Hi all — We're building a new platform (UK-based) in the life coaching industry.
Quick context on why I'm posting: we've spent months looking at how coaching actually works in the UK and one number kept coming back — a coach taking ~10 enquiries a month spends 7 to 10 unpaid hours on discovery calls. At the £82/hr Life Coach Directory average, that's around £615 of foregone billing. Every month. Before you even count the calls that don't convert. Before we even think about the endless effort that goes into marketing and building a name in the industry to get leads in this scattered and unorganized market.
Existing UK options don't fix this. Directories (Life Coach Directory, Life Coach Listings) just hand you a name and a topic filter. Enterprise platforms (CoachHub, BetterUp) only work if HR is buying. Practice tools (Paperbell, Delenta) activate after you already have the client. Nobody is solving the bit between "I think I need coaching" and "here's the right coach for me."
What we're building: clients complete a free short structured assessment before they see any coach. They're either matched to a curated coach shortlist (with full intake profile shared), or — if their primary need is clinical support — signposted to BACP/UKCP/NHS resources. Coaches subscribe monthly and unlock the profiles they actually want to pursue. No commission on your sessions. Ever.
Where you come in: Before we build another line of this, we want to design it with practicing UK coaches. Not a focus group — actual co-builders.
Survey (5 mins, genuinely): https://forms.gle/5jKqNE6CEAnKBttV7
From the responses, we're inviting 40 coaches to join as Founding 40 members:
- Direct input on what gets built (and what doesn't)
- Founding-member subscription rate, locked in
- Featured profile placement when we launch
- A Letter of Intent if it's a mutual fit — non-binding, just signals you're in
Even if Founding 40 isn't for you, every response shapes this. Massive thanks for the time either way.
A few things I'd genuinely love to hear in the comments:
- How many discovery calls do you do a month, and what's your gut sense of conversion rate?
- How do you feel about establishing and holding your place in this scattered market?
- What would actually make you trust an intake assessment done before you've spoken to the client?
- Be honest — what's the part of this idea that makes you wince?
I'll be in the thread today answering anything. Including the skeptical questions. Especially the skeptical questions.