\n<\/p>\n
Sidebar<\/a>, a company developing a group coaching program focused on driving individual career growth, today announced that it raised $13.3 million in a seed round from investors including Foundation Capital, Scribble Ventures and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp.<\/p>\n Former Facebook product manager Lexy Franklin founded Sidebar after running into challenges finding supportive peer groups while at Meta.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a product manager lead at Facebook surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world, and my goal was to learn as much as possible from them,\u201d Franklin told TechCrunch via email. \u201cThere was plenty of room to collaborate, but there wasn\u2019t an easy forum to consistently learn from the experience of my peers. I thought, if this was challenging at Facebook \u2026 it was probably a problem everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Peer groups or no, career dev isn\u2019t a solved science \u2014 that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n In a 2022 survey<\/a> conducted by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research firm, 76% of workers said that they feel stuck in their personal lives, 31% are apprehensive about their futures, 27% are locked in the same routines and \u2014 thanks to pandemic- and work-from-home-induced isolation \u2014 they\u2019re lonelier than ever before (26%). Yikes.<\/p>\n Sidebar, like other upskilling platforms on the market (see: GrowthSpace<\/a>, Workera<\/a>, Learnsoft<\/a> and so on), provides a tool suite designed to support employees\u2019 career advancement. But unlike<\/em> some of its competitors, Sidebar leverages small peer groups to attempt to foster better guidance \u2014 and greater accountability \u2014 in workers\u2019 journeys.<\/p>\n An algorithm matches people into these peer groups based on their level and role, like \u201cCEO\u201d or \u201csenior leader,\u201d as well as their background and interests. It also takes into account whether or not a person is in \u201ctransition,\u201d as in whether they\u2019re looking to remain in their current role or transition to a new one inside or outside of their company.<\/p>\n Franklin claims that Sidebar\u2019s algorithm emphasizes \u201cdiversity and inclusion,\u201d with the goal of \u201cdemographically balancing\u201d each of the peer groups. \u201cWe want to ensure a range of perspectives, and we take care to ensure no one feels like the \u2018only\u2019 member of any demographic group,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Given matching algorithms\u2019 well-established<\/a> history<\/a> of bias<\/a>, I\u2019m skeptical. But Franklin says that Sidebar periodically \u2014 and sometimes upon request \u2014 \u201ccalibrates\u201d groups to prevent biases from taking root. And the bulk of Sidebar\u2019s features aren\u2019t algorithm-dependent, fortunately.<\/p>\n Once Sidebar establishes the peer groups, which range in size from 8 to 10 people plus a group \u201cleader,\u201d the platform facilitates twice-a-month, 90-minute group meetings on proprietary videoconferencing software. For these meetings, Sidebar provides materials encouraging members to achieve their career goals and overcome blockers. In the interest of privacy, member aren\u2019t allowed to discuss their places of work, projects or even their names.<\/p>\n Members also get access to a goal tracking module, messaging features, a live events series, community forums, resource libraries and session recordings.<\/p>\n Sidebar\u2019s proprietary meeting platform for groups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSidebar members challenge, encourage and hold each other accountable as they\u2019re led through a research-based program by a professional facilitator,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cAll of our members are engaged in the program, working through the curriculum and attending the twice-monthly group sessions, so their membership can\u2019t gather dust on their bookshelf or LinkedIn profile.\u201d<\/p>\n The cynic in me wonders whether a \u201cbest-in-class\u201d leader exists for every possible peer group. I\u2019d think it\u2019d be a difficult model to scale.<\/p>\n Recognizing this, no doubt, Sidebar doesn\u2019t let just anyone become a member. Prospective users have to submit an application and agree to an interview, and only those that meet one of several criterion \u2014 including 10-plus years of experience in their field, founders who\u2019ve started a company or a referral from an existing Sidebar member \u2014 qualify.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the most inclusive model \u2014 and that\u2019s before factoring in the steep cost of membership ($3,600 annually). But Franklin asserts that it\u2019s Sidebar\u2019s way of building groups with a strong \u201cgrowth mindsets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNetworks have benefits, programs have outcomes,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cThere are other platforms primarily focused on marketing your professional self or connecting with other professionals, while Sidebar is unique in that it\u2019s a personalized career growth program. Some networks even offer specific skill building, like workshops on negotiating or content like best practices for fundraising. That\u2019s not the same as a comprehensive program where someone is setting clear goals, measuring their progress and developing their whole professional self with similarly-focused peers.\u201d<\/p>\n Sidebar has 5,000 people on its waitlist, Franklin claims, and an \u201cimpressive\u201d group of early members. He wouldn\u2019t indicate how large that member group is beyond a ballpark estimate \u2014 \u201chundreds\u201d of people. But Franklin did say that some companies have begun sponsoring Sidebar memberships for their employees.<\/p>\n Sidebar\u2019s staff sits at 20 people currently, and the funding will allow the startup to hire engineers and scientists to build \u201ceven better algorithms to match people and new and innovative ways to collaborate through our virtual platform and other member tools,\u201d Franklin said with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n In the more distant future, Sidebar might consider expanding the platform to offer some \u2014 or all \u2014 of its tools to HR departments through their benefits or training and development functions. But Franklin had nothing specific to announce when we spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cOur program also features professional facilitators, so we\u2019re looking for more people to help our members reach their career goals,\u201d Franklin continued. \u201cAnd, of course, we\u2019re adding to many of the other functions a growing company needs to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n