Speaker Training Firm Shuts Down, Cites ‘Serious Financial Irregularities’

ImpactEleven, a professional speaking training company, has shut down after the discovery of “serious financial irregularities,” according to a letter from company founders obtained by Skift Meetings.

“Effective immediately, ImpactEleven will cease operations. The discovery of serious financial irregularities and further investigation into potential misconduct, has rendered the business completely insolvent,” said the letter addressed to speakers bureaus. “Like you, we were surprised and deeply saddened by what we have discovered, and the impact on the mission we have invested so fully in.”

The company’s website shows an error page as of Friday. 

“In spite of the insolvency of ImpactEleven, every penny of outstanding commissions and expense reimbursements owed to our Bureau Partners will be paid immediately and in full by the Founding Partners personally,” the letter said. 

The letter was not dated, but several employees posted on LinkedIn that the firm shut down last week. CEO and co-founder Jordan Broad was not among those who signed the letter and his LinkedIn profile shows his role at the company ending in July. Skift contacted Broad on LinkedIn but he did not respond to a request for an interview. 

“While the investigation into the misconduct is still ongoing, we feel it’s important to share that the Founding Partners have never received any compensation or distributions from ImpactEleven. In fact, we personally invested millions of dollars of our own savings — and countless hours of our time and energy — to build and serve this community. This has been emotionally devastating and extremely damaging financially for so many people,” the letter says. 

ImpactEleven also ran a membership program and in a separate letter to subscribers, the founding partners state they are actively developing a “make good” plan to “deliver on the value of your membership to the very best of our ability.”

The founding partners who signed the letters are: Seth Mattison, Josh Linkner, Peter Sheahan, and Ryan Estis. They did not respond to requests for comment. 

From High Valuation to Collapse

Founded to support speakers through live events, coaching programs, creative services, and tiered membership subscriptions, ImpactEleven worked closely with speakers bureaus including BigSpeak, Gotham Artists, and Worldwide Speakers Group.

Membership fees reached $1,495 per month for its Platinum tier, plus a $2,495 onboarding fee. The company also offered speaker boot camps with tickets starting at $7,000. Community members had access to discounted rates.

In April 2024, the company raised nearly $1 million on Netcapital and had a $20 million valuation. A follow-up fundraising campaign this April attempted to raise $3.6 million but brought in only $550,000. 

Among those affected was keynote speaker Nolan Nichols, who credits the group with helping his career.

“I was working a full-time job when I attended one of their speaker boot camps in Austin in 2023. That experience changed my career, my life,” said Nichols. “It’s as if the doors of my college have shuttered. I have such pride and allegiance for what this organization did.”

Nichols described the life of a keynote speaker as “often lonely,” adding that ImpactEleven provided an unmatched sense of community and mentorship.