How Bundle personalizes live soft skills training with Kayla Lebovits

00:04 – Audrey Hogan:
Kayla, tell me a little bit about yourself. I know very little about your background.

00:10 – Kayla Lebovits:
I’m Kayla, and you’ll probably notice from my accent that I’m from New York — born and raised. I’m one of four kids, the middle child, so I’ve always kind of beat to my own drum, which has carried into my professional life. I married my high school sweetheart, we have two little kids under five, and my entire family lives within ten blocks. It’s kind of like Full House in NYC. Life is chaotic and busy, but I think I thrive in chaos, which makes startup life a good fit.

01:15 – Kayla Lebovits:
My husband’s also an entrepreneur, so we share that. It’s nice, even though it adds to the chaos. That’s me in a nutshell.

01:23 – Audrey Hogan:
Two kids under five while doing startup life — that’s a lot!

01:31 – Kayla Lebovits:
Yeah, I didn’t plan it. I had my first kid around 29 or 30. I remember telling my mom, “Should I wait?” And she said, “There’s never a good time to have kids. Just figure it out.” She was right. It’s exhausting, but I wouldn’t change it. You meet personal and professional challenges, and you figure it out.

02:25 – Audrey Hogan:
Yeah, I didn’t know I needed to grow up so much until going through it all.

02:31 – Kayla Lebovits:
Exactly. My daughter asked what I want to be when I grow up the other day. I thought, “I’m already grown up.” But it was sweet.

02:51 – Audrey Hogan:
Part of my family’s in New York. It always feels like home. Even though I’m in West Texas, I feel comfortable in NYC.

03:09 – Kayla Lebovits:
I get that. People ask how I live here, but to me it’s energizing. So many industries, different people — every day feels alive. I’m not leaving.

03:39 – Audrey Hogan:
What do you love about your job?

03:47 – Kayla Lebovits:
I started in corporate finance but always felt like I wanted to build something. What I love is seeing my direct impact — launching a product, closing a deal, seeing something go from nothing to something. And I love chaos. I love solving problems and the adrenaline of it all. Every day is different, and I genuinely have fun. I’d say I love my job 85% of the time, which I think means I’ve made it. I get excited on Monday mornings — not just because the kids go to school, but because I love what I do.

06:07 – Kayla Lebovits:
Even on hard days, the good outweighs the bad. I love building things, creating things, and growing both a product and a team.

06:10 – Audrey Hogan:
That’s true of a lot of us in HR-tech startups — we’re inventive, detail-oriented, and passionate. It comes with highs and lows.

06:48 – Kayla Lebovits:
You can’t have an ego in this space. The no’s come more often than the yeses. Especially in HR — it’s hard. You need humility and people around you who challenge you.

07:19 – Audrey Hogan:
Can you tell us more about what Bundle does and how it came to be?

07:28 – Kayla Lebovits:
It evolved a lot. I noticed that top individual contributors were often promoted to managers without training. They became bad managers, people left, and turnover was high. Also, working parents — especially women — struggled to balance work and home. I initially started Bundle as a childcare benefit — like Uber for childcare — but COVID made that model impossible. So we pivoted to online tutoring and curriculum for employees’ kids.

09:12 – Kayla Lebovits:
From there, parents asked, “What do you have for me?” So we explored adult learning. We saw that soft skills training was stagnant — mostly eLearning and microlearning. But that’s not how people learn. You need live, personalized practice. We do 1-on-1 virtual soft skills training — coaching, mentoring, communication, leadership, teamwork, feedback — all customized by role, level, and industry.

11:12 – Kayla Lebovits:
It feels like a throwback, but it works. It’s scalable and personal. We serve employees globally — Asia, Australia, Israel — it’s amazing.

12:06 – Audrey Hogan:
It’s so relevant right now. I was just at a conference where someone said, “We don’t have a labor problem — we have an investment problem.” Two years ago, people would have booed, but now it’s accepted. We have to invest in people and tools.

13:16 – Kayla Lebovits:
Yes! Especially in frontline industries. They need soft skills too — not just technical ones. We’ve started serving logistics, law enforcement, manufacturing — anyone who isn’t sitting behind a computer. If their companies make time for training, it works. And it’s a good investment.

14:30 – Audrey Hogan:
Some brands have been doing this quietly. Like Hooters — they have an incredible training program that turns servers into powerhouse businesswomen. The ROI is huge.

15:18 – Kayla Lebovits:
Exactly. And we’re finally seeing companies outside the office world invest. The key is scalability and making it relevant to the role.

17:05 – Audrey Hogan:
How do you configure Bundle’s training programs for different goals?

17:42 – Kayla Lebovits:
We work closely with companies to curate soft skills tracks for different populations — new managers, experienced managers, emerging leaders. Goals include improving leadership development, reducing turnover, and making learning flexible. Clients want outcomes, not checkbox training. We design everything around real skill needs, roles, and schedules.

20:44 – Audrey Hogan:
A lot of businesses can’t scale because they can’t scale their leadership. I’ve seen operators unable to open new stores because they lack trained leaders.

22:01 – Kayla Lebovits:
Exactly. Owner-operators can’t do it all themselves. They need a partner like us to scale leadership training.

22:23 – Audrey Hogan:
What do you think the future of training looks like?

22:46 – Kayla Lebovits:
Scalability is key. More industries need us — plumbers, electricians, retail, restaurants. Everyone deserves leadership development. I think the future is moving away from quick-hit eLearning toward real-time coaching. We’ll keep finding ways to bring live, human-centered training to more people in more roles.

24:38 – Kayla Lebovits:
eLearning alone isn’t enough. We want to be the ones building something better.

25:53 – Audrey Hogan:
We’re seeing the same on our end. Cashiers quit after 90 days because no one coaches them. They don’t just leave the store — they leave the industry. We’re trying to catch them early with 30/60/90-day check-ins.

28:06 – Kayla Lebovits:
Those first 90 days should be a honeymoon phase. Check-ins don’t take much time but show you care. That makes people stay. We help with the ongoing career path piece.

28:44 – Audrey Hogan:
What other big trends are you seeing?

28:50 – Kayla Lebovits:
Soft skills! Deloitte just released a study emphasizing their importance. Technical skills matter, but soft skills drive service, leadership, and retention. Companies are starting to get it — even in traditionally technical roles.

30:12 – Audrey Hogan:
Most of my soft skills came from retail and restaurants. People assume they’ll learn on the job — but trial by fire doesn’t work for everyone. Others overestimate their own skills. With our partnership, we can actually assess and improve with data.

31:13 – Kayla Lebovits:
Exactly. Training can make everyday situations smoother and help employees feel supported. There’s so much opportunity here, and the data helps prove real impact.

32:24 – Audrey Hogan:
One of our clients has CPAs doing 360 reviews. They’re technical pros — but they often need soft skills training too.

32:51 – Kayla Lebovits:
Those are the best! Our trainers love working with engineers and CPAs — super smart but never trained on people skills. They’re hungry to grow and get better.

33:19 – Audrey Hogan:
They’d be unstoppable with strong communication skills.

33:29 – Kayla Lebovits:
Absolutely. I’m excited to meet them.

33:33 – Audrey Hogan:
Anything else we should hit?

33:37 – Kayla Lebovits:
Just that the beauty of our partnership is the personalization. Whether it’s a CPA or a cashier, we can make the training relevant to them. That’s what excites me most.

34:00 – Audrey Hogan:
I’m excited too. Thanks so much for your time!

34:07 – Kayla Lebovits:
Thank you! Have a great weekend.