What xelplus does

XelPlus, operated by Austria-registered Bold Option GmbH, is a privately held online learning platform founded in 2015 by seven-time Microsoft MVP Leila Gharani to teach professionals how to use Excel, Power BI, Python, Power Automate, and Google Sheets for data analysis, reporting, and automation. The platform delivers video-based, self-paced courses through courses.xelplus.com, anchored by a content library of roughly a dozen core courses plus three tiered bundles (Black Belt Excel at $997, Power Excel at $389, Excel Essentials at $379), with supplemental practice packs, waterfall chart templates, and a weekly newsletter ('Between the Sheets') reaching 160,000+ subscribers. Distribution is product-led-growth, primarily direct-to-consumer self-serve with credit card/PayPal checkout and lifetime access, supplemented by a dedicated enterprise inquiry form for team training and corporate newsletter sponsorship.

The company operates a low-headcount, bootstrapped, founder-controlled model with no external funding, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed institutional ownership. Its technology stack is a standard hosted LMS plus a heavily monetized YouTube channel (@LeilaGharani) with 3M+ subscribers that functions as the primary top-of-funnel acquisition engine. The platform monetizes through one-time perpetual course licenses (with a 14-day refund window), add-on template and exercise packs, newsletter sponsorships, and select enterprise training engagements; CPD accreditation and Credly-issued digital badges are used to differentiate against free tutorial content. Named enterprise training references include Borealis AG, Dufry, and Telekom Austria Group, but the bulk of revenue is generated by 500,000+ long-tail individual course members purchasing courses priced between $149 and $997.

Name

xelplus

Legal name

Bold Option GmbH

Website

https://xelplus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

XelPlus is a privately held, bootstrapped online learning platform founded in 2015 by Microsoft MVP Leila Gharani, selling video-based Excel, Power BI, Python, and Google Sheets courses directly to business professionals worldwide, with 500,000+ course members and 3M+ YouTube subscribers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Professional Education

NAICS

Computer Training (61142), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Learning Content & Course Publishing Platforms (BPAMAJAL)

Keywords

• Online Excel courses
• Power BI training
• Data analysis tutorials
• Spreadsheet automation courses
• Business intelligence training

Headquarters

HQ city

Mödling

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Course Sales: One-time purchase model with lifetime access to individual courses. Customers pay once and receive perpetual access to video content, downloadable files, templates, and future updates.
2. Course Bundles: Bundled packages combining multiple courses at discounted prices compared to individual purchases. Includes Black Belt Excel Bundle (8 courses), Power Excel Bundle (2 courses), and Excel Essentials Bundle (3 courses).
3. Practice Exercises and Templates: Additional downloadable practice packs, exercise files, and template packs sold separately for supplemental learning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

XelPlus sells on-demand video courses and training programs on Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Python in Excel, Google Sheets, Power Query, Power Pivot, DAX, VBA, and financial analysis. Courses are delivered through an online learning platform (courses.xelplus.com) with one-time purchase pricing and lifetime access, supplemented by downloadable templates, practice exercise packs, a weekly newsletter, and dedicated business training inquiries for enterprise teams.

Product overview

XelPlus is an online learning platform offering a portfolio of Excel, Power BI, and Google Sheets courses taught by Microsoft MVP Leila Gharani. The platform operates on a course-bundle architecture where individual courses (Excel Essentials, Power Query, Power Pivot & DAX, VBA, Dashboards, Business Charts, Power BI, Python in Excel, Google Sheets, Financial Analysis) are available separately, while three bundle packages (Black Belt Excel Bundle, Power Excel Bundle, Excel Essentials Bundle) group related courses together at discounted prices. Additional offerings include practice exercise packs, waterfall chart templates, and a weekly newsletter. The company was founded in 2015 and has trained over 500,000 professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Excel Essentials for the Real World

Quantifiable outcome

• One member took a monthly report from 7 days down to 2 hours using Power Query techniques
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Plan InternationalminorOthersXelPlus sponsors 30 girls in developing countries monthly through Plan International. A portion of course sales each month is directed to this humanitarian organization supporting children's education in developing countries. The partnership supports self-help projects that promote economic growth for entire communities.
• Help Without FrontiersminorOthersHelp Without Frontiers (founded 2002) provides support along the Thai-Myanmar border to displaced people. Focus areas include Education, Youth Empowerment, Child Protection, Health, and Community Development. XelPlus contributes a portion of sales to support their programs.
• Corporate Sponsors (Newsletter)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerXelPlus offers sponsorship opportunities for brands targeting the 130,000+ engaged professionals in their newsletter audience. Sponsors can reach decision-makers who trust XelPlus content and are actively seeking productivity tools and solutions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn Learning: Subscription-based professional development library from LinkedIn with broad Excel, Power BI, and productivity course coverage. Comparable on training content and audience (white-collar professionals) but bundled as part of broader professional development offerings.
• DataCamp: Major subscription-based data analytics and data science learning platform covering Excel, Power BI, Python, and SQL. Comparable on curriculum overlap; differs in subscription model and broader data science positioning.
• Udemy: Large marketplace hosting thousands of Excel and Power BI courses from third-party instructors. Indirect competitor that competes for the same self-serve Excel learner purchases, but operates as a multi-instructor marketplace rather than a creator-led brand.
• Coursera: Major online education platform with professional certificates and courses covering Excel, data analysis, and Power BI from institutions and companies. Competes for the same professional upskilling budget but offers credentialed/academic content alongside individual courses.

Direct peers

• Maven Analytics: Online learning platform offering Excel, Power BI, Tableau, and SQL courses with a similar content-led, founder-built brand and lifetime-access course model. Directly comparable in audience (data professionals) and curriculum depth.
• Trump Excel (Puneet Gogia): Solo-creator Excel training business with YouTube presence and paid video courses. Directly comparable as a single-instructor, content-led Microsoft Excel education brand competing for the same self-serve buyer.
• MyOnlineTrainingHub: Founder-led Excel and Power BI training site with video courses and YouTube audience. Overlaps with XelPlus on core Excel curriculum, audience (business professionals), and self-paced video course delivery.
• Excel Off The Grid: Independent Excel training site focused on Power Query, Power Pivot, and automation by a single expert author. Overlaps with XelPlus's Power Excel Bundle content and serves the same power-user segment.
• Chandoo.org: Long-running founder-led Excel blog and paid learning platform with a global audience of Excel professionals. Directly comparable as an established single-creator Excel education brand with courses and a community.
• SQLBI (Marco Russo & Alberto Ferrari): Specialized Power BI / DAX training brand offering books, courses, and consulting. Overlaps with XelPlus on the advanced Power BI / DAX segment and targets the same professional analyst audience.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@LeilaGharani
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xelplus
• Instagraminstagram.com/lgharani

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 xelplus