Historically, businesses have distanced themselves from saturated markets—led by the countless potential growth and profit-related challenges.
While those problems persist in competitive markets even today, defying the odds and winning big brands from fierce competitors makes saturated markets fun for some businesses. One leader with this unique approach is Sean Reddington, CEO and Founder of Thrive—a modern learning technology company that pioneered the first-ever all-in-one learning platform.
Despite the competitive nature of the LMS industry, Thrive has migrated millions of users from renowned names such as Volvo, Avon, Vodafone, Burger King, Frasers Group, and more under Sean’s leadership—making him one of The Most Innovative Business Leaders to Watch in 2024 and making Thrive the Fastest-Growing Digital Firm in the Midlands and East of England.
An Opportunity for Change
Thrive has forever changed the perception of learning at work through its ambitious vision to execute things differently. Sean Reddington knew from his time in the industry that the traditional approach to 45-minute click-next digital learning wasn’t helpful for anyone. What is worse is people were unable to refer to it or even find it when they needed it.
Thrive understood that collaboration, knowledge-sharing, communication and upskilling are intrinsic to company culture, and the rewards could be massive—with the right technology to make it happen.
Recognizing an opportunity for change, Thrive created a modern-day learning platform that combined training, internal communications, upskilling, AI and collaborative knowledge sharing that redefined workplace learning for forward-thinking and Enterprise businesses.
Key Takeaways from Sean Reddington’s Leadership and Culture
● Customers are core—look after them, or someone else will.
● Family first—it is vital for everyone at Thrive to find balance and have a quality of life.
At Thrive, employees already work 10 AM to 3 PM on Fridays. Moreover, the company is trialling the 4-day working week this summer for 12 weeks.
“You can’t argue with some of the results that have come out recently, positively impacting performance, and who doesn’t want an extra day to spend with their family?”
● Make an impact. Do things that will make a difference, striving for innovation and doing more to drive positive change.
Sean Reddington has never liked the phrase “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
● For Sean Reddington, it is all about trust, the right amount of autonomy, hiring the best experts (even if they are smarter than you), and creating a friendly culture beyond teamwork and collaboration.
● The best ideas are sparked over a Guinness with the team.
Never Staying Idle
Innovation is essential for customer retention and to stabilize the business, whether a new business or an old one. No matter the circumstances, Thrive never stays idle, investing everything back into its people and products.
In the last year, Thrive has tripled investment in tech resources, research, and development and brought experts on board to reach new heights of innovation.
Here are some of those renowned names:
- Koreen Pagano: Chief Product Officer (Joined through LinkedIn and Degreed)
- Niloufar Zarin: Head of AI (Ex-Dyson and D2L)
- Ian Bromwich: Chief Technology Officer (Ex-HSBC and Lloyds Banking)
“This focus on innovation sees us launching a suite of built-in AI solutions to help people work faster, upskill sooner, create more, and get instant answers through Thrive.”
Why Thrive?
- Thrive Learning is the industry’s fastest-growing learning technology company with over 3 million users worldwide.
- Launched in 2019, they were the first to offer a truly modern and social all-in-one learning platform.
- Thrive Learning has replaced traditional learning management systems (LMS) and content providers for over 370 global brands including Vodafone, Scottish Government, British Airways, Dunlem, and Travis Perkins.
- They are known for their industry-leading customer experience with a 99% customer renewal rate.
Products and Services
1. Thrive
- Through its modern-day LMS, Thrive empowers businesses to develop high-performing teams and showcase the real impact of learning and development.
- It is the only all-in-one learning platform that enables the consolidation of content, skills, and comms to help people learn faster and more collaboratively than ever.
2. Thrive Content
- A one-stop learning hub with over 1,000 resources, expertly crafted learning pathways, and services that effortlessly fill your content gaps.
- Thousands of uniquely designed resources covering valuable topics such as health & safety, leadership, communication, information security, mental wellness, compliance, and beyond.
- Join over 350 trailblazing enterprises such as John Lewis, Nando’s, Royal Mail, DPD, Specsavers, PwC, Soho House, Pizza Express, Primark, and Ford, who all rely on Thrive Content to ignite a spark for voluntary learning amongst their workforce.
Evolution of Thrive
- Thrive’s customer base has grown by 36% with the likes of Reiss, Burger King, Pladis (parent company to Mcvitites) and Avon.
- Upsells from additional services offered have increased by 40% year-on-year.
- 127% NRR
- 99% customer renewal rate (Just one platform cancellation in five years).
- 99% customer satisfaction.
- Customer referrals comprise a third (27%) of Thrive’s revenue sources.
- 91.3% of customers who have used a competitor rated Thrive better in comparison.
- When asked how likely customers were to recommend Thrive to a colleague or a friend, the company scored an average 9/10 (10 being ‘very likely’); 60% said they’d already recommended Thrive.
- When asked how likely customers are to use Thrive again, it received an average rating of 9/10.
| Website: https://www.thrivelearning.com |
| Industry: Software Development |
| Company size: 51-200 employees |
| Headquarters: Nottingham, England |
| Type: Privately Held |
| Founded: 2018 |
| Specialties: Learning Management System, Learning Experience Platform, Social LMS, Microlearning, E-learning, SaaS, EdTech, L&D, Leadership, Onboarding, Compliance, Learning Technologies, Learning Platform, and Technology |
