Purlos, the UK’s leading experience management platform for post-16 education, announced that it has raised £450k in a seed round led by Ufi Ventures, bringing its total raised since October 2020 to £750k.
The round also witnessed participation from private investors working at some of the world largest EdTech firms, including the Chief Operating Officer of 2U.com and the CEO of Bibliu.
With this fundraise, the company plans to accelerate its growth, especially in the UK where students are struggling with the increasing complexity of available courses, and education providers are struggling for resources to engage them effectively.
Founded in 2019 by David Bartlett and Mohammad Salam, Purlos works with further education colleges and universities to help them grow both their revenue and enrolment by converting and retaining more students during the admissions process. The platform provides a full suite of analytical tools that offers insight into risk levels and risk drivers to reduce drop-rates, for example and ultimately increase conversion from application to enrollment. It is the only company in the world that uses A.I to highlight students that have the highest risk of dropping out.
The startup has built a SAAS based system which connects to prospective students during the admissions process through WhatsApp and other channels favoured by younger students – which is much more effective than connecting with them by email or phone. It is especially effective at helping you connect with hard to reach students.
Commenting on the investment, Director of Ufi Ventures, Helen Gironi, said:
“Purlos is also developing its destination platform to support improved engagement with learners after they leave colleges. Currently in development is a “benchmarking tool” to compare destinations from across the country, and a job search tool to match local labour market data to colleges and corporate organisations; enabling more students to move into the right job.”
By engaging learners through modern communications channels including WhatsApp, the platform enables much more effective engagement with students
AI and logic mapping allows Purlos to answer 90% of student queries, providing more timely responses and reducing the workload for clients.
Unique data analytics allow clients to identify the bottlenecks and pinch points in a learner’s journey, enabling personalised support where and when it is needed.
Working with over 20% of the FE market, Purlos boasts clients from multiple industries including FE colleges, training providers and government organisations. The firm is already supporting more than 200,000 learners and seeing a 400% increase year on year. It has prevented over 5,000 students from dropping out, which equates to over £20 million in potential lost revenue.
With the support of Ufi Ventures and a loyal existing customer base, Purlos will continue to drive better outcomes for learners.
Last year in January, Purlos had raised £300K in a funding round led by multiple investors in the education industry from US, UK, and Germany.
