BenchPrep
 | |
| Industry | Education |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Ashish Rangnekar, Ujjwal Gupta |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Slogan | Study Anything, Anywhere |
| Website | https://benchprep.com/ |
BenchPrep is an online learning platform that helps students prepare for standardized tests - GRE, GMAT, MCAT, ACT and SAT, professional certifications, and K-12 classroom learning. It partners with educational publishers such as McGraw Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and the Princeton Review to create interactive, digitized courses.[1][2] BenchPrep’s goal is to make studying accessible and personalized.[3] The company has developed web and mobile apps that can be used on computers, tablets, and smartphones [4]
History
BenchPrep, formerly known as Watermelon Express, was founded in 2009 by Ashish Rangnekar and Ujjwal Gupta.[5] The company materialized when cofounder Ashish Rangnekar won the New Venture Challenge at the University of Chicago.[6][7] Shortly thereafter, BenchPrep received $2.2 million in seed funding from Lightbank, the executives behind Groupon.[8] In July 2012, the company announced a $6 million round of funding from New Enterprise Associates and Revolution LLC.[9][10]
Recognition
- "Top 5 Digital Education Tool" by Venture Beat [11]
- "Most innovative and Best In Class Test Prep and Assessment Platform" at the 2010 Education Innovation Summit [3]
- "Top 10 Innovative Startup in Education" at the 2010 Venture Capital in Education [12]
References
- ↑ Josh Constine (2010-01-05). "BenchPrep is Code Academy for any Subject". Techcrunch.
- ↑ Rip Empson (2012-05-14). "BenchPrep Teams up with The Princeton Review to Gamify Test Prep". Techcrunch.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Venture Capital News: BenchPrep Raises $6M". VC Daily News. 2012-07-04.
- ↑ Marc Saltzman (2011-11-28). "BenchPrep, Study for Tests with App". USA Today.
- ↑ Steve Hendershot (2012-07-03). "BenchPrep Snares 6 Million Investment". Chicago Business.
- ↑ Brad Spirrison (2011-09-23). "Local App Developers Rise to the Head of the Class". NBC Chicago.
- ↑ "Traditional NVC Winners". 2010.
- ↑ Steve Hendershot (2012-11-12). "BenchPrep Leaving Textbooks in the Dust". Chicago Business.
- ↑ "The Daily Start-Up NEA Revolution Back BenchPrep for Online Education". Online.wsj.com. 2012-07-03.
- ↑ Lora Kolodny (2012-07-03). "BenchPrep Passes Series B Test, Raises $6M". Dow Jones & Company.
- ↑ Meghan Kelly (2011-09-02). "Back to school: Our top 5 digital education tools". Venture Beat.
- ↑ "Ten Early Stage Education Companies Selected for "Educations Innovators Showcase" At VC in Education Summit". Startl.org. 2010-06-04.