#Asia Springboard raises US$1.7M from LinkedIn Co-founder, 500 Startups

//

The US/India ed-tech startup differs from other platforms by pairing students with mentors and allow access to a community of fellow students and program alumni

edtech

Springboard
, formerly known as SlideRule, has just picked up a US$1.7 million seed round from 500 Startups, Blue Fog Capital and a host of angel investors. LinkedIn Co-founder Allen Blue, The Princeton Review Founder John Katzman, InMobi Founder and CEO Naveen Tewari also joined in the round.

According to a release, the US/Bangalore startup will be using the cash to grow as many of their courses are already at capacity. As a platform currently offering data science and UX design programs, Springboard will be leveraging the funds to launch workshops in new fields and provide more student support services.

Springboard is a self-paced, mentor-led e-learning platform for Millennials so the recent rebranding was to better reflect their mission. Unlike other e-learning platforms, Springboard offers more than just content and pairs students with industry mentors, some of which work at Airbnb, Etsy and LinkedIn. Users can also tap into a community of fellow students and program alums.

Thanks to these weekly 1-on-1 video calls and access to an engaged community, Springboard reports completion rates of up to 10x more than your average online course.

Also Read: These are the key ingredients that make an edtech ecosystem thrive

“As the tech industry grows, employers can’t hire talent fast enough. There is incredible demand for trained data scientists and UX designers, even as 45 per cent of recent college grads are underemployed and struggle to find affordable, effective ways to learn career-related skills,” said Gautam Tambay, Co-founder and CEO of Springboard said in a release.

“We’re addressing these problems at Springboard by offering something truly impactful — an incredibly personalised education that doesn’t break the bank. Our approach of combining a project-heavy curriculum with 1-on-1 mentorship from industry experts creates accountability and ensures that our graduates are ready to thrive in the new economy.”

The two-year-old startup was initially launched as a search engine for online courses, before growing to include curated content. Over the years, Springboard listened intently to their users who cited needs for “more guidance and interaction,” so they added the mentorship and community layers in 2014.

Since inception, Springboard has seen demand from students across six continents and is home to a network of 100+ mentors, which include data science and design professionals. Success stories include Springboard alumni landing jobs at IBM, Boeing and Reddit.

The post Springboard raises US$1.7M from LinkedIn Co-founder, 500 Startups appeared first on e27.

from e27 http://ift.tt/1m9UYA1

This entry was posted in #Asia by Startup365. Bookmark the permalink.

About Startup365

Chaque jour nous vous présenterons une nouvelle Startup française ! Notre pays regorge de talents et d'entrepreneurs brillants ! Alors partons à la découverte des meilleures startup françaises ! Certaines d'entre elles sont dans une étape essentielle dans la vie d'une startup : la recherche de financement, notamment par le financement participatif (ou crowdfunding en anglais). Alors participez à cette grande aventure en leur faisant une petite donation ! Les startups françaises ont besoin de vous !