WyzAnt, an online marketplace for private tutoring, has secured a USD21.5m investment from Accel Partners, the global venture capital firm.
The funds will be used to drive product innovation and scale WyzAnt's technology platform as the company expands globally.
With over 500,000 tutors and one million students, WyzAnt is the largest tutoring marketplace in the US. Parents, students and others use WyzAnt to search for and hire qualified, pre-screened tutors in their city. Millions of hours of tutoring have been completed through the marketplace, and the website has over 850,000 tutor reviews and ratings. WyzAnt's tutor community covers more than 240 subjects ranging from elementary school subjects, to college prep and university level curricula.
"It is widely accepted among academic professionals and researchers that one-on-one tutoring is the most effective way to learn; at WyzAnt, we are dedicated to using technology and coming up with innovative ways to help students connect with tutors and facilitate customized learning," says Andrew Geant, founder and chief executive of WyzAnt.
The financing is the first outside funding that WyzAnt has raised since being founded in 2005. Co-founders Geant and Mike Weishuhn bootstrapped the company and have scaled the business to more than USD100m in all-time gross sales with a 120 per cent annual growth rate since inception.
As part of this investment, Ryan Sweeney and John Locke of Accel have joined the company's board of directors.
"We have invested in a number of marketplace businesses over the years and are impressed with the rich sense of community that WyzAnt has fostered," says Locke. "Not only does the platform provide teachers and tutors with a way to source new business, but the company has also developed great technology to streamline the entire tutoring experience for parents and students. It's a win-win proposition for all parties and a compelling economic model that has been very effective at several other Accel-backed companies including Etsy and 99 Designs."
