Wellington’s Humankind has acquired Blackbird-backed management training startup The Mintable, in a deal that lands three years after the startup’s $6.8 million seed.
The transaction folds The Mintable’s training platform — a community-and-content product pitched at first-time managers — into Humankind’s broader people-and-culture offering.
Existing customers of both businesses will keep being supported, the companies said in a joint statement.
The Mintable was launched out of Sydney and Denver in 2021 by Lauren Humphrey and Melissa Miller to address what they saw as a chronic gap in practical training for first-time managers.
Blackbird partner Michael Tolo, who led the seed round, framed the deal as a handover rather than a next chapter.
“Lauren, Melissa, and the team have had a real impact training managers across the Australian ecosystem and beyond, including leaders inside many of our own portfolio companies,” he said.
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“We’re glad to see the platform continue under Humankind’s stewardship.”
The startup raised around AU$8 million in total: a $1.3 million pre-seed in 2021 and the $6.8 million seed in June 2022, led by Blackbird.
It boasts clients like Tracksuit, Sharesies, Lion Food and Beverage, and Notion.
Humphrey said the platform was built around the realities of managing distributed teams.
“Managers are carrying more complexity than ever, and many are doing it for the first time,” she said.
“With The Mintable platform now part of Humankind’s offering, organisations can combine structured management training with embedded people and culture expertise to build confident managers and stronger teams as they scale.”
For Humankind, the deal hands the consultancy a structured software product it can bolt into its services bundle for growing companies.
“Good leadership has an outsized impact on an organisation’s ability to perform,” Humankind CEO Kalyn Ponti said.
“People are often promoted into management roles because they’re great at the work, then expected to lead others with little preparation for what that actually involves day to day.”
“At Humankind, lifting leadership capability is a core part of the work we already do alongside executive teams. Acquiring The Mintable strengthens our ability to support our clients with this at scale.”
