Last 2nd October finished the http://barcelona.startupweek.co/ and with it, lots of activities, conferences, networking days, events and a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. One of the talks named some companies that are making an impression on the ecosystem.
Most of the examples that came out were startups directed to the mass market and FinTech (their names are well-known). None of them related to eLearning.
In fact, it is a constant when I talk with clients, suppliers or collaborators. When we explain that Snackson is a startup of corporate eLearning, most of them get surprised. They don’t imagine a startup working in the microlearning sector. We are the disruptive ones in the sector 😀
In my opinion, this is because eLearning (and, in general, all what has to do with training and human resources), has always been a lower priority in companies. The first thing is marketing (sell and create a brand), the second one is production and logistics. Then comes the funding and control part, and in fourth, fifth and sixth place is training, talent, the creation of shared knowledge.
Until a few years ago, this reality seemed immutable, but lately we’ve seen a growing tendency to pay attention and invest in training, in professional development and in talent retention. After all, an employee or collaborator who knows your company, who understands the processes and who feels integrated, will have a greater productivity and hence, highest rates and also provides higher profits to the company. I think that in the coming months we’ll see a significant growth of companies that seek to take up this space.
Elearning & startup
Traditionally, the eLearning ecosystem was made up of conventional companies that don’t have a clear model of scalability and without clear references of success. In recent years, this tendency has changed substantially.
The most significant example of investors’ interest for eLearning is the purchase in April by Linkedin and Linda for 1.500 million, LinkedIn into a social network orientated to work (and professional development in all its fields (waiting for them to position as CRM). Previously it had received 289 million, from different investors.
Only a few months ago, Duolingo (mobile app for language learning), announced that they completed successfully a round of investment of 45 million dollars, that was led by Google Capital, and with the participation of its previous investors (88,3 million in total) – https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duolingo.
In Spain, we also have recent success stories. Bussu, a company for the learning of languages created in Madrid, in July it has received 6,7 million dollars, to develop growth plan. Or initiatives as Foxize School, based in Barcelona and that by means of Crowdfunding, have achieved 200,000 euros (valued at over 2,5 million).
These are just some examples. And there are a lot more. In fact, there are some really significant ones at a national level that are missing Emagister or Tiching.
The list you will see down below has been created in terms of companies that have received funding on the last 12-15months for an important volume of investment.
| Startup, name, URL (in the title), headquarters and description | Date of the last funding | Amount of the last funding (in dollars) | Reference Crunchbase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
LearnUp San Francisco (USA) Online courses (professional field) | sept-15 | 8 million (9,8 in total) |  |
 |
LearnZillion Washington (USA) Online courses (professional field) | sept-15 | 13 million (22,4 in total) | |
 |
Coursera Mountain View (USA) Online courses (professional field) | aug-15 | 49,5 million (134,5 in total) | |
 |
Busuu London (UK). Origin: Madrid. Social network for language learning | jul-15 | 6,7 million (11,4 en total) | |
 |
Babbel Berlin (Germany) App for language learning | jul-15 | 22 million (32 in total) | |
 |
Duolingo Pittsburgh (USA) App for language learning | jun-15 | 45 million (83,3 in total) | |
 |
Udemy San Francisco (EEUU) Online courses (professional field) | jun-15 | 65 million (113 in total) | |
 |
Speexx Munich (Germany) Platform for language learning | jun-15 | 5 million | |
 |
Meritnation New Delhi (India) Online courses (K-12) | jun-15 | 4 million | |
 |
AltSchool San Francisco (USA) Micro schools network (kindergarten and primary school) | may-15 | 100 million (133 in total) | |
 |
Kano London (UK) Create your own computer (aimed at children) | may-15 | 15 million (16,5 en total) | |
 |
Monkimun San Francisco (EEUU). Origin: Madrid. Language learning for kids | apr-15 | 900,000 (1 M in total) | |
 |
Lingua.ly Tel Aviv (Israel) Platform for language learnings | mar-15 | 1 million (1,5 in total) | |
 |
Coursmos San Francisco (USA) Platform of courses in the microlearning format | feb-15 | 600,000 dollars (1,3 in total) | |
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Grovo New York City (USA) Platform of courses in the microlearning format | feb-15 | 15 million (20 in total) | |
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Docebo Naples (Italy) Cloud LMS | feb-15 | 3 million (6,4 in total) | |
 |
Open Learning Sydney (Australia) Online courses (professional field) | feb-15 | 1,7 million | |
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Infantium Barcelona (Spain) Mobile apps (0-8 years) | jan-15 | 1,8 million (2,3 in total) | |
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Tutellus Madrid (Spain) Collaborative training through video courses | oct-14 | 1 million (1,1 in total) | |
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KNOWRE New York City (USA) Math learning (primary school) | oct-14 | 6,8 million (8,6 in total) | |
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Udacity Mountain View (USA) Online courses (professional field) | sept-14 | 35 million (55 in total) | |
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Edmodo San Mateo (USA) Cloud LMS | aug-14 | 30 million (87,5 in total) | |
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Aba English Madrid (Spain) Language learning | jul-14 | 3,4 million | |
 |
Aprendum Madrid (Spain) Online courses (professional field) | jul-14 | 462,000 dollars | |
I hope that when we make a new review of the sector in a year’s time, Snackson will appear on merit in the list. 🙂
Post translated by Carolina Serna
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