Remind (previously Remind101) is a private mobile messaging platform that aims to help teachers, parents, students, and administrators in K–12 schools to communicate with everyone at once.[1] The platform has more than 20 million monthly active users across the United States.[2] As of September 2016, Remind is used in more than 50% of the public schools in the U.S.[3][4]

Background

Remind was founded in 2011 by brothers Brett and David Kopf to help bridge the communication gap in primary education.[5][6] In 2016, they added former Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey to the team as CEO.[7]

Brett Kopf was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia while still in school. His brother David set up a system whereby school faculty could remind him of an upcoming test. Brett credits this system with playing a part in his success in school.[4][6] The two decided to make the system into a company, and became part of the first class at the Imagine K12 incubator in Palo Alto, CA, an incubator for startups that focus on improving education.[8]

On June 16, 2014, Kopf announced that Remind101 would be changing its name simply to Remind.[9]

Educational impact

The platform is designed to increase parental engagement which has been linked to increased student performance.[10] One study showed that teacher-to-family communication increased homework in general by 42%, kept students more focused, and increased participation.[11]

Funding

In September 2013, Remind closed a $3.5 million round of Series A financing, led by Social Capital, with participation from Yuri Milner, Maneesh Arora, and other angel investors.[5] As part of the round, Chamath Palihapitiya joined Remind's board of directors.[5]

In February 2014, Remind raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers with additional participation from its previous investors, including Social Capital and First Round Capital.[1][2] In coordination with the round, the company added John Doerr, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins, to its board.[12]

In September 2014, Remind raised $40 million in Series C funding from its previous investors, led by Kleiner Perkins and joined by the Social Capital and First Round Capital. The new round raised Remind’s total fund-raising to $59 million.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Empson, Rip. "Red Hot Remind101 Gets $15M From John Doerr To Bring Free, Secure Text Messaging To Teachers". TechCrunch.
  2. ^ a b Konrad, Alex. "Why Kleiner's John Doerr Is Joining The Board Of Teacher Messaging App Remind101". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014.
  3. ^ Grant, Rebecca. "15% of U.S. teachers now use Remind101 to text students and their parents". VentureBeat.
  4. ^ a b Corcoran, Betsy. "A $15 Million Boost for Remind101". EdSurge. Archived from the original on 2014-07-29.
  5. ^ a b c Empson, Rip. "Now At 30K Schools And Growing Fast, Remind101 Is On A Mission To Modernize Classroom Communication". TechCrunch.
  6. ^ a b MOTT, NATHANIEL. "Remind101 helps teachers communicate with students without fear". Pando Daily. Archived from the original on 2014-06-13.
  7. ^ Konrad, Alex. "Parent-Teacher App Remind Passes 20 Million Users, Taps Former Bleacher Report Boss As New CEO". Forbes.
  8. ^ Tsotsis, Alexia. "Remind101 Is A Private Twitter For Teachers". TechCrunch.
  9. ^ "Remind: New Name, Same Mission". Remind Blog. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. ^ Topor, David R. (12 Jan 2011). "Parent involvement and student academic performance: A multiple mediational analysis". J Prev Interv Community. 2010; 38(3): 183–197 – via National Center for Biotechnology Information.
  11. ^ Kraft, Matthew. "The Effect of Teacher-Family Communication on Student Engagement: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment". Harvard.
  12. ^ "Education Startup Remind101 Nabs Kleiner-Led $15 Million". Bloomberg.
  13. ^ Merced, Michael J. de la (2014-09-30). "Remind, a Start-Up That Links Teachers and Parents, Raises $40 Million". DealBook. Retrieved 2024-02-25.