Richmond-based educational technology startup Trilogy Mentors has raised $835,000 fund to expand its online tutoring and mentoring services.
The investment round was led by Michael Silverman, Co-Founder of Rosetta Stone Inc., an educational technology company based in Arlington County. A strategic investment also was made by the MacLaurin Group, a data-centric advisory team in Henrico County led by Kelly Powell, former Managing Director of data for Royall & Co., and Alan Williamson, former Chief Technology Officer for Royall & Co.
Founded by John Failla in 2015, Trilogy Mentors’s online platform connects students with academic tutors and mentors for life-changing one-on-one academic support. Launched with the mission to make one-on-one relationship-based academic support available to all students, the startup began as an in-person program and transitioned to a technology company in 2018. Today, the company is both a marketplace for academic mentorship and a turn-key solution for tutoring companies and private schools.
At Trilogy Mentors, empowering student, academic mentor, and parent/guardian is the trilogy and focus of everything they do. The company believes that all learners deserve the opportunity to experience a mentor that drives academic progress, inspires confidence, and propels lifelong intellectual curiosity, and if students have a safe and inspiring place to learn, they can unlock unforeseen potential.
John Failla, Founder & CEO, said the startup has facilitated more than 6,500 unique learning sessions through its platform in the 2018-19 academic year.
Trilogy Mentors is now evolving as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business and wants to offer its technology platform to other tutoring services. Speaking on partnership with various stakeholders to help them launch their online platform using its technology, Failla said,
“We are partnering with educators through digital transformation to help them launch this relationship-based, holistic learning online platform. We want to build the infrastructure to help these companies go into the 21st century and complete this digital transformation.”
Trilogy’s fully integrated online classroom allows both the student and instructor to see one another while interacting via the on-screen virtual whiteboard. While cameras capture both the parties interacting one-on-one, the file management and touch screen technology enables seamless academic practice. Trilogy Mentors also provides separate parent/guardian login portal from the student account, allowing parent/guardian to easily track progress of their children without disrupting sessions.
Meanwhile, the company said that the investment will enable them to continue development of its technology, specifically its data analytics capabilities that will provide more information such as student engagement and efficacy.
