# Derek Belch

> Derek Belch is the founder and CEO of STRIVR, the enterprise virtual reality training company he spun out of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab in 2014. A former Stanford kicker turned graduate assistant football coach, Belch built a VR prototype to give quarterbacks mental reps off the field, then pivoted the company from sports to the Fortune 1000. STRIVR has since trained more than a million workers in VR for clients including Walmart, Verizon, Bank of America and the NFL, and has raised roughly $87.5 million through a Series B.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at STRIVR
- **Organizations:** STRIVR, Stanford University (former), Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Communication, Stanford University, MA, Journalism, Stanford University, MA, Media Studies (Virtual Reality), Stanford University, MBA, University of Southern California
- **Known for:** Founded STRIVR, a pioneer in enterprise virtual reality training, Grew STRIVR to train more than one million people in VR, Signed Fortune 1000 clients including Walmart, Verizon, Bank of America, MGM Resorts, BMW, JetBlue, Fidelity, Tyson Foods and the NFL

## Career timeline

- **2000s** — Kicker for the Stanford Cardinal football team as an undergraduate
- **until 2014** — Graduate assistant football coach at Stanford while pursuing a master's in virtual reality
- **2014** — Built a VR prototype with professor Jeremy Bailenson in Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab; quarterbacks began using it late in the 2014 season
- **2014** — Left coaching to found STRIVR after coach David Shaw urged him to start a company and offered seed money
- **2015** — STRIVR signs five NFL teams and about a dozen college programs within its first six months
- **2016** — Pivots STRIVR from athletes to enterprise employee training
- **2017** — Named to Sports Business Journal's Forty Under 40
- **2022** — STRIVR raises a $35M Series B (roughly $87.5M total funding)
- **2023** — Launches generative-AI content services and new VR experiences for well-being
- **2024** — Introduces WorkWise, an AI-powered SOP platform; STRIVR named to Forbes Best Startup Employers

## Achievements

- Founded STRIVR, a pioneer in enterprise virtual reality training
- Grew STRIVR to train more than one million people in VR
- Signed Fortune 1000 clients including Walmart, Verizon, Bank of America, MGM Resorts, BMW, JetBlue, Fidelity, Tyson Foods and the NFL
- Raised approximately $87.5 million in venture funding through a Series B
- Named to Sports Business Journal's Forty Under 40 (2017)
- STRIVR named to Forbes Best Startup Employers 2024

## Latest updates

- **2024** — STRIVR introduced WorkWise, an AI-powered SOP platform to capture expert knowledge at the point of work, and was named to Forbes Best Startup Employers 2024.
- **2023-05** — STRIVR added generative-AI content services and expanded its VR library with well-being experiences.

## Links

- Website: https://strivr.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-belch-98852b18
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/STRIVRlabs
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/strivrlabs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/derek-belch
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-12