Levered Learning Adds Up to a Deal to Watch

Key Stats:

Summary

Levered Learning has been selected as a “Deal to Watch” by KingsCrowd. This distinction is reserved for deals selected into the top 10%-20% of our due diligence funnel. If you have questions regarding our deal diligence and selection methodology, please reach out to hello@kingscrowd.com.

Problem

American STEM education is notoriously lacking. In a leading international education study, the United States was ranked 38th out of 71 countries in math proficiency among 15 year olds. Over 40% of American scientists feel that the American K-12 STEM education system is below average. Math education has even been called a “crisis” in need of an innovative solution. 

Math skills in elementary school are one of the best predictors of academic success in middle and high school. Lagging math proficiency can even impact future job prospects. Insufficient STEM education — including mathematics — is hindering America’s success in the global economy and causing a significant skills gap in critical manufacturing roles. 

These sobering educational statistics are made all the worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Distance or virtual learning is suboptimal for all students. However, Black and Latino students, English language learners, and homeless students demonstrated even lower levels of online engagement than other students during the first wave of distance learning this spring. 

As teachers and students prepare to return to school online in many states around the country, all are wondering how to ensure student success despite challenging circumstances. With the looming risk of significant learning loss affecting thousands of students, an effective online learning solution is needed more urgently than ever.

Solution

Levered Learning is an online math education system combining instructor-led math curriculum, collaborative activities, and independently-adaptive learning to teach math to elementary school students. Levered Learning already existed as a classroom math curriculum before the COVID-19 pandemic. It has emerged as a leading solution for holistic math education since the transition to virtual instruction. Levered is particularly focused on shrinking educational gaps between privileged and underprivileged students. The company formed relationships with under-resourced schools in California to study the impact of its online math curriculum on Black and Latino students. 

Levered is an end-to-end math instruction tool. It combines interactive math activities, tools for group instruction and collaboration among students, and data-tracking dashboards and administrative functions for teachers to monitor student outcomes and modulate support or challenge based on progress. Levered Learning is distinct from most edtech solutions in that it is not a supplement to a traditional math textbook. It is instead a replacement for a math textbook, providing comprehensive instruction in a variety of formats across the entire breadth of Common Core standards in math.

Levered’s program is a proven tool for superior math outcomes. Daily participation rates on Levered were more than 70% after schools transitioned to at-home learning. Among English learners, math proficiency among Levered learners was almost 20 percentage points higher than the California average and almost 30 points higher among economically-disadvantaged students. Overall, students at Title I schools (schools that receive extra funding to supplement the education of low-income students) demonstrate 70% higher math skills growth after learning with Levered. 

So far, Levered Learning has partnered with over 200 classrooms in California — reaching over 5,000 students. The company is focused on adoption within Common Core states, including California, New York, Washington, Illinois, and more. California alone represents 20% of the American Common Core market. Levered Learning has relationships with the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA), EdSurge, and the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). Levered Learning owes 80% of its growth to these partnerships and other word-of-mouth referrals between principals and district administrators. 

Like most edtech companies, Levered Learning sells to schools and school districts for per student/per year rates. The program was largely in pilot mode in 2019 but will begin transitioning to paid partnerships for the upcoming school year and beyond. Levered Learning generated roughly $100,000 in revenue during the last half of 2019. It projects $300,000 for revenue in 2020. The company operated at a net loss of $320,000 last year. 

Team

CEO and cofounder Mitch Slater is an experienced educator with over 20 years of experience as a teacher and school administrator. Slater combined this deep educational background with Silicon Valley-esque tech inspiration to develop the concept for a holistic, online math education system. 

Joshua Bradley executes this vision as Levered’s cofounder and CTO. Bradley is a seasoned entrepreneur, with many years of experience in founder and senior executive roles for a variety of companies across industries. 

Growth Plan

Levered plans to continue leveraging organic growth to partner with more schools and expand revenues. By forming partnerships with high-level education organizations, expanding adoption within partner districts, and incentivizing principals and administrators to spread the word about Levered among their networks, the company will keep marketing costs down and gross margins up. 

In the longer term, Levered hopes to become the go-to math solution for schools and districts around the country — and eventually the world. The company plans to translate its programs into Spanish to better meet the needs of bilingual learners in the U.S. and abroad.

Why We Like it

• Differentiated solution within the edtech market: Few edtech products seek to entirely replace the traditional classroom and textbook experience. Other companies provide cross-curriculum solutions for English, social studies, and other subjects beyond just math. Levered Learning has carved out a specific niche with a full curriculum in math, no textbooks or other products required. This narrow focus may close sales more easily with partners specifically seeking a math solution. It may also be the reason why teachers testify that Levered is the best virtual math solution they’ve ever taught with.

• Well-suited for the COVID world and beyond: Levered Learning was not developed to meet the unique needs of a pandemic world. However, the company was certainly well-prepared for the sudden explosion in distance learning. Levered students demonstrate high engagement and significant proficiency improvements even while learning at home. Those are strong selling points for schools and districts newly in the market for a virtual curriculum. Plus, some education experts speculate that distance learning in some form may continue even beyond COVID, further positioning Levered to capture share in a growing market. 

Rating

Levered Learning’s holistic virtual math curriculum was already demonstrating successful results before the coronavirus pandemic. The last several months have only further highlighted the urgency of well-designed, results-focused online learning solutions. Levered’s precise focus on math outcomes — particularly for disadvantaged students — is a differentiator in this trending market. 

Levered is still a very early-stage company. Prospective investors cannot be sure whether the product adequately meets the diverse needs of schools nationwide. Levered’s success in converting free pilot schools into paying partners is also yet to be determined, and the company is still operating at a loss. Moreover, Levered does not have an experienced senior engineering leader on its team. The company’s CTO is not an engineer by training, and all engineering resources are junior-level or part-time. For a technology-focused company, this lack of in-house development resources may hinder product innovation and growth. 

That being said, edtech is a buzzing space. Solutions like Levered that have demonstrated virtual learning success are more in demand than ever. Investors poured $18.66 billion into edtech companies in 2019, a 14% increase from 2018. Up-and-coming edtech portals are acquisition targets for incumbent education and textbook corporations. Pearson, for instance, has indicated that digital solutions are a priority over the next several years. It backed up that claim when it acquired a digital learning platform for $25 million in 2020. If Levered Learning continues to expand student impact and refine a full-service online math curriculum, any education company could consider an acquisition. 

Levered Learning is a company well-suited for the COVID-19 era, but students and teachers are in need of an effective and engaging virtual math solution whether there’s a pandemic or not. Given the company’s solid traction, impressive learning outcomes, and differentiation within a hot space, Levered Learning is a Deal to Watch.