Almost one year after raising a $5.5 million Series B round from Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE), D.C.-based Full Measure Education has now raised another $6 million from the same growth-stage venture capital firm, DC Inno has learned.
Full Measure Education develops personalized software for students involved in post-secondary education. The product, in short, aims to help prepare students, who largely attend community and vocational schools, for promising professional careers.
The fresh funding will be used to "scale existing partnerships, as well as make product enhancements to the company’s current cutting-edge technology," said CEO Greg Davies. In addition, some of that cash will be used for hiring purposes, with a particular focus on sales and business development staff.
"These improvements will benefit students and administrators at existing partner organizations, and also help Full Measure attract new partners," Davies told DC Inno.
Along with the raise, Davies has brought on two Blackboard veterans in James Rianhard, the former President of Flat World Education, and Tess Kelly-Frazier.
Davies, himself, is also an alum of the D.C.-based education technology giant which acquired his previous startup, Presidium, for roughly $53 million in 2011. Kelly-Frazier is Full Measure Education's new executive vice president for strategy and operations. There will be no changes to the board of directors, as was the case last year, due to the new financing event.
At the center of Full Measure Education's products is the goal of increasing student retention, thereby reducing the drop out rate at higher education institutions. This is all done through a smartphone-friendly software platform that is purchased by colleges for use by their students.
The software brings live mentorship and communications services to students, among other things, while also helping track their progress in specific classes. When a student is showing warning signs in the form of faltering performance then the software is able to notify the school's appropriate staff so that they can coordinate educational resources, appropriately.
Full Measure Education describes this technology as "predictive behavioral analytics."
Institutions pay for a licensing fee on a subscription basis to access Full Measure Education's services. The company currently works with 10 schools across the U.S., including Brazosport College and Tompkins Cortland Community College. Davies believes his company can reach 30 schools by the end of 2016, explaining that referrals tend to be one of the primary mechanisms by which Full Measure acquires new customers. Forming new partnerships in untapped states will be key to that mission.
"Schools tend to be collaborative organizations ... they generally talk to each other about what's working and what's not," said Davies in a phone interview.
