Remind

Remind (formerly Remind101) is a private mobile messaging platform that enables teachers to send Reminders to students and parents via text and email.^[1] The platform has over 10 million users and sends over 65 million messages per month.^[2] As of February 2014, 15% of the K-12 teacher population in the U.S used Remind.^[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]

Brett Kopf was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia while he was still in school and credits his brother David setting up a system where school faculty could Remind him of an upcoming test played 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, where all startups must focus on improving education.^[7] The brothers incorporated feedback from hundreds of teachers, who they interviewed to develop a platform that would work for them.^[4] The founders described themselves as "teacher obsessed" and focus on building the product for teachers.

Description

Teachers create a class in Remind from the website, iPhone or Android app. Students and parents do not have to visit the website; rather, they sign up from their phone by sending a text message or email, which is accommodating, even in low-income areas. Teachers can send broadcast messages to entire classes of students or parents or may message a subset of the class. The messages are one-way, so students cannot reply. The nature of the messages range from assignment Reminders and upcoming exams to last minute room changes or words of encouragement. Teachers can also schedule messages in advance and look back on their communication history, which is never deleted. Frequently, these messages contain attachments, such as pictures of the whiteboard, videos from a field trip or homework assignments.^[3]

Educational impact

The platform is designed to increase parental engagement which has been linked to increased student performance.^[8] One study showed teacher to family communication increased homework turn in by 42%, kept students more focused and increased participation.^[8] A similar communication tool for teachers & their students or parents is Arch The Way which is based in India. It was launched in late 2014 & has become increasingly popular among the Teachers & students. Arch – The Way’s Founder, Rudresh Chowdhary shared that “It has become very important for teachers to communicate with students & parents on their phones. With this fast paced life, it has turned out to be a savior for parents as it enables them to be updated about their child’s performance without giving thoughts to skipping office.” source: http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/2000-communication-tips-for-educators-for-student-success Its good to see these companies helping teachers & redefining edtech.

Funding

In September 2013, Remind closed a $3.5 million round of series A financing, led by The Social+Capital Partnership, with participation from Yuri Milner, Maneesh Arora and other angel investors.^[5] As part of the round, Chamath Palihapitiya joined Remind101'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.^[9]

In September 2014, Remind raised $40 million in Series C funding from its previous investors.

References