TopSchool Closes Funding Round and Establishes Board of Directors
Denver, CO - June 23, 2008 - TopSchool, the
first SaaS provider of administrative solutions optimized for small
to mid-size higher education institutions, has raised a $3.2
million round of funding. This round, led by Alsop Louie Partners
in conjunction with the company management and board, will allow
TopSchool to expand development and marketing of its suite of
Web-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) Student Lifecycle
Management (SLM) solutions.
"We are very impressed with TopSchool's vision, as the company
leads the charge into the modern educational enterprise where
software is delivered as a service," said Stewart Alsop, co-founder
of Alsop Louie Partners. "We believe there is tremendous
opportunity for TopSchool's SaaS administrative solution, which
gives schools a flexible, low-cost option to deliver better and
more effective programs to the students, while also improving a
school's own operations."
In addition to closing this round of financing, the Denver-based
company also announced the creation of a new board of directors
with deep experience in the education and technology industries.
TopSchool's board of directors includes:
- Stewart Alsop, founder and partner with
Alsop Louie Partners, has significant experience working with early
stage technology companies. Alsop was a general partner with New
Enterprise Associates and led that firm's investments in companies
such as TiVo, Portola Communications (sold to Netscape),
Netcentives, Glu Mobile, and Xfire. Before he became an investor,
Alsop was Editor-in-Chief of InfoWorld, a weekly newspaper for
information-technology professionals.
- Doug Kelsall, President and CFO of Education
Sales Management, brings a wealth of financial and operational
management experience in the education technology industry.
Kelsall was the CFO at eCollege during its Initial Public Offering
and served as the president and chief operating officer of eCollege
until its 2007 sale to Pearson Education.
- Tony Digiovanni, Vice President of Marketing
at the Art Institutes, a part of Education Management Corporation
(EDMC), has 20 years in senior executive roles with the leading
for-profit, post secondary education providers. Prior to EMDC,
Digiovanni served as President of Corinthian Colleges and was CEO
of University of Phoenix Online. He also served as President of
Classes USA, an Experian company that provides a leading online
higher education portal.
- Matthew Schnittman, President and CEO of
TopSchool
- Leon Lo, founding CEO and current Chief
Operating Officer of TopSchool
"TopSchool has an incredible opportunity to provide a next
generation administrative solution to small and mid-size
institutions. This round of funding will allow us to complete our
SLM solution and invest heavily in customer service to ensure our
clients' success," said Schnittman. "The knowledge and experience
of our board gives us a great advantage in delivering a solution
that meets the needs of the higher education market."
About TopSchool
TopSchool (www.topschoolinc.com), the first SaaS provider of
administrative technology solutions optimized for small to mid-size
higher education institutions, enables institutions to effectively
drive decisions and insights across the student lifecycle.
TopSchool's Student Lifecycle Management (SLM) system provides a
comprehensive information management solution - a CRM to aggregate
and manage leads, a customizable student and faculty portal, a
student information system that is easy to implement, a robust
ad-hoc reporting suite, and a customer service model that serves
students, faculty and administrators. TopSchool SLM is architected
using next generation technologies and offered exclusively in a
SaaS model - which means TopSchool manages one version of the
software for all customers, translating into quick and inexpensive
implementation, easy configuration, no maintenance costs, and no
upgrade fees.
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