HelloSubs

America’s education system needs substitute teachers — more than a million of them, in fact.

Noted the Atlantic,”America is Desperate for Substitute Teachers.” And reported Time Magazine, “Schools are Struggling with a Substitute Teacher Shortage.”

The thing is, these teachers are out there and ready to work. But finding open positions and onboarding to the various schools and classrooms is a challenge. That’s where HelloSubs can help.

This venture-backed software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables schools to find qualified substitute teachers and enables those seeking to teach to find daily opportunities.

This is a big opportunity. Between pre-schools, private, and public schools, there are more than fifty million school days a year that require a substitute. All told, this creates a market valued at nearly nineteen billion dollars.

But the majority of schools try and manage their own substitutes. And other teacher-matching platforms are really just outdated staffing companies.

HelloSubs, in contrast, enables schools to access millions of potential substitutes who are part of the fast-growing “gig economy.” Here’s how its platform works:

Schools use HelloSubs to advertise postings for substitute teachers. Each posting includes the dates requested, grade level, pay rate, and any important details.

Teachers, meanwhile, can view all open postings on HelloSubs and choose the ones that fit their schedules and budgets. They can also create a profile where they can manage their jobs, schedules, and payrolls in one place.

Schools pay HelloSubs per substitute, per day, worked at their school. This creates reliable, ongoing revenue. Additionally, a school pays a one-time fee if it ends up hiring a substitute as a permanent staff member.

HelloSubs launched in January 2021 in three states: Colorado, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Today, it has more than 250 substitutes on its platform and is active in six major cities. Over the past twelve months, the company has generated more than three million dollars in revenue. And it’s on track to reach a six-million-dollar revenue run rate by the end of this year. Notable investors include venture-capital firms Goodwater Capital and Capital Factory.

With funds raised, HelloSubs aims to continue its “land and expand” approach. This is a strategy that involves entering into a new city, demonstrating its success at a few schools in the area, and expanding to others.

The company aims to be active in fifteen cities and 514 schools in 2024, and reach thirty-eight cities and 1,500 schools by 2025. Annual revenue is projected to climb from six million this year to twenty-one million dollars next year and sixty-four million dollars in 2025.

Team Background

Brett Isis - Founder & CEO

Brett is a two-time startup founder, including a previous company in the education market.

Twelve years ago, he founded Teaching Nomad, a platform featuring opportunities for educators to teach abroad. Before that, he spent three years in operations with Global Empire International, a company selling solar-powered solutions.

Derek Bergman - Chief Technology Officer

Derek is a full-stack engineer with experience in the education-technology market.

In addition to his role with HelloSubs, he is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with Chippit, a consumer-goods company focused on the Internet of Things (IoT). He’s also a founding partner with Hapier Creative, a design agency.

Previously, he co-founded LeaderEQ, a software platform connecting coaches with those seeking guidance and advice. Before that, he was a software developer with Capsher Technology, a software-development company.

Earlier in his career, Derek was Lead Software Developer with Students of Strength, an education company providing affordable academic coaching to students. Before that, he founded TallyNote, a software-development company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University.

Co-Investors

Goodwater Capital

A VC fund investing in emerging technology companies.

Capital Factory

Investment firm working with early- and late-stage start-ups whose portfolio includes companies such as Cisco Systems, Buzzfeed and WikiBuy.