As the Covid-19 pandemic hits 2020 and schools move to online learning, Joe Titus and Paul Sue worry about how to maintain children's activity levels in the absence of forced PE classes and sports I was doing it.
The solution for two friends was HiveClass, a New York-based Edtech platform that hosts online courses for K-12 students to learn about fitness, sports, dance, yoga, nutrition, mindfulness and more. There is also a self-defense course.
Even in a post-pandemic world, the platform is gaining more attention than the convergence of trends. Children are increasingly free from school PE classes and often choose to skip them altogether. Many students fear PE in a highly competitive environment where bullying is common.
Additionally, US parents struggle to pay for youth sports. Titus and Suhr, who bonded in sophomore baseball, want their kids to experience the same fun in their former sports, but many of these same experiences have become unattainable.
“As a parent in New York City,” Titus said. “The inequality in the cost of sports exceeded me. I was my son's first soccer coach and the cost was very high. [wondered]”How do families living in low-income housing supply soccer?”
Image credit: HiveClass
Investors also recognize the value of online PE courses. Hiveclass – Hiveclass, where Titus is CEO and Suhr is Chief Product Officer, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding.
Funds are allocated to product development. It is also used to enhance the teacher portal used by educators who use HiveClass to increase classroom engagement. Also, roadmap: new services for students with special needs.
Certainly, instead of offering direct subscriptions to parents, HiveClass sells services to public schools and libraries.
The platform offers a collection of short format videos that teach children a variety of skills, including how to dribble basketball. In addition to the video, there is a quiz between clips that require written responses, which helps children stay focused and involved.
By accessing the teacher portal on the platform, educators can view all students and quiz answers to ensure that everyone has completed their work. (HiveClass says another selling point is that students can earn PE credits outside of their class.)
HiveClass considers it to stand out from other EDTECH platforms and educational YouTube channels by highlighting the PE and wellness areas. The company claims it is in line with national standards set by Shape America, the organization of health and physics educators that controls the US's closest rival, PLT4M.
The company currently partners with more than 80 educational institutions, with over 13,000 students and teachers on the platform.
HiveClass does not publish pricing. It says it is tailored to each client based on specific requirements, including student numbers. But it says it generated more than $2 million in revenue and hopes to reach another $1 million by next month. The outfit is also exploring additional revenue streams, according to Titus, which includes a license agreement.
The most recent round was led by the Spring Mountain capital. Other investors in the round include Georgetown Angel Investor Network (GAIN), New York State Venture Fund, Rethink Education and TechStars.
The funds will increase the startup's total capital to more than $3 million.