Investments from Riverside Acceleration Capital, Evoce Capital, Mark Cuban, and others finance “Shark Tank” edtech company
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 22, 2025 — Today, Beanstack announces they have raised $1.5 million in capital led by Riverside Acceleration Capital and Evoce Capital with additional investment from Mark Cuban, Kapor Capital, Militello Capital, and the founders and their family as a strategic raise. The former “Shark Tank” company will use the funds to accelerate its repeatable growth model and to further invest in its “Reading Culture Trailblazer” client marketing program. It is seeking to raise an additional $500K under the same convertible note terms through March 31st.
Beanstack was originally created as a book-of-the-month business focusing on non-traditional genres and interests and quickly found many supportive and enthusiastic backers—including Mark Cuban after a “Shark Tank” appearance. Not long after, they reimagined their business model as a platform to empower libraries and schools to build a culture of reading through reading challenges and motivation tools for readers of all ages. The product featured on “Shark Tank” is very different from what Beanstack offers today but their mission, purpose, and goals remain the same. Beanstack for Schools uses proven gamification principles to motivate students to read, without relying on quizzes. The product is licensed by over 15,000 libraries and schools worldwide. Collectively, Beanstack readers have logged over seven billion minutes of reading.
Beanstack was founded by husband-and-wife team Felix Brandon Lloyd, a former Washington, D.C. “Teacher of the Year” and Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Google’s previous head of K-12 education outreach. In 2014, the couple received a $250,000 investment from Mark Cuban during the fifth season of “Shark Tank.” Now, the edtech company is growing significantly year over year and has received additional funding from Cuban as part of this ongoing fundraising round, as well as from Riverside Acceleration Capital, Kapor Center Investments, Evoce Capital, and Miltello Capital.
To learn more, visit: https://www.beanstack.com.
SOURCE Beanstack
