How the 26-year-old CEO of tutoring app Scoodle got Twitter co-founder Biz Stone to invest in his startup
- Online tutoring platform Scoodle has raised $760,000 in a pre-seed funding round backed by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
- Scoodle has signed up more than 100,000 tutors and students worldwide, and hopes to turn successful teachers into online influencers.
- Founder Ismail Jeilani, 26, exclusively told Business Insider how he convinced Stone to invest, including an impromptu meeting at Twitter HQ in California.
- Click here for more BI Prime stories.
Scoodle, the online tutoring startup, has raised $760,000 in a pre-seed fundraising round backed by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
Founded in 2017 by chief exec Ismail Jeilani, 26, London-based Scoodle aims to turn teachers into online influencers or - as Jeilani puts it himself - "the Kim Kardashians of education". The platform has so far been used by more than 100,000 tutors, students and parents worldwide.
Speaking exclusively to Business Insider, Jeilani revealed how he convinced Stone, co-founder of Twitter and publishing platform Medium, to invest. He told us it all started at a pitch event with Oxford Foundry, a business accelerator set up by the prestigious UK university.
"I knew Biz was there because he's a fellow at Oxford. I got to speak to him a little bit before and after our demo. We had a meeting with [tech accelerator] Y Combinator coming up so I thought it might be worth trying to get some advice," he said.
Stone most recently founded Jelly, a Q&A platform app that was bought by Pinterest for an undisclosed amount in 2017. "I wanted to ask him about that because I felt like he had been trying to do a similar kind of thing to us... answering questions and helping people connect."
Off the back of that initial meeting, Jeilani says he started emailing Stone once a fortnight to let him know what Scoodle was up to. He laughs, "I sent maybe seven different emails... He wasn't replying but I thought I should keep doing it anyway."
His persistence paid off.
Following an unsuccessful meeting with Y Combinator, Biz invited Jeilani and his co-founders over to Twitter HQ in California. "He just said: 'If you're already in town, we should catch up.'
"We had a chat and he was really helpful. The conversation wasn't really about investing, it was more about product, and how he goes about solving different problems and constructing algorithms." At that point, Stone told Jeilani he would be happy to join the company as an advisor.
But after returning to London and exchanging a few more emails, Stone confirmed he would indeed back Scoodle as an angel investor. He tweeted: "Everybody has something they want to learn, and something they can teach... Reminds me of Jelly so I invested."
And how did Jeilani react?
"I was elated," he said. "I couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true...everything was just suddenly falling into place."
Little over a month later, Jeilani tells us the relationship with Stone has exceeded expectations. "Biz is one of the most responsive investors we have, which I would never have expected, given his schedule. He's always happy to share advice or set up an introduction."
Asked about Scoodle, Stone told Business Insider: "I invested because the world needs more people helping other people. Also, I like the team and I like the product, which are my main criteria for angel investing."
Jeilani added: "I think it just goes to show the importance of networking. One intro could lead to a few emails, which could lead to more face-to-face meetings.
"When you're an early-stage company, like us, you're looking for that vote of confidence. Those proof points that show people who have made great investments in the past have confidence in your vision.
"We're going to use the new funds to grow our engineering team. First and foremost, we're really focused on building a great product for students, parents and tutors. That's what really matters."