The LDC Top 50 Alumni
Where Are They Now: Sean Reddington, founder and CEO of Thrive
29 Apr 2025
Since its launch in 2018, the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme has celebrated hundreds of exceptional individuals. In this series, we reconnect with some of our alumni to discover where their growth journeys have taken them, the impact of being part of the programme, and what their ambitions look like today.
When super brands such as Nando’s, British Airways and Volvo want to upskill their staff, they turn to Thrive. The learning platform, which was launched by serial entrepreneur Sean Reddington in 2018, is a cross between an e-learning platform and digital communications tool.
Sean featured in The LDC Top 50 in 2023 when Thrive was just about to enter the US. How’s it going? “We have smashed through every goal,” he reveals. “Revenues are up 46% on last year and not only do we have an established presence in the US, we’re now truly global, delivering content in 83 languages. We’ve even done deals in China, one of the toughest markets to break into.”
How has the business evolved since 2023?
We’ve moved into the enterprise market, signing our biggest ever deals, including a partnership with Avon which was rolled out to two million users worldwide. We’ve upgraded our technology in a number of ways, from our comms tool, which lets CEOs issue company-wide announcements to Kiki, our AI bot, that helps users to summarise content or find the latest news. This quarter, every single salesperson hit their target. We are seeing success across the board.
What’s the biggest challenge you face?
When you work with big enterprises, the sales cycle is long. Some deals take more than two years to do and each contract now requires two or three more signatures than before because of increased scrutiny on spend. That’s why we have a very diversified business, which doesn’t rely solely on the big companies to grow. We also sign deals spanning three to five years, which means we can accurately predict future revenues.
What’s been the best decision you’ve made?
I appointed a Cassie Gasson as my co-CEO last year. There was a bit of pushback because she’s only 30 and a lot of people wanted that job, but she is one of the most talented people I have ever met. She joined my last company as a graduate and then rejoined me at Thrive in 2019. Now, we divide and conquer and I think she is the primary reason behind our recent success. I have the strongest management team I’ve ever had.
I sat with two other CEOs at The Top 50 awards ceremony and both of those people became potential customers, so there was a big financial impact from taking part. The recognition also meant a lot to me personally."