A fast-growing local software company that aims to help organizations develop their own leaders has closed on a $10 million Series A round led by technology investment firm Bedrock.

The Plano-based company—fittingly named Leadr—just launched in June 2019 to equip managers with the tools needed to grow, engage, and lead high-performing teams. Essentially, every manager becomes a coach and every employee is given a voice.

Its people development technology is meant to develop staff at every level to ultimately drive sustained and measurable employee growth. Leadr’s model hinges on the weekly one-on-one meeting, as the team considers that “the most impactful development tool a manager has,” because it’s “proven to drive habit forming relationships.”

That approach is new to the human resources market, according to Co-Founder and CEO Matt Tresidder. On Leadr’s website, he explains that the right people development software could change the culture of an organization by engaging with the 90 percent of staff members who are more difficult to reach.

He poses the question: “What will you be able to accomplish when every one of your employees is growing?”

That’s why Tresidder and his team of around 35 full-time hybrid workers are on a mission to bridge the leadership gap. Armed with the intent to disrupt traditional HR models, Leadr has grown to more than 340 customers and 5,000-plus active monthly users since founding.

The current goal is to evolve 1 million leaders.

“The Leadr team has made incredible progress over the last 12 months despite challenging circumstances faced by all businesses across the globe,” Leadr Executive Chairman Chris Heaslip said in a statement. “We’ve grown from zero customers a year ago to serving over 340 organizations today, which shows that organizations are looking to invest in and grow their staff, and Leadr is helping them do so.”

According to Leadr, its rapid growth and differentiated approach to people management continues to impress investors.

The fresh capital will go toward adding more features and benefits to the software. Tresidder said it offers the opportunity to further build out Leadr’s product, sales, and customer success teams.

In addition to Bedrock, the Series A included funding from friends and family, including Heaslip, Intuit Chief Revenue Officer Bobby Morrison, and Pushpay Co-founder Eliot Crowther.

“From the initial onboarding process to ongoing one-on-one meetings, our goal is to help leaders build new habits and rhythms to engage and grow every employee,” Tresidder said. “We plan to continue our expansion into the human resource software space by offering additional benefits such as CoreHR and Health Plans so leaders can better care for their team.”

The Bedrock team has close ties with Leadr, too. Managing Partner Geoff Lewis, who established Bedrock after spending five years at Founders Fund, previously worked with Heaslip on a variety of other ventures.

“People development has never been more critical, and Leadr’s breakthrough software is transforming the space,” Lewis said in a statement. “We are looking forward to supporting their growth over the coming years.”

Bedrock, which has around $1 billion in assets under management, backs “bold technology companies challenging today’s narratives.” Its recent investments include Vercel, Workwise, Plaid, Check, and Cameo. It was also an early investor in pioneers like Lyft, Canva, Nubank, and Upstart.

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