PenPal Schools

PenPal Schools has developed an innovative teaching platform to target the educational technology industry.

This market is growing rapidly, and is projected to reach $252 billion by 2020.

Its platform focuses on teaching students through what’s called “project-based learning.” This is where students demonstrate learning not by passing tests, but by creating original work.

In just two years, PenPal’s teaching platform has been implemented in 78 schools around the world, and was recognized by former President Barack Obama as an outstanding social enterprise — an organization that uses a for-profit business model to create positive change.

Meanwhile, M&A activity and interest from venture capital groups in educational technology, or "EdTech," continues to grow.

In November 2018, Google acquired Workbench, a company providing an online library of lessons and projects for teachers. At the time of the deal, Workbench was only five years old, and had raised just $5 million in total funding.

Last year, investments in the U.S. EdTech market reached $1.45 billion, eclipsing 2017’s total and matching a record-high.

PenPal has already raised more than $1.2 million from notable VCs including Techstars, Capital Factory, and Honeycomb Portfolio. Now it’s raising additional capital to target schools in the U.S. and abroad.

Around the world, schools are failing. In the U.S. specifically, 73% of students are behind in writing, 66% are behind in reading, and 56% are behind in technology skills.

PenPal believes these poor results are due to the fact that students don’t find the information being taught to them relevant. When that happens, students quickly lose interest — and quickly stop learning.

At the same time, most information today can be found with a simple online search. This makes memorizing facts for tests seem more pointless than ever before.

This attitude has led to a crisis in the education system, and resulted in students failing to meet grade level targets across all ages and skills.

Many schools have recognized that a system based on memorization and testing isn’t the most effective. As a result, teachers have started leading a movement toward project-based learning.

When done well, project-based learning not only motivates students to learn, but it also helps them develop creativity, communication, and collaboration skills. PenPal Schools is leading this revolution of project-based learning.

Teachers simply create an online classroom and choose from more than 50 topics. These include Robotics, World News, Multiplication & Division, and Financial Literacy.

Students learn the material and share ideas with other students around the world. Together, these students create group projects to show what they’ve learned. Teachers can provide feedback and grades to help students learn.

The program is free for teachers to complete a pilot program, at which point they are advised to encourage their principal to purchase a license for the school. Based on early application, 78% of teachers who complete their free trial encourage principals to purchase a license.

Since launching in 2017, PenPal Schools has sold licenses to 78 schools and districts. Pilot programs are underway with eight additional districts representing a total of 591 schools.

All told, there are 98,000 public and 33,000 private schools in the U.S. alone. And these schools spend more than $12 billion a year on instructional supplies.

With 98% of U.S. school districts providing Internet access to students, and more than half of states allowing textbook funds to be used for digital materials, there is an opportunity for PenPal Schools to be implemented nationwide.

Moving forward, the company will hire additional team members to increase sales. It will also introduce a “freemium” mobile app for parents. The free version will enable parents to see the projects their children create.

For a small monthly fee, parents will be able to enroll their children in additional topics beyond the ones selected by a teacher. They’ll also have access to advanced analytics and recommendation features.

Team Background

Mark Danforth - Co-Founder & Chief Learning Officer

Mark brings educational experience to PenPal Schools.

He spent six years in a California school system, teaching elementary and high school students.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and a Master’s in Teaching and Education from the University of San Francisco.

Joe Troyen - Co-Founder & CEO

Joe is an entrepreneur with more than a decade’s worth of experience designing and developing software.

He was a product manager for Opera Solutions, a technology company focused on big data. While there, he co-led the company’s educational division and oversaw development of software solutions for K12 and higher education.

He co-founded Healthtech, a medical technology company focused on dermatology. He served as the company’s CEO, and helped it achieve $5 million in annual revenue.

Joe earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics from Pomona College.

Maggie Brown - Senior Account Manager

Prior to joining PenPal, Maggie worked for multiple startups focusing on social impact and making global connections.

She was an account manager for Soko, a supply chain company focused on connecting brands and retailers to customers in developing countries. In addition, she served as Product Development Coordinator for Loom, a small business that aims to help women in developing countries sell handmade products to earn a living.

In total, Maggie has five years of domestic and international sales experience, as well as roles in program and project management.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College.

Frank Gonzalez - Software Engineer

Frank is a full stack developer and PenPal School’s front end engineer.

He served as a web development instructor for Hello World, a company teaching web-based skills to middle school and elementary school students.

In addition, he spent three years on the customer relations team at Apple.

Jessica Altounian - Community Manager

Jessica has more than seven years of experience in education, both in the classroom and focusing on educational technology.

She was an education consultant for DreamYard Project, a research project affiliated with the Parsons School of Design to help New York City teachers implement digital learning into their lesson plans.

In addition, she was a special education teacher in the Bronx, New York.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from NYU and a Master’s in Teaching from Long Island University.

Miguel Vazquez - Co-Founder & CTO

Miguel is an engineer with experience in both electrical and software engineering.

Prior to starting PenPal Schools, he was a senior software engineer for Los Quatro, a company designing and building mobile communication systems.

He was a product development test engineer for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and helped a previous startup develop a video streaming system, which has since been patented.

Miguel earned a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas.

Co-Investors

TechStars

Prominent accelerator for tech companies. Investments include Uber, ClassPass and Twilio.

Capital Factory

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

Floodgate Ventures

Floodgate aims to back the most important digital businesses of the future, before traditional VCs are ready to invest. Its portfolio includes Chegg, Twitter and Lyft.

DreamIt Ventures

Top-ranked incubator based in NYC. Portfolio companies include SeatGeek, 1 Doc Way, and LevelUp.

Honeycomb Portfolio

VC firm investing in companies with a specific interest in environmental sustainability, healthcare, and education.

Silverton Partners

An early-stage VC firm investing in companies that focus on growth markets. Notable investments include TrendKite, SpareFoot, and Favor.