NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 27, 2010) - The Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 (http://www.venturecapitalineducationsummit.com) today announced the ten early-stage education companies selected to participate in the "Education Innovators Showcase," to be held on June 8, 2010 at Scholastic's New York City headquarters. The Showcase offers innovators in the education sector the rare opportunity to present their businesses to the Summit attendees, which include venture capitalists, angel investors, foundations, social venture philanthropists and private equity investors.
Participating companies were selected by representatives from the Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010's host organizations: Berkery Noyes, the leading independent investment bank in the education sector; Startl, a not-for-profit dedicated to accelerating the growth of digital innovations for learning; and Hogan Lovells, a global law firm with a leading education practice. All selected companies are pre-series A enterprises that have demonstrated market traction and are deploying innovative solutions into the K-20 and professional learning markets. Selected companies include:
- Muzzy Lane -- Muzzy Lane is a developer of 3D Web-based multiplayer games that leverage its proprietary games as a service platform and authoring tools to power the next generation of immersive 3D Internet games.
- Bridgespan Financial -- BridgeSpan Financial LLC assists student lenders and postsecondary institutions in managing their borrower risk of delinquency and default.
- Launchpad Toys -- Launchpad Toys is rocketing kids to new heights of creativity through digital play.
- Presence Telecare -- Presence TeleCare uses Web-based technology to connect schools with specialized teaching professionals who are difficult to recruit and retain.
- FairChoice Systems -- FairChoice Systems uses Web and mobile technologies for institutions of higher education that connect students and staff to time-sensitive campus information.
- Watermelon Express -- Watermelon Express is a publishing platform that delivers interactive educational content on multiple touch points -- smart phones, tablets, desktop and Web -- in the form of native apps that are synchronized, social and adaptive.
- Notehall -- Notehall is an online academic marketplace enabling students to buy and sell study materials including lecture notes, class documents and study guides.
- Irynsoft -- Irynsoft is a collaborative mobile multimedia platform that enables educators to adapt to the lifestyles and wallets of online learners.
- Everloop -- Everloop is a new class of social networking that brings the best in online privacy protection, content sharing, collaboration and virtual economy to tweens worldwide.
- CCKF -- CCKF has developed a transformative learning engine that enables publishers to gain access to a scalable, cost-effective delivery platform, offering them a compelling opportunity to re-value their learning and instructional content delivery models.
"This collection of talented companies is advancing products for the future of education, and their presentations will provide investors with a window into the diversity of innovation across the education sector," says Laurie Racine, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Startl. This effort to build stronger bridges across the education and investment communities is critical, according to Startl Co-Founders and Managing Directors Phoenix Wang and Diana Rhoten. "Private investment will capitalize on the unprecedented technical infrastructure and new empirical evidence around learning," explains Rhoten. Wang adds: "Stimulating a pipeline of deal flow is essential to bringing innovative learning and instructional products to market and driving the next generation of innovation in education."
The Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 full-day event will be held on June 9th at the IAC building in New York City. The conference is designed to nurture innovation in education by connecting early-stage capital with transformative sector trends and emergent education companies; the Summit brings together venture capitalists, angel investors, foundations, and social venture philanthropists with entrepreneurs, company executives and other innovators in the K-20 education markets.
"It is absolutely incumbent upon the private markets to drive the development of the next generation of K-20 learning technologies," notes Joe Berkery, CEO of Berkery Noyes. "Essential to strategic investment is a thorough understanding of the consumer and institutional education markets within the context of overarching policy and regulatory frameworks. The Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 seeks to educate prospective investors on emerging trends to bolster the pipeline of knowledge fueling deal flow."
In addition to Berkery Noyes and Startl, other sponsors of the Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 include Hogan Lovells, Scholastic, CSG|PR and Parsons New School of Design. Space is limited. For more information about the event, visit http://www.venturecapitalineducationsummit.com or email us at event@berkerynoyes.com.
About Berkery Noyes
Berkery Noyes is one of the pre-eminent merger and acquisition firms serving the education and information industry, having completed more than 400 transactions since its inception. Among the most recent education transactions include Rockbridge Growth Equity's acquisition of Northcentral University, KUE Digital's acquisition of Excelsior Software, Leeds' acquisition of Ex Libris and eInstruction's acquisition of Interwrite Learning. Berkery Noyes' clients include private companies seeking a buyer, most of the major international information companies, and private equity firms who use the firm's expertise in locating, analyzing and negotiating with acquisition candidates and in managing divestitures. For more information, visit http://www.berkerynoyes.com.
Startl
Startl is a social enterprise dedicated to accelerating the growth of digital innovations for learning -- from kindergarten to college, inside and outside the classroom. Focused on catalyzing next generation products with the greatest promise of transforming the education sector and the learning market, Startl recruits young innovators and entrepreneurs, immerses them in a rigorous product design and development process, and helps them build socially responsible and fiscally sustainable start-ups. Startl has received initial seed funding from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Lumina Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.startl.org.
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