Remind (previously Remind101) is a
private mobile messaging platform that aims to help teachers, parents, students, and administrators in
K–12
K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grades ...
schools to communicate with everyone at once.
The platform has more than 20 million monthly active users across the United States.
As of September 2016, Remind is used in more than 50% of the public schools in the U.S.
Background
Remind101 was founded in 2011 by brothers Brett and David Kopf to help bridge the communication gap in primary education.
In 2016, they added former
Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey to the team as CEO.
Brett Kopf was diagnosed with
attention deficit disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
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.
[ 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
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
, where all startups must focus on improving education.
Educational impact
The platform is designed to increase parental engagement which has been linked to increased student performance. One study showed that teacher-to-family communication increased homework in general by 42%, kept students more focused, and increased participation.
Funding
In September 2013, Remind closed a $3.5 million round of Series A financing, led by The Social+Capital Partnership
Social Capital, formerly known as Social+Capital Partnership, is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. The firm specializes in technology startups, providing seed funding, venture capital, and private equity.
The firm has "stood ...
, with participation from Yuri Milner
Yuri Borisovich (Bentsionovich) Milner (russian: Юрий Борисович (Бенционович) Мильнер; born 11 November 1961) is a Soviet-born Israeli entrepreneur, venture capitalist and physicist. He is a cofounder and former c ...
, Maneesh Arora and other angel investors.[ As part of the round, Chamath Palihapitiya joined Remind's board of directors.][
In February 2014, Remind raised $15 million in Series B funding led by ]Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneur ...
with additional participation from its previous investors, including Social + Capital and First Round Capital.[ In coordination with the round, the company added ]John Doerr
L. John Doerr (born June 29, 1951) is an American investor and venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the Pre ...
, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins, to its board.
References
{{Reflist
2011 establishments in the United States
Educational technology companies of the United States
Mobile technology companies
American companies established in 2011