MasteryPrep, an education technology startup based in Baton Rouge, has announced the the completion of a $3.6 million debt and equity financing round.
The round was led by The Catalyst Fund, an evergreen fund also from Baton Rouge, with additional participants including Liquid Ventures, Jennifer and Sean Reilly, Maple Leaf, the Frazer family, Advantage Capital and others.
MasteryPrep is a uniquely effective test prep program that combines the moving parts that schools need to increase scores for ACT, SAT, WorkKeys, Aspire and other high stakes tests. Their programs help schools provide best-in-class test preparation to students of all ability levels, including under-resourced students who are generally unable to access such services outside of the school day.
The company will use the recent financing to accelerate its footprint while maintaining its quality standards and continuing to invest in its innovative products.
MasteryPrep raised a $500,000 equity investment round, also led by The Catalyst Fund, back in May 2015. At the time, they had a customer base of over 500 schools in more than a dozen states. That number has grown to over 600 schools and school districts in again more than a dozen states. Since 2012, MasteryPrep has served over 100,000 students, and sales have increased by over 15,000 percent from $30,000 in its founding year to over $4.7 million in 2015.
MasteryPrep was recently recognized by the Louisiana Department of Education for its contributions toward helping many Louisiana school districts make significant gains on their ACT scores.
Students participating in MasteryPrep services routinely make gains of three or more points on their ACT scores.
“We started MasteryPrep with a goal to help every student to succeed on the ACT, not just students whose parents could afford tutoring,” explains Craig Gehring, MasteryPrep’s founder and CEO. “Now that we have become a leading provider of ACT prep for schools, we have begun to accomplish that. We are seeing a measurable impact and are excited that our investors have joined us in our vision for a college-ready U.S.”
Jeanne Bayless, CEO of The Catalyst Fund, calls MasteryPrep an entrepreneurial gem in Baton Rouge. “MasteryPrep has established itself as an innovator in college readiness and college test preparation with products that are proven to improve test scores.”