Pop Star Adam Levine Helps Varsity Tutors Raise $57 Million

Varsity Tutors, a St. Louis-based startup that provides in-home tutoring and test prep, has raised $57 million from a group of investors that includes musician and TV personality Adam Levine.

Varsity Tutors was founded by St. Louis entrepreneur Chuck Cohn in 2007 while he was an undergraduate studying finance and entrepreneurship at Olin Business School at Washington University. Cohn developed technology to expand access to tutoring materials in a variety of subjects.

The money will be used to fund product improvements on its platform, mobile app and back-end infrastructure.

Other investors in the deal include Technology Crossover Ventures and education executive Stuart Udell. As part of the deal, TCV General Partner Woody Marshall and former Expedia, Hotwire and Hotels.com CEO Erik Blachford have joined Varsity Tutors’ board of directors.

“We are excited to announce our new partnership with TCV,” Cohn, CEO, said in a statement. “We now have the financial support and resources of world-class Internet investors who can help Varsity Tutors develop its technology and expand access to high-quality, live, video-based expertise on both web and mobile.”

Also hidden in the funding announcement was news that Answers Corp. executives David Karandish and Chris Sims previously invested $7 million into Varsity Tutors in an unannounced round in 2014. That money is included in the $57 million figure announced Tuesday.

Varsity Tutors has roughly 250 employees spread across offices in more than 20 cities. The company has about 25 employees at its headquarters in Clayton. To date, the company has connected nearly 50,000 students to more than 15,000 thoroughly-vetted instructors nationwide.

Source: St. Louis Business Journal, Brian Feldt
Photo: TV personality and musician Adam Levine has signed on as an investor with Varsity Tutors.