Monday, April 2, 2012

Magoosh Changes the Way Students Prep for Standardized Tests

Founded in 2009 by CEO Hansoo Lee and CPO Bhavin Parikh, Magoosh is an online resource that helps students prepare for the GRE, GMAT, and SAT. (And also TOEFL in the near future.) Knowing that they can come up with a better test prep product than what was available in the market, the founders employed their experience and know-how in education and technology to create something that they wished they had when they were studying for their own standardized exams.

Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Magoosh is a play on the Old Persian word “magush”, which refers to a wise person. With the objective to provide an excellent educational experience to all, the company offers test prep programs with several lessons and questions created by industry experts. To date, students from more than 150 countries have used Magoosh, watching over 10,000 hours of video and completing practice questions over a million times. 

In addition to lessons and questions, Magoosh offers other features such as video and text explanations for each problem, tips and tricks for exam day, and performance feedback. Additionally, users can customize their practice sessions, review all their previous answers, and flag difficult questions.

According to co-founder Bhavin Parikh, one of the reasons behind the success of Magoosh is the company's flexible work hours. Knowing that different people have different work rhythms, Magoosh employees can work whenever they want, as long as they get their tasks done on time and show up to the mandatory 10-minute daily meeting before noon. “This freedom shows we have faith in our employees, and yields amazing results.”

Since its inception, Magoosh has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and The San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Furthermore, the company has received the Intel Foundation Entrepreneurial Award as well as won the UC Berkeley CET Venture Lab Competition and North Bridge Venture Partners Competition.

No comments:

Post a Comment