At its most basic level, what Austin edtech startup Acadeum is doing is relatively simple: They help colleges and universities share online courses so that students have a better shot at getting the classes they need when they need them.
“We’re really just trying to get in between schools and get them to work together more efficiently," Acadeum co-founder and CEO Joshua Pierce said.
But making that happen across a large network of schools requires an almost genetic level understanding of how higher education institutions work and what they need, he said.
That's what has helped the company create its niche. While there are a lot of ways schools share online courses, Acadeum is aiming to become the go-to marketplace connecting hundreds of schools. Their tech platform also goes beyond what most of those course exchange agreements cover by providing course reservations, grading and information exchanges and B2B payments.
On Thursday, Acadeum announced it closed a $7 million round of funding to more quickly expand its outreach efforts and expand its network, which already supports 200 schools. It's the company's first round of funding.
Its backers are mostly education-centric funds. The Lumina Foundation, a private Indianapolis-based foundation, led the round, with additional investment from Rethink Education and Learn Capital. Locally based firms Next Coast Ventures and Socratic Ventures, which was co-founded by Pierce, also contributed.
For Pierce, one of the most exciting things about the startup is that it's helping a lot of students -- 5,000-plus have completed courses offered through the marketplace. Often times, students' struggles mount when their required or desired courses are full or conflict with their schedules. Offering online courses led by other institutions helps schools make sure their students have more options.
“It’s a very powerful idea," Pierce told Inno. "Having schools work with us on this new way of network thinking is having powerful impact with students.”
Acadeum was founded in 2016 and has worked with 250-plus schools of all types -- although private independent colleges in Texas have been its biggest group of customers so far. Its consortial model lets higher ed faculty to pick courses from other schools that, unlike transfer courses, fully count toward graduation requirements, GPA and financial aid.
The company was named to Austin Inno's 50 on Fire in 2019. It has 10 full-time employees, eight of which are in Austin. It also has five part-time employees. Pierce said the new funding will help the company make new hires in its marketing and sales departments. He expects to add five employees by midyear and grow to a team of about 20 to 25 employees by the first part of 2021.
