INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Knack, a peer tutoring platform aimed at college students, is taking a different approach than some online tutoring marketplaces have in the
Lighting owner and Fenway Sports Group Partner, Jeff Vinik.Other investors in the round include Bisk Ventures, the corporate venture-arm of
Bisk Education; Arizona State University Enterprise Partners; Doug Feirstein, founder of Hired, uSell, and LiveOps; former State of Florida
on only connecting students with others who could help them with their studies, Knack has instead also been focusing on adding
institutional partners as its customers.Today, it works with more than 50 colleges across the United States , like seed investor ASU, which
as a technology-enabled supplemental solution, filling in the gaps by increasing course and topical coverage for nuanced courses that campus
because, as a first-generation immigrant, education has been at the forefront of his life
His mother brought Qureshi and his sister to the United States to allow them to pursue college degrees.During his own time in school,
Qureshi both sought tutoring and provided tutoring, which led him to believe that one of the best ways to learn was from a peer.In 2016, the
That opened the door to venture capital, and its first pre-seed round of funding.While institutions and businesses are the focus in terms of
monetization, Knack still caters directly to students today
Those who need help with their coursework can use Knack to book tutoring, and those who want to offer their skills can create a tutoring
profile with basic info, like their bio, courses, rates and availability.The platform then handles all the logistics, including searching,
matching, scheduling, tracking, billing and rating and reviewing.Knack takes a 20 percent service fee on this tier of its service
University partners are on a SaaS-based annual platform, and Employer partners are charged a sponsorship amount depending on their targeting
criteria.The team of eight is based in Tampa, Florida and plans to use the seed funding for sales and marketing, as well as making some key
engineering hires, the CEO says.
