Education marketplace Scoodle raises $760,000 pre-seed from Twitter co-founder and other angels

Scoodle, the UK education platform connecting students and teachers, has raised a $760,000 pre-seed round from Biz Stone, Twitter’s co-founder, along with Tiny VC and a host of angels from Google, Miniclip, the University of Oxford and others. Scoodle is a marketplace where tutors can showcase their expertise and attract students. After creating a profile, tutors answer questions in their field, in a manner similar to Quora. Then students (or their parents) peruse the forum and book lessons with tutors they like. Eventually the platform will allow tutors to share all types of content, including videos and learning resources. So far the platform hosts over 100,000 users, with tutors from top tier institutions in the UK. The company operates on a “freemium” model, with free basic services for tutors and students, plus advanced features (such as boosted listings or direct messaging) for premium subscribers. Scoodle is the first education-based startup to emerge from the University of Oxford’s accelerator, Oxford Foundry. The story of the startup began when its co-founder, Ismail Jeilani, couldn't afford to go to university. Instead of taking on a loan, he taught small classes. Within two years, he covered the entire cost of his degree. “Everybody has something they want to learn, and something they can teach. We're bringing them together. Educators are superstars, and they bring so much value to the lives of students. But the best tutors are not always known. We're building a world where an Arabic expert living in Egypt can create classes or share answers with students from around the world. The content that our tutors create on Scoodle lives on. This continues to benefit other students, long after the classes have ended,” explained Jeilani.