Hardly ever does staring at a book for a few hours turn someone into a master on a subject. Yet, the most accessible form of SAT/ACT test prep materials ask students to do just that: buy a huge test prep book, read through the material and answer a couple of multiple choice questions about it. Alternatives like test prep courses are pricey and often inaccessible for students who can't afford them.
This is where D.C.-based startup PrepFactory comes in. Founder Darin Singh told DC Inno that he was frustrated with how standardized test prep had become, despite the variety of learning styles in the world. When the idea for PrepFactory came to him, his then-girlfriend, now-wife was preparing for the LSAT. He saw a static test prep system and just how draining it could be.
"A lot of kids that take these tests, the problem often times is that they're terrified of the test," Singh said. "Our primary goal is to curate the content that exists, but also to really present it in a way that isn't terrifying to kids."
PrepFactory is a free-to-use online platform for both students and teachers that provides video and interactive games to help students prep for college readiness exams. Although only catered towards the SAT and ACT for now, the startup plans to expand to include GRE, GMAT, LSAT and MCAT prep soon.
Launched in October 2015 and now with a user base growing up to over 200,000, Singh is focusing on ways to expand his company further—offering test prep for different types of test and playing around with different ideas to monetize. The company has already raised a $500,000 round led by Kiddar Capital.
This isn't like a photo-sharing app where it's not always clear if there's money in this.
"There will be paths to monetization," Singh said. "This isn't like a photo-sharing app where it's not always clear if there's money in this. We're in a vertical that is just a massive vertical."
PrepFactory works out of 1776, but since launch, the team hasn't really been focused on diving into the D.C. tech community—at least not while they were still focused on the product. But, now, Singh says initial conversations with others in the community are exciting to him. "We've been so focused on our product, that we're just starting to interact with the D.C. tech scene," Singh said. The team presented at the February DC Tech meetup focused on consumer technology demos.
"We are just now starting to engage with the DC Tech community, and we're starting to talk to investors for the first time," Singh said. "Our seed round was just raised through a series of conversations. I didn't even get a chance to pitch individuals."
PrepFactory joins the ever-growing edtech scene in the D.C. area's tech community. CommonLit, which works out of 1776, moved to D.C. from Boston in 2015. GiveCampus has started making a bigger D.C. push, focusing on ways to raise money for various education programs. And, of course, we can't forget about the edtech stalwarts that continue to grow in the scene: Blackboard, 2U, Everfi and so on.
PrepFactory is Singh's first startup—and he's coming from a few years as an analyst and asset manager at Clark Realty Capital and a degree in finance from The University of Maryland. So, Singh is just ready to see where this venture heads next.
"I feel like we are an eighth grader who is dunking the basketball. We're not saying we're ready for the NBA yet, but we're really excited for the kind of growth that we have, the number of users we have, and it keeps going up and to the right," Singh said. "I'm really excited for the momentum we have."
Images courtesy of PrepFactory
