Edrolo, which helps student prep for SATs, has raised a $2.04 million (AUS $2.65 million) fresh round led by several of Australia's leading technology investment funds. Edrolo, which is about five years old, has offices in both San Francisco and New South Wales, Australia. Investors in this round included Roger Allen, Blackbird Ventures and AirTree Ventures, reports BRW (Australia), as well as private investors.
The company combines video tutoring and testing software to prep high school students for the SATs. The principal tutor is Lisa Tian, whom Edrolo says got a perfect score on the SAT the first time she took it at age 16--and has tutored others for seven years.
Edrolo says it has more than 20,000 registered students in both the US and Australia. It also sells directly to schools. Students can try out eight lessons for free. Subsequent pricing for the program ranges from an 18-month "basic" package of one-subject prep ($199) to Edrolo deluxe, which includes full online access for 24 months and five hours of 1:1 tutoring ($1599). It "guarantees" a 240-point score improvement (for students whose scores are below 2280)--or a full refund.
The company launched in 2012 and raised a $1.27 million (AUS $1.65 million) seed round that included Singapore-based Jungle Ventures, Sydney’s Blackbird Ventures and private investors. Since then, the company has grown to 15 employees, grew the number of schools that use its products from 40 to 120, and raised its pricing structure.
Daniel Petre, who runs AirTree Ventures partners, told BRW that he's "actively seeking more education start-ups... [particularly those] exploring ways to deliver science and technology education online, those that hone adaptive learning, as well as those in the automation space."
