Chegg Acquires Student of Fortune

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, the social education platform, today announced it has acquired Student of Fortune, an online tutorial marketplace for those who need help or can help others with homework. The acquisition is the fourth in little more than a year for Chegg, which has evolved beyond its flagship business of online textbook rentals into a full-service social platform for students.

Student of Fortune, based in Los Angeles and founded in 2005 by two college students, enables students to pose questions or post tutorials on a wide variety of subjects. Students can post a question that is then sent to a network of Student of Fortune experts, who in turn writes a tutorial that helps answer the question for a fee.

Students can also serve as experts, earning money themselves for writing tutorials. The service is already used by more than 300,000 students.

In separate news, Chegg also announced Thursday that it is offering textbook rentals digitally with the most comprehensive textbook library for college students: http://www.chegg.com/etextbooks/.

In June, Chegg purchased Notehall, a company that allows students to purchase or sell notes from and to other students. In December, it purchased Cramster, an online homework aid service. And in August 2010, Chegg purchased CourseRank, an online service that helps students select courses by sharing student and professors rankings of classes.

"We have developed a site that is now relevant to students 365 a days a year, rather than just two," said Chegg Chairman, CEO and President Dan Rosensweig. "Renting textbooks online is still an important part of our business and of students' lives. But with Student of Fortune, as well as our previous acquisitions of Cramster, CourseRank and Notehall, we can help students rent books digitally or in paper form, schedule the best courses, locate additional study materials and purchase class notes or tutorials. For the first time, students can even earn money for sharing class notes or tutorials, and connect with fellow students. It is essentially the entire educational lifestyle of a student on one site."

About Chegg:

Chegg, the social education platform, is transforming the way millions of students learn by connecting them to the people and tools needed to succeed in college.  Students on more than 7,000 campuses nationwide use Chegg 365 days a year for: Homework help, Course selection, Note taking, Textbook and e-textbook rentals and Daily deals. As a part of the company's philanthropic efforts, Chegg is dedicated to its Chegg For Good program, where it does good for education, the environment and various communities. Since its founding in 2007, Chegg's growth has made it one of Silicon Valley's most successful start-ups. From starting as a purely textbook rental company to evolving into the education network, Chegg is disrupting (and enhancing) education for millions of students.  For more information, visit www.chegg.com.

SOURCE Chegg