Why We Built Manny

Steve Kerr, the Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors, assigns The Inner Game of Tennis to his players. Kerr learned, during his playing days, that most athletes are not blocked by their skills—they're blocked by their inner game.

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The same is true at work. If you're routinely beating yourself up for not doing enough, avoiding a difficult conversation, or feeling isolated in a new role— you won't hit your peak potential. The best organizations in the world know this. They staff their performers with coaches and psychologists trained to unlock that potential. But these coaches charge $1–5K per hour.

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Most of us cannot afford that. We read books, listen to podcasts, and learn from experience. But without a thinking partner who knows us and our context, our potential stays capped. If we do a good job of building our product, that's what Manny changes.

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Manny is an AI coach that lives where you already work—Slack, Teams, text—and feels like having a world-class coach in your pocket. Not a generic chatbot, but a partner who understands your company's values, your goals, and the blockers you're working through

Our Product Roadmap

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Manny is built around three pillars: Coaching, Content, and Community. Each reinforces the others—real-time support when you need it, ongoing learning to build capabilities, and connection with others on the same journey

Coaching

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Today, Manny lives in Slack and voice. You can message Manny for real-time coaching on difficult conversations, feedback, and overwhelm. You can prepare for high-stakes moments before they happen and practice through role-play. Manny draws on your company's values and documents to give advice that fits your context.

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In 2026, we're expanding where and how you can reach Manny—and making coaching smarter through deeper integrations.

Content

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Today, Manny delivers 52 weeks of neuroscience-based micro-learnings via Slack—digestible content on difficult conversations, stress management, feedback, and more. Content can be customized to reflect your company's values.

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In 2026, we're moving beyond text and building structured learning journeys that create lasting change.

Community

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Today, Mandala offers live workshops like our "Power of Pause" session, which helps managers understand stress patterns and show up with more stability. These sessions combine neuroscience with practical tools – and create moments of connection that remind leaders they're not navigating challenges alone.

In 2026, we're creating more spaces for people to learn together.

Defining Success

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Every feature we build ladders up to three questions. If we can't move the needle on these, we're not doing our job:

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1. Do you feel more supported?

2. Do you feel more informed?

3. Do you feel more connected?

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We track these through regular pulse surveys, engagement data, and direct feedback from users and HR partners. If a feature doesn't move one of these needles, we rethink it.

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Importantly, Manny doesn't replace human connection—it extends it. By handling everyday coaching moments, Manny frees up people leaders to focus on the conversations that matter most. We're building the coach every employee deserves: always available, deeply personalized, rooted in neuroscience.

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And we take the risks of AI coaching seriously—dependency, isolation, the substitution of human connection. That's why Manny is designed with warm handoffs to your people team, transparency about its limitations, and regular ethical review built into how we operate.

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But done right, AI coaching doesn't replace human connection—it extends it. By handling everyday coaching moments, Manny frees up people leaders for the conversations that matter most.

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We're building the coach every employee deserves: always available, deeply personalized, rooted in neuroscience.