Lea(R)n closes over $800K seed round from national edtech investors
Latest funding expands reach of LearnTrials, company's award-winning educator platform
RALEIGH, N.C., July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lea(R)n, creator of the award-winning online resource for educators, LearnTrials, today announced the firm has closed a seed round of over $800,000 from education technology investors across the United States.
The growing NC-based company equips educators and their organizations to know which learning technologies are best for their classrooms. Lea(R)n's research-backed, online platform lets teachers discover, share experiences and ask questions on virtually any technology product on the education market today so districts and states can save money, improve processes and measure the impact of technology initiatives.
"Every year schools and districts spend millions on products that don't move the needle for students," said Brad Kessler, former head of procurement for Chicago Public Schools and Lea(R)n advisor. "Lea(R)n is the right team and the right solution to solve this massive problem."
This seed round was led by Edovate Capital in Colorado along with corporate investments from AT&T, Kaplan, and Techstars. Joining the round were edtech angel investors Gregg Burt, of California, and Walt Winshall and Jean Hammond of Boston. Funding also received through the IMAF-RTP.
"The technology works, the team is smart, and the rapid early traction speaks for itself," said Graham Forman, managing director of Edovate Capital. "This was the right move for us to invest in Lea(R)n to help accelerate the positive impact for teachers and their school districts."
Lea(R)n is working with public and private schools, districts and networks to improve efficiency and technology decisions, including a recently announced partnership with N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Lea(R)n now has thousands of educator users and documented successes from Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Harrington Park, N.J., FirstLine Charter Schools in New Orleans, and others.
In 2014, after splitting $270,000 in the NC IDEA competition, Lea(R)n launched during Kaplan Techstars Accelerator in New York. The company was named 2014 Company of the Year in Education by the North Carolina Technology Association, and has been recognized by SXSWedu and the AT&T Aspire Accelerator.
About Lea(R)n
Lea(R)n is a NC-based education technology firm that equips educators and their organizations to know and manage which technology is best for their classrooms. Designed by and for educators, the award-winning LearnTrials platform helps educators gain insights into and across America's schools when they pilot, buy and use education technology. www.LearnTrials.com.
SOURCE Lea(R)n, Inc.
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