Fidelis Education is a San Francisco-based tech startup company. The company's goal is to launch a new category of educational technology called Learning Relationship Management (LRM). Founded by a former US Marine and a Harvard Business School graduate, Gunnar Counselman, Fidelis Education focuses on helping universities scale and manage relationships between students, coaches, faculty, and mentors.
Contents
Fidelis belongs to a loosely defined software and services industry that encompasses a diverse array of companies, offering a range of services to various types of non-profit post-secondary institutions. Many of these companies can be classified as end-to-end providers of distance learning solutions; that is, they provide non-profit institutions the necessary technical expertise, capital, marketing, and recruiting infrastructure to build and operate effective online and blended education programs. Some of these companies seek to serve the entire spectrum of non-profit post-secondary education, while others have carved out a specialized niche in a particular segment of the market.
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Technology
The company is developing cloudbased software platform that allows users to manage personal and professional goals from matriculation, through graduation, and continuing into their careers. The platform allows each student to connect with a professional coach and a team of mentors who provide advice and encouragement through the entire process. The company currently partners with Arizona State Online, American Public University, and Stanford University.
Funding
Fidelis is funded entirely through venture capital. The first round of funding raised $2.5 million from Accel and Novak Biddle, a firm that specializes in education startups. Phil Bronner of Novak Biddle Venture Partners noted that Fidelis is in the middle of a new trend of education companies partnering with prestigious, traditional colleges, but building a for-profit business around it.