Could you tell me about your background?

I was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. I taught myself how to code when I was 12 and started my first business when in high school as a way of avoiding the less inspiring part time jobs available at the time. I was fortunate in my studies, and after graduating in Economics I was able to do an MSc in Education at Oxford University before attaining my PhD from the University of Queensland.

I’ve always been passionate about education and the belief that technology can create new opportunities for learning. Go1 was founded in 2015 with Co-founders Chris Eigeland, Chris Hood and Vu Tran with the ambition of transforming the world of professional learning and development. In our first year we submitted a last-minute application to Y Combinator and in many ways we have been running at full speed ever since!

Can you tell me about Go1 and what it does as if I know nothing about it?

At its core, Go1 helps connect people and organisations with great learning resources. Sometimes people describe Go1 as analogous to Spotify for corporate education - as we don’t author content ourselves but instead provide access to the world’s largest selection of corporate education courses. Through our AI-powered engine we’re able to curate that content into digestible “playlists” that cater to the needs of every learner.

The advantage of this model is that we’re able to help with the growing diversity of skills, topics and providers that people and businesses need. Whether it’s leadership skills from Harvard, how to drive a forklift, mental health awareness tips or how to create a pivot table in Microsoft Excel. We have all of that content in a single subscription that covers training needs for every level and across every department. Our customers often start with a specific need, but then realize the value of having a wider library of training.

Where did the idea come from? 

The idea was a collaborative effort amongst the co-founders; a reflection of our shared passion for learning and understanding of the gaps in the market of corporate education. Not enough businesses were and still aren’t learning-centred which in our view is the key to employee wellness, engagement and retention. By combining content creation and learning platforms together in one space we connected the global workforce through an open, accessible model that can be tailored to many learning styles and needs.

Do you have any competitors and what differentiates you?

We do have competitors and we see it as a sign of the health of the L&D sector that businesses continue to evolve and grow, pushing Go1 to constantly focus on staying ahead of the market - both in terms of our technology and content but also the conversations we continue to have on a daily basis with our customers and partners.

However, in most parts we see the other players in the ecosystem as an opportunity for partnership. We work with hundreds of great content providers, and a large number of LMS, LXP, HRIS and other providers.

Because of our model (where we don’t create content), Go1 leads the pack with the depth of our content - we’re the largest library available - but also with our advanced tech. We’re able to seamlessly integrate into existing workplace processes and applications, (as done with Microsoft Teams, Slack and Workplace) to offer learning on the go alongside more focused and detailed courses through our portal. Data shows that learning and development is one of the most important aspects of job satisfaction, so it's crucial that we ensure it is available to our customers and partners in ways they need it.

Could you explain some more about the curated eLearning library and the courses provided?

Our library is the world’s largest with top training from providers from Blinkist to Pluralsight to Thomson Reuters and Skillsoft. The breadth of our courses means we offer content across construction, finance, government, healthcare, hospitality, marketing and advertising, NFP, retail, service provider and transport industries, so it could take us quite a long time to cover off every type of course we provide.

We operate across most markets with over 3.5 million learners onboard, and through our integration across applications, we’ve been able to seamlessly fit in with existing workplace practices to deliver maximum impact.

Crucially, we’re not resting. There is always more to learn and ways to deliver that learning, so whilst our library is extensive, we also know that as trends shift and learning requirements change, we’ll need to stay one step ahead to be constantly providing for what people want and need.

What are the most popular courses?

In 2021, our most popular courses were short, snackable sessions, in tune with the trends and circumstances of the time. Some of the top courses ranged from resources on mindfulness, to leadership and communications skills through to courses on Microsoft Excel.

Can you give any examples of larger corporations/smaller businesses who use Go1?

We have an expansive list of clients on our roster from a variety of sectors. This includes big players such as Microsoft, TikTok, ZenDesk, Asahi Corp and Thrifty but also a breadth of small and medium businesses too.

Our subscription package is flexible to the requirements of each business, so we have plenty of smaller businesses who use us for a streamlined approach to L&D. It’s an important part of our model, we want to ensure every business can get access to great education for their employees, not just the blue chips.

Why should startups use Go1’s services?

Go1 simplifies corporate L&D by providing easy to access content in one place and under one subscription with flexible pricing options. We work with businesses from five staff to 500,000. A typical startup probably won’t yet have many HR or L&D roles in place. We can help provide an out of the box solution for learning and provide great value to grow the business and retain talent.

The platform also caters well to hybrid workforces that need to create, collaborate and learn from anywhere and anytime, which we’re seeing more and more of in the shifting world of work.