London-based education technology startup Xcademy has raised a seed funding round of £440k from Small Company Capital to launch its online education platform for aspiring influencers. The raise gave the business a post-money valuation of £4.4 million.
Founded in February this year by Joel Morris and Oliver Bell, the platform, which plans to launch later this month, will provide students with a year-long rewarding educational program that is designed to teach valuable life skills and help them build their confidence.
Claimed to be the world’s first influencer educational platform, Xcademy platform will feature video tutorials from well-known, reputable personalities, who will provide lessons on their experiences and how people can successfully build a large online following. Students will have the opportunity to create their own content, engage with other users and constantly monitor their progress throughout the course. The best students that complete the program will then have the opportunity to be monitored by Xcademy to further their careers.
Explaining the idea behind launching the platform and its mission, Joel Morris, Co-Founder of Xcademy, said,
“Since starting my YouTube channel in 2013 I have experienced firsthand the ups and downs of amassing a large online following. Today, the majority of young people are engaging with YouTube and want to become personalities in their own right. At Xcademy, we want to empower them to do this by teaching them how to responsibly and ethically build a rewarding online presence. Ever since I started building my own social media channel followings, I have wanted to educate young people, build their confidence and help them believe that anything is achievable.”
Supplementing on why they founded the company and its future plans, Oliver Bell, Co-Founder of the startup, said,
“We have founded Xcademy in order to help teach young people life skills that are not normally taught in schools. By providing affordable and engaging online tutorials, we aim to teach our students how they can better themselves and build an online presence that will create a loyal following.”
Needless to mention, Joel Morris, aka JMX, has millions of followers and subscribers across his social media channels including YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Hope the investment will enable the founders to launch their influencer educational platform successfully.
