Home tutoring start-up makes grade with investors

An investment group backed by the Smorgon family and other rich-listers is raising capital for an education technology start-up.

Tutortime wants to raise $2.5m to help make home learning mainstream.

An investment group backed by the Smorgon family and other rich-listers is raising capital to supercharge the growth of a start-up education technology business enjoying strong growth in its home tutoring offering driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

TutorTime, an education technology app offering online classes taught by fully accredited NSW Education Standards Authority teachers, has seen a big spike in teachers and students joining its marketplace during the past six weeks. Its classes are taught over live video with small class sizes of six students.

Now TutorTime is undertaking a private capital raising of $2.5m to fund enhancing the app experience for users and hiring staff amid the advance of home learning into the mainstream.

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“The COVID-19 crisis has had various educational conseq­uences and, contrary to what’s been in the headlines, it has not all been negative,” TutorTime co-founder and chief executive Sophie Whitehouse said. “Within a very short period … education around the world has been transformed.

“It is important that we act upon the positive impacts and move education towards a modern platform, allowing students to have options as to where and when they learn.”

Ms Whitehouse said while TutorTime initially intended to capture in-home tutoring for the vast majority of transactions, its ability to pivot to a market in need driven by coronavirus had opened up a far greater world of opportunity.

It also has been offering online classes for free for students hit hardest by COVID-19.

“All the research we have seen has shown that one of the most effective learning techniques is via one-on-one, or small cohorts … and we have been able to deliver this solution via our online classes, whereby these children have discovered that learning from home has reduced their anxiety, improved their motivation, their concentration and given them a love of learning,’’ Ms Whitehouse said.

The company now is building a national footprint and also is offering workshops for hobbies, including music, computer coding and yoga.

TutorTime’s capital raising is being anchored by Gannet Capital, previously a cornerstone investor in the new Wesfarmers-owned shopping website Catch Group, financial services group Yellow Brick Road and wealth management services group Clearview Wealth.

“This was an opportunity to back an amazing CEO … in a niche segment where there is no existing player or platform,’’ Gannet founder Glenn Poswell said.