Skillshare, the startup founded by NOLA expat Mike Karnjanaprakorn that soft-launched in New Orleans last week, announced today that they have closed on their $3.1 million Series A of venture financing, led by Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. Previously the company raised a $550,000 round of seed funding from Founder Collective and SV Angel, among others.
Skillshare wants to turn every address into a classroom and every person into a teacher or student. Karnjanaprakorn thinks everyone has something they’re good at, and a skill they can share with others.
Skillshare now has 2,700 teachers signed up to offer classes in New York, and plans on a full expansion to New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles by the end of the year . The average class costs around $20. Skillshare shaves a 15 percent fee from the cost of the class. Some teachers can earn up to $1,000 in one night of teaching.
Karnjanaprakorn previously worked at the Trumpet Group in New Orleans, often gives advice to other startups and aspiring entrepreneurs, and was a mentor for Launchpad Ignition companies this past April.