San Francisco, CA – March 16, 2018 – Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on investing in fast-growing software and services businesses, has made a growth investment in USATestprep, a leading provider of state-aligned curriculum content and assessment software to K-12 schools nationwide.
Since 1998, USATestprep has provided resources for teachers to help prepare their students for high-stakes testing with content that is specifically aligned to each state’s learning standards. The company’s solutions are delivered via an online platform enabling teachers to access up-to-date content across all core subject areas, to customize the learning pathway for each student, and to provide insights through benchmarking to administrators. USATestprep was developed for teachers, by teachers, and is used by nearly 2 million students across more than 3,000 schools nationwide.
“Joe and I started USATestprep as teachers ourselves,” said co-founder Jay Eckard. “We saw firsthand the need to provide teachers with the tools to help their students succeed and keep them engaged day after day.” Joe Winterscheidt, co-founder, added: “We are excited to partner with Serent as we grow the business in the coming years. We were impressed by Serent’s knowledge of the education market, their exclusive focus on investing behind growth businesses like ours, and the breadth of their resources to help us scale the business.”
USATestprep plans to increase its investments in product and content development in order to enhance its value to customers, to extend its sales and marketing efforts to serve more educators, and to develop the organization to support the company’s next phase of growth.
“The team at USATestprep has built a business we are excited to invest in” said David Kennedy, Partner at Serent Capital. “They are solving a real need for schools and teachers and doing it in a way that customers love. We are delighted to be working with Jay, Joe and the rest of the team to help even more schools discover the platform they’ve built.”
Serent’s investment in USATestprep represents its fifth investment in the education sector. Prior Serent education investments include ArbiterSports (2017), Digital Architecture (2016), Diamond Mind (2014), and C2 Education (2011).
About USATestprep
USATestprep, Inc. is a leading provider of curriculum resources and test prep for high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. Since its founding in 1998, the company has been helping students with high-stakes tests, offering review products for subject area end-of-grade, end-of-course, graduation level, career readiness, and college entrance assessments. With programs tailored to both individual state and/or Common Core standards, nearly 2 million students use the platform each year. For more information, visit http://www.usatestprep.com.
About Serent Capital
Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face change with them. Principals at Serent Capital have firsthand experience at capturing those opportunities and navigating these difficulties through their experiences as CEOs, strategic advisors, and board members to successful growing businesses. By bringing its expertise and capital to bear, Serent helps growing businesses thrive. For more information on Serent Capital, visit www.serentcapital.com.