Beanstack, an education technology company, recently announced that it has raised $1.5 million in funding, led by Riverside Acceleration Capital and Evoce Capital, with additional investment from Mark Cuban, Kapor Capital, Militello Capital, and the founders and their families, as a strategic raise.
The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s repeatable growth approach, as well as to expand its “Reading Culture Trailblazer” client marketing program. It is looking to raise an additional $500,000 under the same convertible note terms through March 31st.
Beanstack began as a book-of-the-month business focusing on non-traditional genres and interests, and it quickly gained many supportive and enthusiastic sponsors, including Mark Cuban, following a “Shark Tank” appearance. Shortly after, they redesigned their business strategy as a platform to help libraries and schools foster a reading culture by providing reading challenges and motivational materials for readers of all ages. It differs from what Beanstack currently offers, but the mission, purpose, and goals remain the same. Beanstack for Schools, on the other hand, uses tried-and-true gamification concepts to encourage children to read rather than quizzes. The product is licensed by over 15,000 libraries and schools worldwide. Its readers have read for more than seven billion minutes.
Felix Brandon Lloyd, a former “Teacher of the Year” in Washington, D.C., and Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Google’s prior manager of K-12 education outreach, launched Beanstack as husband and wife. During the fifth season of “Shark Tank” in 2014, Mark Cuban invested $250,000 in the couple.
Beanstack has recently witnessed robust year-over-year growth and received further money from Cuban as part of its current fundraising round, as well as Riverside Acceleration Capital, Kapor Center Investments, Evoce Capital, and Miltello Capital.
