- San Diego startup TeachMe.To has raised $5 million in a seed round led by Bling Capital.
- The startup connects students with teachers for local in-person lessons across various skills.
- Check out the 20-slide pitch deck used to secure the fresh funding.
A San Diego startup that connects teachers and potential students for in-person lessons has just raised $5 million in a seed round led by Bling Capital.
TeachMe.To CEO Tyler Maloney told Business Insider that it offered lessons "across things like boxing, piano, violin, pickleball."
"We're the Airbnb for skills," he said in an interview.
TeachMe.To's platform allows students to watch a video of their prospective instructors performing that activity, and arrange a location and time for a lesson.
Instructors can apply to teach a particular skill; the startup then vets their qualifications and conducts a background check if the instructor is working with a child.
Maloney said the platform aimed to encourage beginners to learn skills they may have been put off from learning, while also helping people get into teaching who may have been deterred by the admin.
"We'll create an account for the teacher. We handle all the barriers to getting started, such as setting up a business and getting insurance," he added.
The startup charges a fee for introducing the student to the coach, and a commission from the lesson. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously invested in the startup as an early angel investor.
The startup recently raised a $2 million round in September 2023, per PitchBook data. Maloney said this fundraise was "the hardest one" as the funding environment is more focused on startups oriented around AI.
"But business has been growing really well, and we now give over 200 lessons a day," he added.
The seed round was led by Bling Capital with participation from Marketplace Capital, 20Growth, and Gokul Rajaram.
Existing fund and angel investors were also involved, including 1984, Alumni Ventures, Ancestry CEO Deb Liu, and Rover President Brent Turner.
TeachMe.To will use the fresh funding to grow its engineering team and expand the skills it offers through its platform, Maloney said.
Check out the 20-slide pitch deck used to secure the fresh funds.
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