Magoosh

Magoosh, Inc.
Educational Technology
Industry Education, Internet
Founded 2009
Headquarters Berkeley, CA, USA
Key people

Founders: Bhavin Parikh, Hansoo Lee

Investors: Michael Berolzheimer, David Charron, Richard Chen, Warren Hellman, Mitch Kapor, Jack Larson, Keith Ogata, Devon George, Chris Heid, William Vederman, Joshua Lagenthal, 500 Startups
Website http://www.magoosh.com

Magoosh [pronunciation: mə’guːʃ] (a play on the Old Persian word magush, which refers to a wise person[1]) is an online test prep company based in Berkeley, California that teaches students through video explanations and lessons.[2][3] Magoosh provides test preparation materials for the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, SAT, ACT, LSAT and Praxis[4] and aims to make test prep more enjoyable, affordable, and effective.[5] The company also has mobile apps for both iPhone and Android.[5]

History

Magoosh was founded in 2009 by Hansoo Lee, Bhavin Parikh, and Pejman Pour-Moezzi while they were students at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.[6]

In June 2009, Magoosh released its first product, GMAT math practice questions with video explanations. They got their first paying customers a couple months later in August.

Over the next two years, as the customer base continued to expand, Hansoo and Bhavin grew the GMAT product and Magoosh team. They hired two full-time employees and, with them on board, expanded into a new test. In August 2011, Magoosh launched their New GRE product for the revised GRE.[3]

Later that year, in December 2011, Magoosh gave away 800 free SAT accounts to high school students through partnerships with Bay Area non-profit organizations.[7] It was also around this time that co-founder Hansoo Lee was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to step away from daily operations.

In March 2013, shortly after Magoosh hit profitability, Hansoo Lee died. Bhavin Parikh and former co-founder Pejman Pour-Moezzi, along with Lee’s fiancee Wendy Lim, founded The Hansoo Lee Fellowship for Entrepreneurs, which will be used to support Haas MBA students wishing to pursue their entrepreneurial ventures full-time.[8]

Bhavin became the sole CEO of Magoosh and the company continued to grow, launching full prep products for the TOEFL and SAT from late 2013 to 2014.

In 2015, it launched study tools for the Science and English portions for the ACT and test prep plans for the LSAT and Praxis exams. To date, Magoosh has about 30 in-office employees at its offices in downtown Berkeley.

Recognition

References

  1. ↑ Innovative, The (2012-04-02). "The Innovative Company: Magoosh Changes the Way Students Prep for Standardized Tests". Innovativecompany.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  2. ↑ Garland, Russ (2010-06-16). "The Daily Start-Up: Bubble Survivor Coremetrics To Wed IBM - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  3. 1 2 "Magoosh Unveils a Video Bible for the Newly Revised GRE". Xconomy. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  4. ↑ "Interview With Founder Of Magoosh - Online Test Prep". Killerstartups.com. 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  5. 1 2 "'Magoosh' Takes the Headache out of Test-Preparation". Rightstartups.com. 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  6. ↑ http://www.dailydisruption.com/2012/01/disruptor-of-the-day-magoosh-pushing-the-boundaries-of-online-education/
  7. ↑ "Website Offers SAT Prep For Free | Fox Business Video". Video.foxbusiness.com. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  8. ↑ "Haas MBA graduate and entrepreneur Hansoo Lee dies at age 35 - The Daily Californian". Dailycal.org. 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  9. ↑ "2016 Work Local Awards". localwisejobs.com. 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  10. ↑ "The Bay Area's 100 fastest-growing private companies of 2015". Bizjournals.com. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  11. ↑ "2015 Happiest Company Awards". Tinyhr.com. 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  12. ↑ "Natural Gas Innovation Wins Intel Entrepreneurial Award". Newsroom.intel.com. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  13. 1 2 "North Bridge Venture Partners Announces Winners of $150K Seed Capital Competition | North Bridge". Nbvp.northbridge.com. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
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