Social Science Laboratory

What Social Science Laboratory does

Social Science Laboratory (SSL) is a Seattle-headquartered management consulting firm founded in 2021 that delivers trauma-informed communication workshops to organizations and educational institutions. Its service centers on a proprietary four-module workshop program — Sorting Ourselves Out, Curated Retrospection, That was Unexpected, and Spherical Connectivity — supported by a "Utility Belt" of charting and vocabulary tools and an associated IMEE (Identity Marker Exchange Equation) framework for identity mapping. The company's stated methodology, anchored in the principle "Do no harm, and judge neither yourself nor others," is delivered by a small team of identity mentors and coaches who guide participants through a multidimensional communication-hygiene framework intended to address individual and collective trauma, strengthen team connection, and improve organizational productivity.

The firm operates a professional services revenue model in which workshops are facilitated directly to client organizations via guided coaching sessions. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with a stated billing cadence of multi-year contracts, and the go-to-market is sales-led with inbound inquiries captured through a website contact form. Distribution is regional and direct, with the team physically distributed across Seattle, Tehachapi, and Los Angeles. The company also has a secondary technological initiative — the in-development Spherical Coordinates system — intended to transfer workshop experiences and emotions into a secure digital space, but no AI/ML infrastructure, patents, trademarks, certifications, or disclosed funding back the broader offering.

The business is at a very early stage: the website displays placeholder content ("Posts are on their way…"), social media and email marketing channels are planned but not yet active, no customer logos are disclosed, and revenue is not reported. The team consists of four domain practitioners — founder Johan, educator Carrie (30-year veteran of the Los Angeles Unified School District), nationally-known muralist Jake, and librarian/mentorship coordinator Carin (two decades at Tehachapi Unified School District Library System). The company's growth is therefore constrained by its single-digit headcount, absence of disclosed commercial throughput, and lack of any external capital, with the IMEE/Trail of Humanity mentorship program representing the closest signal of an attempt to extend the core workshop methodology into a recurring programming model.

Name

Social Science Laboratory

Legal name

Social Science Laboratory

Website

https://socialsciencelaboratory.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Social Science Laboratory is a Seattle-based management consulting firm that delivers trauma-informed, four-module communication workshops to organizations and educational institutions seeking to improve culture, team connection, and identity awareness, led by a team of four domain practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organizational Development Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health & MTSS/RTI Tiered SEL Supports (EDAKAMAE)

Keywords

• Trauma-informed consulting
• Organizational culture mapping
• Communication workshops
• Identity coaching
• Professional development training

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Workshop Facilitation: Multi-module workshop sessions facilitated by identity mentors and coaches that guide participants through trauma-informed processing and identity exploration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Social Science Laboratory (SSL) is a management consulting firm that delivers trauma-informed workshop facilitation for organizations, teams, and educational institutions. Its core offering is a four-module workshop program that walks participants through self-sorting, retrospection, expectation reframing, and connection, supplemented by a "Utility Belt" of practical tools and exercises. Services focus on organizational culture mapping, identity exploration, and communication hygiene.

Product overview

Social Science Laboratory is a workshop-based training program consisting of a core platform and four interconnected modules plus a Utility Belt. The Social Science Laboratory (SSL) core provides the foundational philosophy and physical/emotional space for identity exploration, while the four modules—Sorting Ourselves Out, Curated Retrospection, That was Unexpected, and Spherical Connectivity—guide participants through a sequential journey from initial orientation to multidimensional identity mapping. The Utility Belt complements the modules by providing portable charting tools and vocabulary for healthy communications that participants can use across all situations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved productivity for organizations
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IMEE (Identity Marker Exchange Equation)coreOthersIMEE is a framework developed by the organization representing Identity, Exchange, Marker, and Equation concepts. The IMEE/Trail of Humanity program includes mentorship programming operated by team member Carin.
• Trail of HumanitycoreOthersTrail of Humanity is associated with IMEE and involves mentorship programming and connections. Carin designs, implements, and operates mentorship programming for this initiative.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterUp: Enterprise coaching and wellbeing platform serving organizations seeking culture, communication, and employee growth outcomes. Overlaps with SSL's organizational culture-mapping and communication-hygiene value proposition for the corporate buyer segment, though BetterUp delivers at scale via digital and on-demand coaching.

Direct peers

• EVERFI: Digital SEL, prevention, and workforce readiness education platform serving both K-12 schools and employers. Comparable to SSL because both sell SEL programming into the same dual education/enterprise buyer base, though EVERFI does so via digital delivery.
• Move This World: Provider of video-based SEL programming and facilitator resources for K-12 schools. Closely comparable in serving districts with structured SEL content, though Move This World leans on pre-produced video modules rather than coach-facilitated identity work.
• Rethink Ed: K-12 SEL and mental health platform offering curriculum, professional development, and behavior supports. Highly comparable to SSL's school-focused SEL offering, with the main difference being Rethink Ed's standardized digital curriculum versus SSL's workshop-based delivery.
• Aperture Education: Provider of the DESSA SEL assessment and aligned curriculum for K-12. Comparable because it sells SEL programming into the same school district buyer and emphasizes measurement of social-emotional outcomes, an area SSL currently lacks.
• Committee for Children: Nonprofit provider of Second Step SEL curriculum used widely in K-12 schools. SSL targets the same buyer (school districts) for the same use case (social-emotional learning) but delivers it via coach-led workshops rather than packaged curriculum.
• 7 Mindsets: SEL and school culture program for K-12 built around a defined mindset framework. Directly comparable to SSL in packaging a structured, named methodology (7 Mindsets) for whole-school adoption versus SSL's four-module workshop approach.

Emerging players

• Bravely: Workplace coaching platform focused on employee communication, growth, and culture. Adjacent to SSL's organizational use case of improving team connections and communication practices, but operating in the digital coaching category rather than facilitator-led workshops.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SocialScienceLaboratory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/social-science-laboratory

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Social Science Laboratory