Oji Life Lab Secures $1.7M Seed Round

Today Oji Life Lab announced its first offering for business – the Emotion Life Lab – a smartphone-based learning system aimed at helping individuals and teams improve performance by boosting emotional intelligence. The company also announced that it has raised $1.7m in seed funding from Evolve Ventures and other prominent investors, with the goal of reinventing soft skills learning for the $300 billion global corporate training market.

Led by former Microsoft executive and tech veteran Matt Kursh, the founding team combines deep experience in consumer software, corporate training and leading-edge psychological research. Built with co-founders Dr. Marc Brackett and Dr. Robin Stern, who lead the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, the first "Life Lab" focuses on emotional intelligence, with future labs planned on topics like leadership, collaboration and communication.

"Whether you want to become a better manager, doctor, lawyer or salesperson, it makes sense to start by learning to be a better human. Soft skills like emotional intelligence can be learned, but in a corporate setting it's been too expensive, too disruptive, and largely ineffective", said Kursh. "With the Emotion Life Lab, we believe that we've delivered the first soft-skills learning solution that is designed and priced for large teams and organizations and that delivers deep learning that lasts a lifetime", added Kursh.

"Decades of research have shown that emotions have a huge impact on our decision-making, concentration, memory, creativity, relationships, and physical and mental health, and all of these are critical to high-performing teams," said Marc Brackett, co-founder of Oji Life Lab and founding Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. "Over the last ten years, more than 1 million students and major organizations have benefited from our research-proven emotional intelligence learning system. It's so exciting to team up with this great group to reach even more people," said Brackett.

How It Works

Leveraging advances in learning science and digital technology, Oji Life Lab's MESH learning system delivers better outcomes without the workplace disruptions of traditional corporate "training" programs.
The Oji Life Lab App (iOS and Android) delivers a complete learning experience that focuses on cultivating insight and developing lasting habits, rather than simply delivering information. As conceived of by Head of Learning Andrea Hoban – former Sr. Director of Training for Robert Half – the carefully choreographed sequence includes:
Fifty bite-sized learning steps, to be completed at whatever pace works for the learner!
Live group sessions with an Oji Coach, for discussion, feedback, brainstorming and more, using integrated video-conferencing technology.
One-on-one coaching sessions, to get personalized feedback and support.
Text chat with Oji coaches to get answers and tips in key situations.
A library of always-available written and video resources on key topics.
Mood Meter tool, built into the App.
Each step is carefully designed to build on the previous one and prepare the learner to deepen their understanding and skills. Steps combine a wide variety of activities including expert videos with Marc and Robin, "selfie" reflections, games, activities, and more.
A Step Forward
In the US alone, the company estimates that $60b is spent on soft-skills training, often with little lasting impact. This business opportunity, coupled with the company's people-positive mission, has attracted top investors including, Bo Shao, Founding Partner of Matrix Partners China, who led the seed round via his Evolve Ventures fund. "Oji Life Lab is perfectly aligned with our core mission to support the evolution of consciousness, and we believe the team will positively impact millions of people while building a big business that provides excellent returns. The company offers innovative solutions for an underserved market and is led by a world-class team with a proven track record," said Shao.

About Oji Life Lab
Based in San Francisco and launched in 2018, Oji Life Lab offers a first-of-its kind, digital learning system that helps individuals and teams thrive, gaining essential emotional and soft skills for work and life. Oji Life Lab is led by former Microsoft executive and tech veteran Matt Kursh (who ran the #4 site on the web while at Microsoft) with co-founders Dr. Marc Brackett of the Yale Center For Emotional Intelligence, noted psychologist and author, Dr. Robin Stern, and former Robert Half executive Andrea Hoban. For more information visit www.ojilifelab.com.

About Evolve Ventures
Evolve Ventures is a new philanthropic investment fund that invests in companies dedicated to reducing suffering in this world by using technology to further develop humanity's consciousness.