{"data":{"type":"company_profile","id":98868,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:98868","attributes":{"canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12","generated_at":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","updated_at":"2026-06-22T05:03:25Z","entity_ids":{"company":"wefunder:company:98868","slug":"wefunder:company_slug:benchk12"},"profile_visibility":{"owner_published":true,"public_search_results":true,"site_search_listed":true,"privacy_mode":"promote","invite_only":false},"provenance":{"source":"wefunder_public_company_profile","as_of":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","claims":{"total_amount_raised":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#amount_raised","last_verified_at":"2026-06-22T05:03:25Z","as_of":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","confidence":"high"},"total_investors":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#number_of_investors","last_verified_at":"2026-06-22T05:03:25Z","as_of":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","confidence":"high"},"active_raise_states":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil)","last_verified_at":"2025-02-06T01:17:55Z","as_of":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","confidence":"high"},"latest_fundraise_state":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil).order(funding_started_at)","last_verified_at":"2025-02-06T01:17:55Z","as_of":"2026-06-23T04:23:15Z","confidence":"medium"}}},"company":{"id":98868,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:98868","slug":"benchk12","name":"BenchK12","tagline":"Build the future of work for educators today","elevator_pitch":"BenchK12 uses modern technology to propel current and future educators into the career they want. We streamline the credentialing and hiring process, so schools can grow and diversify their pools of highly-qualified substitute teachers and get the right sub for each classroom and every student.","story":"Two root causes of this problem can be solved by technologyThis is a complex issue, but technology can address two major root causes: The Supply Side: Getting credentialed as an educator is a lengthy and high-friction process that typically occurs at the state level and in many cases takes months to complete.And once this credentialing process is complete, substitutes then have to go through lengthy hiring processes, often re-sharing the same data, in multiple local education agencies–like school districts and charters–to be eligible to substitute in each. This adds weeks or months to them getting into the classroom.The Retention Side: Once in the classroom, educators (especially substitutes) face a challenging work environment, deal with low pay and a lack of respect, and have few opportunities for advancement. This leads many educators to abandon the profession.The Result: We are losing educators faster than we can replace them and the pool of those entering the profession is shrinking rapidly And all of this was happening before the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely exacerbated educator shortages. With current shortages growing even more dire, schools are getting pushed to their breaking point and student outcomes are being negatively impacted. BenchK12 is the solution that solves both supply and retention challengesBenchK12 is the connective tissue between states, schools, and existing fragmented solutions. It’s an integrated platform addressing credentialing, hiring, placement, professional development, support, and advancement for educators, starting with substitute teachers. BenchK12 replaces current antiquated credentialing and staffing tech (and/or paper-based systems), to help: ⬆️ Expand the pool of educators 💯 Improve their onboarding and classroom experiences ⬇️ Reduce cost, effort and turnover for schoolsOur proprietary common application takes days instead of months and increases supply BenchK12’s technology, when deployed by a State as their tool for licensure and/or credentialing, replaces paper-based systems or legacy databases and tools.Our common application pulls together the elements shared across states to credential substitute teachers through a frictionless, digital process that takes days instead of months and includes verified credentials powered by blockchain including:✔️ Identity ✔️ Background check✔️ Fingerprinting✔️ Education credentials ✔️ Work experience credentials ✔️ References These verified credentials are then stored in an educator's preferred digital wallet, where they can instantly share them with any State Education Agency (SEA) or Local Education Agency (LEA) that recognizes them or is a BenchK12 partner.By making the process easier to get credentialed as a substitute, rather than lowering the qualifications, states that use BenchK12 can rapidly grow their supply of credentialed substitutes. Local districts and charters can access more available substitutes and abandon expensive staffing agencies and outdated absence management software.\u0026nbsp;For candidates in educator prep programs, BenchK12 provides an easier pathway to becoming a substitute teacher and getting paid for practice teaching experienceFor tutors who are considering a career in education, BenchK12 provides a seamless opportunity to enter the classroom as a substitute teacherFor parents and community partners, BenchK12 provides an opportunity to re-engage in your local school, see firsthand how your kids are learning, help solve educator shortages, and gain a deeper appreciation for educatorsOur hiring, placement, and support tools ensure educators have a great experience and help ensure retentionOnce credentialed through BenchK12, substitutes become part of a statewide pool and are eligible to be hired by any district or charter, making the redundant hiring processes at the local level obsolete. When a substitute accepts an assignment, BenchK12 provides them with everything they need to ensure their success including: Transit/parking optionsKey points-of-contactSchool map and classroom locationLesson plans and assignment detailsAbility to take attendance in appLocation of restroomsEssential school safety information in the event of an emergencyAnd, we’re partnering with best-in-class professional development providers to ensure that substitutes get the preparation they need to be in the classroom and have opportunities for ongoing support and advancement as needed. Swift, successful, and supportive substitute teacher placements:Allow full-time teachers to take needed and well-deserved breaks, helping retain full-time educatorsEnsure that substitutes feel valued and keep them coming backProvides students with the continuity of instruction and the diversity of educator experience and styles to ensure their academic successNo other solution increases supply, improves experiences, and reduces costBenchK12 is the company that is building an end-to-end solution to help solve educator shortagesWhile there are other solutions that try to connect substitute teachers with K12 schools, they’re limited in their approach. They aren’t solving the supply and retention challenges, which is why things are getting worse instead of better. Most are primarily focused on managing absence requests and approvals or are expensive staffing agencies that force schools to outsource this work. Even with these limited capabilities, the sheer size of the market opportunity and its rapid growth—detailed further below—delivers high valuations. For example, Swing Education is valued at $50 million and Kelly Education, an education staffing agency, is currently valued at nearly $2 billion (see this detailed analysis of Kelly Education and the growth in this segment on Seeking Alpha).BenchK12’s approach to this problem and marketplace would be an indirect competition killer because it would eliminate the need for staffing agencies and absence management software providers and significantly undercut the costs of the competition.Our diversified revenue streams prioritize simplicity for partners and recurring revenue for investorsAnd provides an opportunity to invest in a marketplace that is larger than Lyft, Uber, and taxis COMBINED.Based on current spending on enterprise systems and substitute acquisition, as well\u0026nbsp;as the current marketplace growth and financials of indirect competitors like Kelly Education, BenchK12 sees a viable venture growth path to $1 billion annual recurring revenue (ARR) within 10 years, while saving schools over 60 percent.*Yup. $1 billion. And that’s conservative.*(*Legal requirement:\u0026nbsp;​The financial projections included here are just that, projections. As with any investment, these outcomes are not guaranteed. But you know all that...)We get there by growing to serve every K12 role in the U.S. and beyondCredentialing and supporting substitutes is just the start for BenchK12. We plan to launch new modules to support hiring and development in every role in K12, both in the US and worldwide.The opportunity for growth in this market is clear. Even if BenchK12 never expanded beyond the substitute market, it could easily reach $1 billion based on the competitors' shares and the endemic nature of the shortages.*(*Legal requirement: ​The lawyers wanted us to remind you that the financial projections included here are just that, projections. As with any investment, these outcomes are not guaranteed. )Our vision is bigger than just focusing on substitutes. We want to help empower the future of work for every K12 educator in the U.S. and beyond.Our first state pilot will close in 2023, with five more states on the waitlistThe BenchK12 solution is already resonating with state and local education leaders. We currently have: Six states on our waitlist for school-year pilots3000+ subscribers and supporters Interest from over 20 LEAsMultiple innovation awards and grantsInternational interest from Israel, Canada, Australia, the UK, and the UAEOur goal in 2023 is to close our first state pilot. Demand from local and state education agencies has been higher than expected. With your investment, we can meet the demand of more states faster and close follow-on investments from institutional investors.\u0026nbsp;Our team gives us a competitive advantage with a verifiable track record of success BenchK12 is a proudly diverse, female-founded, deeply experienced, and networked team with decades of experience in K12 education and technology as successful operators with exits and significant fundraising capabilities. Our bios above outline some high points, but by some of the numbers, our team has: Founded more than a dozen successful companies, with at least three acquisitions or exitsRaised more than $30MM dollars in venture capital and grant funding over the course of their careersHas more than 100 years of combined experience in K12 education and tech and includes sought-after experts in K12 data infrastructure, K12 technology sales, education-focused philanthropy, startups, and high-performing nonprofitsOur team is working tirelessly to solve this problem and ensure that you get the best return on your investment.Investing in BenchK12 means investing in a brighter future for schools, educators, students, and your bottom lineWith BenchK12, you’re investing in a win-win-win scenario. 🌎\u0026nbsp;Impact: Your investment will have an immediate impact in modernizing K12 technology to empower educators, help solve teacher shortages, and ensure students have a great learning experience. 💵\u0026nbsp;Investment: We are looking for investors who believe that you can “do well and do good.” Not only do we want to generate a healthy return for you, our earliest investors, but we’re also going to save our state and local education partners money so that they can shift dollars to the classroom rather than admin and systems. We’re also committed to sharing our profits or equity with our early adopter state partners so that their early commitments to us are also rewarded.⭐\u0026nbsp;Influence: In a world that often feels like it's in crisis overload, with no opportunities to meaningfully solve any of it, the educator shortage is a crisis you can do something about. And when we solve this crisis together, you can invest even more in the next big problem that needs your support.And those who know are talking…and investing","location":"Minneapolis, MN","website":"https://www.benchk12.com","total_amount_raised":73094,"total_investors":61,"is_funded":true,"is_active":true,"quality_score":3,"related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/benchk12","https://www.benchk12.com"]},"media":{"share_image_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/98868/xxl_cropped_00-00_Cover_Image_2_2x.jpg","logo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/logo/98868/large_cropped_LinkedIn_Company_Profile_Photo_300x300.png","header_media_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/98868/standard_cropped_00-00_Cover_Image_2_2x.jpg","cover_photo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/98868/standard_cropped_00-00_Cover_Image_2_2x.jpg","profile_video_url":"https://wefunder.wistia.com/medias/7v1nlkeux5"},"links":{"company_url":"https://www.benchk12.com","linkedin_url":"https://linkedin.com/company/benchk12/","twitter_url":"https://twitter.com/benchk12","blog_url":"https://medium.com/the-benchk12-playbook"},"highlights":[],"quick_facts":[{"index":1,"claim_id":"claim-fact-1","value":"✨ Sixteen states on our waitlist to pilot our solution"},{"index":2,"claim_id":"claim-fact-2","value":"💪 World-class team with multiple exits and decades of combined experience in K12 and tech"},{"index":4,"claim_id":"claim-fact-4","value":"🏆 Awarded Top Women-Founded Startup Company and Top 3 Education Startup in Minnesota"},{"index":5,"claim_id":"claim-fact-5","value":"🔥 Finished in the top 10% of YCombinator’s Startup School"},{"index":6,"claim_id":"claim-fact-6","value":"💸 Recent winner of P2B Pitch competition \u0026amp; investment from FBomb Angels"},{"index":7,"claim_id":"claim-fact-7","value":"🎯 Saves schools an estimated 60%+ on current teacher credentialing, placement, and onboarding costs"}],"team":[{"id":2143578,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:2143578","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:2105793","role":"founder","name":"Brooke Barrett","title":"Founder \u0026 President","bio":"Raised $20M+ in previous ventures. Brooke started her career as a substitute teacher and, 20 years and two-ish advanced degrees later, she has served as a trusted advisor and partner to K12 organizations via her consulting firm, Edutelligentsia.","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/2143578/square_cropped_1620539171745.jpg?1686971382","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/brooke.barrett","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookebarrett/","twitter_url":"http://www.twitter.com/edutelligentsia","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/brooke.barrett"]},{"id":3726826,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:3726826","role":"employee","name":"Neeraj Saran Srivastava ","title":"Interim VP, Technology","bio":"Recently exited founder and CTO, DLT Labs and the inventor of enterprise blockchain. Member of the Forbes Technology Council and IBM's blockchain advisory board.","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/3726826/square_blob.jpg?1686972031","linkedin_url":"https://linkedin.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neeraj-srivastava-82847614","related_urls":[]},{"id":2143631,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:2143631","role":"employee","name":"Sandy Maynard","title":"VP, Experience","bio":"Retired Executive Director, Enterprise Systems, San Francisco Unified Public Schools with over a decade of experience as a K12 Chief Technology Officer. 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Government consultant who led Jamaica's successful national ID rollout and community engagement.","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/2877420/square_cropped_Yanique.jpg?1686972054","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/yanique.taylor","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaniquetaylor/","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/yanique.taylor"]},{"id":3505445,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:3505445","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:2817143","role":"employee","name":"Larissa McCartney","title":"Director, Design","bio":"Larissa is an artist and designer with a decade of experience ranging from brand identity and digital design to event branding and experiential activations. From small shops to Fortune 500 companies, she knows how to deliver smart design direction.","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/3505445/square_cropped_1614387530626.jpg?1686972031","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/larissamccartney","personal_url":"https://larissamccartney.com/","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/larissamccartney/","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/larissamccartney","https://larissamccartney.com/"]},{"id":2143636,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:2143636","role":"employee","name":"Mike Baur","title":"Strategic Advisor","bio":"Currently leads Amazon Web Service's EdTech Strategy and lead investor for BenchK12’s WeFunder community round. Nearly two decades of experience in K12 and Higher Education in edtech sales, product development, and coalition-building.","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/2143636/square_cropped_mike.jpg?1686972031","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebaur/","twitter_url":"https://twitter.com/mbaur","related_urls":[]},{"id":2143633,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:2143633","role":"employee","name":"Ed Comer","title":"Technical Advisor","bio":"Over a decade of experience in education data infrastructure and visualizations. 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We joined forces with AAEE to sponsor their 2022-2023 Pipeline Mini-Grant Program, which supports innovative projects aimed at addressing the K12 teacher pipelin...","published_at":"2023-04-25T20:24:35Z","author_name":"Russell Marketing","url":"/feed/163315","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/feed/163315"},{"id":163160,"entity_id":"wefunder:feed_item:163160","type":"FeedItem::Update","visibility":"public","title":"Meet our Graduate Product Fellow, Carey Jackson","preview":"While her title really doesn’t do justice to the wonderful role and work she has contributed to our small, but growing BenchK12 team, we’re so excited to introduce you to Carey Jackson, BenchK12’s current Graduate Product Fellow.It’s so important to us to have educators and parents on our team because they bring such a critically important perspective and fierce urgency to our work. As potential investors of BenchK12, you can help us retain Carey and hire even more great educators into our or...","published_at":"2023-04-20T13:45:56Z","author_name":"Russell Marketing","url":"/feed/163160","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/feed/163160"},{"id":162809,"entity_id":"wefunder:feed_item:162809","type":"FeedItem::Update","visibility":"public","title":"Week 1 Recap - Thank you for your support!","preview":"Thank you so much to our earliest investors for helping us get our community raise on Wefunder started!\u0026nbsp;All our gratitude to the supporters who have helped us hit $55,750 so far. We will work tirelessly to ensure that you get the best return on your investment!Thanks to:Jennifer MacDonaldKenneth BarrettEd ComerMike BaurSarah LeeGlenford PattersonTravis HurstCelia AlicataSandy MaynardKristen ReynoldsErica DollandJim McGlynnLyria ZehJennifer TepperTania GrantJimmy MacDonaldBarbara Treschit...","published_at":"2023-04-10T18:43:24Z","author_name":"Russell Marketing","url":"/feed/162809","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/feed/162809"},{"id":162689,"entity_id":"wefunder:feed_item:162689","type":"FeedItem::Update","visibility":"public","title":"Meet your crowdfund Lead: Mike Baur","preview":"We’re honored to have Mike Baur, Head of AWS EdTech Strategy, as our lead investor.\u0026nbsp;Mike welcomed the opportunity to serve as our lead investor because, in his own words:\u0026nbsp;“When I saw the shocking data of what is happening with teacher and substitute shortages nationwide and how easily current technology could remedy this for the current, and arguably more importantly, next generation, the foundation of what BenchK12 is building is a no brainer. When I see the equation I laid out abo...","published_at":"2023-04-05T16:08:53Z","author_name":"Russell Marketing","url":"/feed/162689","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/feed/162689"},{"id":162654,"entity_id":"wefunder:feed_item:162654","type":"FeedItem::Update","visibility":"public","title":"With support from friends, family and investment group FBomb Angels, our community round is live!","preview":"We’re so excited to be live on Wefunder! Launching our community round on this platform allows anyone with $100 or more to invest in BenchK12, which aims to modernize the educator credentialing, hiring and placement process for states, schools and teachers.Just before launch, we were given a huge boost from our latest investment partner, FBA Capital — more affectionately known as the FBomb Angels — a women’s angel group affiliated with The FBomb Breakfast Club, with a $45,000 investment!“Benc...","published_at":"2023-04-04T20:03:44Z","author_name":"Russell Marketing","url":"/feed/162654","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/feed/162654"}],"q_and_a":[{"id":241706,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:241706","question":"Hello, Being a French investor, I have only a few notions about the American educational system. - Is it possible to have some arguments on the superiority of BenchK12 with respect to the following competitors ? HelloSubs currently in reservation on the republic crowdfunding platform and Scoot Education - Have you started to monetize your solution because I don't see any accounting data in the pitch (turnover, margin...) ?","author_name":"Regis Marechal","votes":3,"created_at":"2023-04-05T08:17:14Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-241706","answers":[{"id":241754,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:241754","answer":"Allo Regis! Je parle un peu français, mais je n'ai pas pratiqué depuis un moment. Grandes questions! HelloSubs and Scoot are similar to staffing agencies like Kelly Education and Swing. BenchK12's customers are State Departments of Education--one of the 27 states that license/credential substitute teachers today. Those indirect competitors you mentioned must either wait for their candidates to get licensed or credentialed by the state before they can then work on placing them in a local education agency (like a city's school district or a local charter school) or only place those who are already credentialed. They are not increasing the supply. Their business models rely on selling at the local level and their reach is only where they sell into. BenchK12 is looking to support an *entire* state and negate the need for staffing agencies at the local level that charge usurious rates-- 25-50% of the substitute's daily pay rate. We support the State's existing credentialing process by making it entirely digital--and much faster and smoother for candidates to understand and complete. Today it takes weeks to months, with our tech supporting states it takes days. Once credentialed, local agencies can then hire directly from the State's pool of credentialed candidates negating the need for staffing agencies and a secondary hiring process. Beyond that, we support getting subs into the right classrooms and support them with just-in-time supports directly from their mobile device. And, as an investor, you're getting in on the ground floor of our platform that is starting with the substitute module, but expanding to every certificated role in K12 in the U.S. (with potential for international licensing) in 10 years. We have six states on our waitlist to pilot our product for this school year, but no revenue yet. The pilots will be paid and we are a sole source provider, which means we have no direct competitors.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":4,"created_at":"2023-04-05T17:54:37Z"}]},{"id":241889,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:241889","question":"I see Finished in the top 10% of YCombinator’s Startup School, why didnt they invest or did they and if so at what terms?","author_name":"Walter George","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-04-06T17:14:20Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-241889","answers":[{"id":241915,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:241915","answer":"Hi Walter, Thanks for your question! StartUp School is not the same as the Accelerator, where YC invests. We were ranked by our peers as one of the top companies in our cohort for StartUp School.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-04-06T19:03:55Z"}]},{"id":262014,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:262014","question":"Which state is finishing their pilot and have they indicated their next steps after the pilot?","author_name":"Paul Bean","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-09-13T04:42:21Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-262014","answers":[{"id":262026,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:262026","answer":"Hi Paul, We have three states that we are working on contracting with and 13 more on our waitlist. Every state has already asked us about building out additional modules for them ASAP. I can't provide more specifics beyond that, publicly, at this time.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-09-13T12:57:36Z"}]},{"id":242352,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:242352","question":"Will investors under the $250/$500 range be able to buy some of the perks such as the shirts, or have the opportunity to buy extra ones if we invest at those amounts?","author_name":"Garrett Barnes","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-04-10T19:07:38Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-242352","answers":[{"id":242357,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:242357","answer":"Hi Garrett, Thanks so much for your investment and your question! Our intention with the shirts is to give our \"Day One\" investors some unique swag just for them, so we aren't planning to sell those shirts outside of the BenchK12 investor perks. If there is demand for shirts or other swag for BenchK12, it is definitely something we can explore. Right now, as you can imagine, we are focused on selling into States and building revenue for our investors, and impacting the teacher shortage for students and schools.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-04-10T19:56:16Z"}]},{"id":271773,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:271773","question":"Why only advisory members and no Board of Directors?","author_name":"Rich Keyes","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-12-15T03:41:49Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-271773","answers":[{"id":271778,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:271778","answer":"Hi Rich, To my knowledge, it isn't common for an early stage company to have a large, formal board. As we grow, we will grow our board. You can read on our site a recent post I wrote about building our board.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-12-15T05:29:35Z"}]},{"id":271676,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:271676","question":"What are the terms of the investment from FBA Capital of $45,000?","author_name":"Rich Keyes","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-12-14T17:10:56Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-271676","answers":[{"id":271678,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:271678","answer":"Hi Rich, Same as the current early bird investor offering here. SAFE. $4MM val cap \u0026amp; 10% discount. Thank you!","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-12-14T17:15:13Z"}]},{"id":242812,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:242812","question":"Question no longer relevant.","author_name":"Senitiki Rokocakau","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-04-13T09:32:16Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/benchk12#question-242812","answers":[{"id":242956,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:242956","answer":"Can you please delete your question since it has been asked and answered? Thank you.","author_name":"Brooke Barrett","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-04-14T05:38:32Z"}]}],"faq":[{"question":"Hello, Being a French investor, I have only a few notions about the American educational system. - Is it possible to have some arguments on the superiority of BenchK12 with respect to the following competitors ? HelloSubs currently in reservation on the republic crowdfunding p...","answer":"Allo Regis! Je parle un peu français, mais je n'ai pas pratiqué depuis un moment. Grandes questions! HelloSubs and Scoot are similar to staffing agencies like Kelly Education and Swing. BenchK12's customers are State Departments of Education--one of the 27 states that license/credential substitute teachers today. Those indirect competitors you mentioned must either wait for their candidates to get licensed or credentialed by the state before they can then work on placing them in a local educa..."},{"question":"I see Finished in the top 10% of YCombinator’s Startup School, why didnt they invest or did they and if so at what terms?","answer":"Hi Walter, Thanks for your question! StartUp School is not the same as the Accelerator, where YC invests. We were ranked by our peers as one of the top companies in our cohort for StartUp School."},{"question":"Will investors under the $250/$500 range be able to buy some of the perks such as the shirts, or have the opportunity to buy extra ones if we invest at those amounts?","answer":"Hi Garrett, Thanks so much for your investment and your question! Our intention with the shirts is to give our \"Day One\" investors some unique swag just for them, so we aren't planning to sell those shirts outside of the BenchK12 investor perks. If there is demand for shirts or other swag for BenchK12, it is definitely something we can explore. Right now, as you can imagine, we are focused on selling into States and building revenue for our investors, and impacting the teacher shortage for st..."},{"question":"Question no longer relevant.","answer":"Can you please delete your question since it has been asked and answered? Thank you."},{"question":"Which state is finishing their pilot and have they indicated their next steps after the pilot?","answer":"Hi Paul, We have three states that we are working on contracting with and 13 more on our waitlist. Every state has already asked us about building out additional modules for them ASAP. I can't provide more specifics beyond that, publicly, at this time."}]}}}