-accredited for CPE credits.
- Live Training Expert-led, in-person or webinar-based financial training customized to client needs, covering topics such as Excel, PowerPoint, accounting, valuation, M&A, and capital markets. Delivered globally.
- One-on-One Training Personalized one-on-one training including interview preparation, day-one-readiness (financial statement analysis, modeling), and advanced placement work for associate/VP level promotion.
- Hot M&A Deals (Deal of the Month) Free resource providing cheatsheets for current M&A transactions, featuring deal analysis and key financial metrics for educational purposes.
- Interviewing Bundle On-demand interview preparation bundle covering behavioral questions, technical accounting, valuation, M&A, and industry-specific content for individual candidates.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 99% hire rate for individuals completing live training
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Pillars
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Pillars technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Pillars partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Pillars competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Kaplan Financial Education: Kaplan offers finance and accounting professional education and certification prep, overlapping with Pillars' continuing-education and individual-learner segments, especially for CPA-track professionals.
- Wiley Efficient Learning (CPA review): Wiley's CPA review and professional education arm shares the CPE-credit and accounting-professional buyer overlap with Pillars' NASBA-accredited courses for accountancy firms.
- Udemy Business: Udemy Business is a broad learning marketplace and enterprise L&D platform that hosts finance courses and competes with Pillars Online in the subscription self-serve segment, though it lacks finance-specific specialization.
- Coursera: Coursera partners with universities to offer finance specializations and professional certificates, competing with Pillars Online for self-paced learners pursuing finance credentials, especially via business school channels.
- LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning offers a broad catalog of finance and Excel courses to individuals and enterprises, competing with Pillars' self-serve individual subscriptions though without the bank-specific customization and instructor caliber.
Direct peers
- Wall Street Prep: Wall Street Prep is a direct competitor offering live and self-study financial training (modeling, valuation, accounting) to the same enterprise and individual buyer segments, including investment banks, PE firms, and business schools.
- Financial Edge: Financial Edge provides technical finance training (modeling, Excel, valuation) to investment banks and corporates globally, directly competing with Pillars' live and on-demand offerings for enterprise accounts.
- Training The Street: Training The Street delivers customized in-person and live-virtual corporate finance training to banks, PE firms, and corporates — the same enterprise buyer Pillars targets with its customized live programs.
- Breaking Into Wall Street (BIWS): BIWS provides technical finance training and interview prep for investment-banking candidates, overlapping with Pillars' interview bundle, one-on-one coaching, and banking-targeted live courses.
- Corporate Finance Institute (CFI): CFI delivers on-demand financial modeling and valuation courses plus certifications to finance professionals, directly overlapping Pillars Online's curriculum, audience, and subscription pricing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pillars social profiles
Digital presencePillars financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pillars leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Pillars funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pillars M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pillars
What does Pillars do?
Pillars delivers premium financial training through live in-person and webinar-based instruction, an on-demand eLearning platform (Pillars Online), and personalized one-on-one coaching. Programs cover Excel, PowerPoint, accounting, financial modeling, valuation, M&A, capital markets, and behavioral skills, with NASBA-accredited CPE certifications. Training is customized to client needs and serves businesses, individuals, and business schools.
Is Pillars a public or private company?
Pillars is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Pillars founded?
Pillars was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Pillars based?
Pillars is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pillars make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Live Training Services are the primary driver. The others are on-Demand eLearning, one-on-One Coaching and deal of the Month Cheatsheets.
Who are Pillars's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Kaplan Financial Education, Wiley Efficient Learning (CPA review), Udemy Business, Coursera and LinkedIn Learning. Direct peers are Wall Street Prep, Financial Edge, Training The Street, Breaking Into Wall Street (BIWS) and Corporate Finance Institute (CFI).
Does Pillars have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pillars.
What industry is Pillars in?
Pillars's product category is Financial Training and Professional Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAAAPAG, Finance, Banking & Capital Markets, with a secondary code of EDAAALAJ, Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE). Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8200.