Fiveable Acquires Teen-Built Study Tool - Expanding Educational Resources

Fiveable Acquires Virtual Study Platform Hours

Fiveable, a prominent online learning community geared towards high school students, recently completed its inaugural acquisition. The company purchased Hours, a virtual study platform originally developed by a 16-year-old entrepreneur. Financial details pertaining to the transaction have not been publicly revealed.

About Fiveable and its Mission

Fiveable operates as a freely accessible online learning resource designed to assist high school students in their preparation for Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. The platform features live, five-hour “cram sessions” concentrating on specific academic subjects, comprehensive study materials, and a thriving Discord community encompassing thousands of students.

The Need for a Centralized Social Learning Space

Founder Amanda DoAmaral highlighted the fragmented nature of student study groups in March. She noted that students frequently utilize Discord servers, subreddits, and various group chat applications for collaborative learning. However, she emphasized the necessity for a unified platform to facilitate social learning, provide support, enable peer connection, and support goal achievement.

User Base and the Inspiration for the Acquisition

Fiveable currently boasts an estimated monthly user base of half a million students. Interestingly, the impetus for this first acquisition stemmed directly from observing the behaviors of these very users.

DoAmaral observed that students within the Fiveable community had begun utilizing Hours for organizing group study sessions. Hours provides a collaborative environment where participants can manage individual task lists, synchronize with a shared timer, and enjoy a collective playlist – a feature described as fostering a “multiplayer experience” that enhances motivation and accountability.

Hours: Features and Functionality

The platform also offers a single-player mode, allowing students to activate “focus mode” to eliminate distractions like chat and prioritize task lists.

fiveable makes first acquisition: a virtual study tool built by a 16-year-old

Expanding Fiveable’s Community Features

Essentially, this acquisition will allow Fiveable to broaden its sense of community beyond the active environment of Discord, integrating a tool specifically designed for study purposes. In the six months since its launch, Hours has been adopted by over 17,000 students from institutions such as Stanford University, MIT, NYU, and across more than 120 countries.

Comparing Hours to Discord Study Groups

“While studying within Discord’s text or audio channels shares similarities with Hours’ multiplayer functionality, Discord lacks the capability to track individual tasks or monitor collective progress,” DoAmaral explained. “Hours delivers a superior experience by offering greater flexibility within group study sessions and providing a dedicated mode for solo study.”

Reasons for Acquisition Over Internal Development

The decision to acquire Hours, rather than develop similar technology in-house, was based on two key factors: the existing popularity of the product among students and the exceptional talent of its creator, Calix Huang, a 16-year-old.

Calix Huang and His Role at Fiveable

Huang, a high school junior in the Bay Area with a proven track record of successful tech ventures, initially launched Hours in October 2020 as a response to the challenges of isolated studying during the pandemic. Following the acquisition, Huang will join the Fiveable team as a lead product manager, contributing to the development of Hours on a part-time basis.

“Calix will be a senior next year, and will contribute part-time until graduation,” DoAmaral stated. “He will then face the same important decisions as his peers regarding his future, including a full-time offer with Fiveable.”

Fiveable’s Commitment to Young Talent

Employing young individuals is already a core tenet of Fiveable’s operational model. Currently, over 118 students are employed by the startup across various teams, including social media, product development, and content creation. These student employees work approximately 5-10 hours per week and are compensated at a rate of $15-$23 per hour.

Future Plans and Funding

Fiveable intends to maintain Hours as a free service, alongside its existing study guides, quizzes, and Discord community. The company currently generates revenue through the sale of “cram-passes” priced at $25 and individual live event tickets costing $5, such as five-hour review sessions held the night before an exam.

To date, the startup has secured over $4.2 million in venture capital funding from investors including BBG Ventures, Metrodora Ventures (led by Chelsea Clinton), Matchstick Ventures, Cream City Venture Capital, Spero Ventures, and, most recently, tennis icon Serena Williams.