Student Brands (formerly StudyMode)[1] is a Los Angeles County-based company that owns and operates a network of educational websites and applications.[2]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Predecessor | Study Mode, LLC |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Services |
|
| Revenue | US$20M+ |
| Parent | Learneo |
| Website | studentbrands |
Student Brands’s network of websites includes StudyMode.com, where students can download model essays and term papers, book notes and AP notes; Cram.com, where students can share and review flashcards; and Cite.com, a citation generator and bibliography builder.[3] The company also owns several international websites including BuenasTareas.com, a Spanish-language version of StudyMode.com, Etudier.com, the French version, and TrabalhosFeitos.com, the Portuguese version. The company acquired and re-launched websites including Bartleby.com, Monografias.com, and 123HelpMe.com.
Student Brands was founded by Blaine Vess and Chris Nelson in 1999 when they re-launched the website, OPPapers.com. The company was originally run out of a dorm room at North Central College.[4] By 2007, revenues and profits exceeded US$1 million.[4] Todd Clemens joined the company in 2008.[5] The company subsequently grew through the acquisitions and international site launches. Its portfolio now includes more than a dozen websites in several languages and reaches about 2.5 million visitors per day.[3] Annual revenues exceed $10 million.[2]
For more than a decade, the co-founders ran the company out of Vess’s home with about thirty remote contractors.[2] In 2011, the company moved into a physical office in West Hollywood. In 2015, the company moved again to the Taft Building in Hollywood and then moved once again to its current ___location in the PacMutual building in Downtown Los Angeles. It now has over 60 employees.
Acquisition
editStudent Brands was acquired by Barnes & Noble Education in August 2017 for $58.5 million.[6]
Learneo acquired Student Brands from Barnes & Noble Education in May 2023.[7]
References
edit- ^ Amendment to Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC), 2017-01-02
- ^ a b c Dave, Paresh (19 July 2013). "Blaine Vess harnesses the Internet to help students succeed". Business. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ a b Jarvey, Natalie (19 September 2013). "West Hollywood Company to Help Students Cram". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ a b Watson, Dan (2 October 2013). "Digital Entrepreneur Blaine Vess Brings His 'Home Work' to WeHo". WEHOVille. West Hollywood, California: WHMC LLC. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ Vess, Blaine (27 August 2013). "Should I Find a Co-founder or Start a Business Alone?". YFS Magazine (Digital magazine). YFS Media. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Education Acquires Student Brands" (Press release). Barnes & Noble Education. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018 – via BusinessWire.
- ^ "Learneo Advances Platform Strategy with Second Acquisition this Year" (Press release). PR Newswire. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via PR Newswire.