Zen Educatean online marketplace that connects schools with teachers, raised $37 million in a Series B funding round.
The increase comes amid a growing teacher shortage crisis both sides of the lakewith recent report from the ADP Research Institute, noting that the global pandemic has exacerbated the existing supply/demand imbalance due to “stagnant wages and a stressful work environment.”
Founded out of London in 2017, Zen Educate replaces traditional third-party recruitment agencies that often use analog workflows and charge exorbitant fees. Zen Educate digitizes everything through a self-service platform, removing expensive middlemen from the equation in the process. Through the platform, teachers and schools create profiles and Zen Educate can automatically match the two entities based on their compatibility – this uses data such as proximity, skills, experience, among other preferences.
Schools can use Zen Educate to hire for full-time roles, but teachers can also use it to more easily find temporary or part-time roles that fit into their lives.
“As in all fields, educators are looking for more flexibility in their work, and as a result, there is a greater need for flexible work solutions in education like Zen Educate,” Zen Educate co-founder and CEO Slava Kremerman told TechCrunch .
Additionally, Zen Educate also promises higher earnings since it takes a lower cut than the incumbents
“The average take rate of the incumbent industry is between 35-38%,” Kremerman said. “We’re a little over halfway there. As a result, teachers earn more and schools save money.”
Extension
Zen Educate has raised a $21 million Series A round in late 2022 as it looks to expand into the US market after soft-launching in Minneapolis. Today, the company operates in four additional states – Texas, Colorado, California and Arizona – in addition to 11 territories in England. And more than 15% of its 300-strong workforce is now based in the US
“Since the Minneapolis soft-launch, we are now the second largest provider in the state,” Kremerman said. “We live in five states and work with nine of the 200 largest school districts in the US”
Kremerman also said its technology-based approach helped it adapt to the different regulatory environment in the U.S.
“Licensing is state-specific, while England and Wales have a standardized national standard,” Kremerman said. “We’re able to use our credentialing technology to adapt and scale quickly across states, whereas most traditional staffing firms struggle with that.”
With another $37 million in the bank, the company said it plans to expand into more markets in the U.S. and U.K. and launch new software for school principals, which includes adding to its school workforce management software that packages tools for certification, compliance and absence management.
Additionally, Zen Educate is also bolstering its resources through acquisitions, announcing its second acquisition today with the purchase of a teacher staffing agency Aquinas education. The company said it plans to complete several more acquisitions in both the US and the UK
Specifically, Aquinas Education counts a former professional soccer player turned television presenter Jermaine Jenas as one of its owners, and following this acquisition, Jenas now joins Zen Educate as a brand ambassador.
Zen Educate’s Series B round was led by Round2 Capital, with participation from Adjuvo, Brighteye Ventures, FJ Labs, Ascension Ventures and several angels.
