Loading organizations...

K-8 microschools in your neighborhood
Prenda has raised $20.4M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Prenda.
Prenda was founded in 2017 by Kelly Smith (Founder).
Prenda has raised $20.4M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Prenda makes it easy to open a K-8 microschool in your home, studio or office. We start with an adult guide who cares about kids and believes in the power of learning. Often this is the mom of one of the students. She recruits a class of up to 10 students, and we provide everything she needs to run a microschool - training, support, software, curriculum, and funding so she gets paid. In
Key people at Prenda.
Prenda was founded in 2017 by Kelly Smith (Founder).
Prenda has raised $20.4M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Prenda's investors include Seven Seven Six, Banana Capital, Precursor Ventures, Rally Ventures, Learn Capital, MVP Ventures, Peak State Ventures, 2048 Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Dunce Capital, Founders Fund, RTP Ventures.
Prenda is an education company that builds and supports K-8 microschools—small, community-based learning environments typically hosting up to 10 students. It provides adults, often parents, with the training, curriculum, technology, and funding needed to start and run these microschools in homes or local spaces. Prenda’s product includes a standards-aligned, personalized curriculum supported by a software platform for school management, student progress tracking, and communication. The company addresses the growing demand for flexible, engaging, and personalized education alternatives to traditional schools, especially accelerated by the pandemic. Prenda currently operates over 300 microschools serving more than 3,000 students across multiple states, demonstrating strong growth momentum fueled by increasing parental interest in innovative schooling options[1][2][3].
Prenda was founded in 2015 by Kelly Smith in Mesa, Arizona. The idea originated from Smith’s experience volunteering to teach kids computer programming at public libraries, where he observed high engagement and enthusiasm among students. This inspired him to create a full K-8 microschool model that could replicate this personalized, passion-driven learning environment. The first Prenda microschool launched in 2018 in Smith’s home with seven neighborhood children. Since then, Prenda has expanded rapidly, helping over 1,000 adults start microschools and impacting nearly 10,000 students[1][4][7].
Prenda rides the wave of alternative education models and the rising demand for flexible, community-based schooling accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The microschool trend addresses gaps in traditional education such as large class sizes, lack of personalization, and rigid structures. Prenda’s tech-enabled approach makes microschools scalable and manageable, aligning with broader trends in edtech innovation and parental choice in education. Its model also benefits from increasing interest in project-based and learner-centered education, positioning Prenda as a significant player influencing the future of K-8 education ecosystems[1][2][6][7].
Prenda is poised for continued growth as demand for personalized, small-scale education persists beyond the pandemic. Future trends shaping its journey include increasing digital integration in education, growing acceptance of non-traditional schooling, and potential partnerships with school districts or education authorities. Prenda’s influence may expand by further refining its technology platform, scaling its guide network, and deepening its impact on student outcomes. As education continues evolving, Prenda’s model of empowering local adults to lead personalized microschools could become a mainstream alternative to traditional schooling, fulfilling its mission to empower learners one microschool at a time[1][6][7].
Prenda has raised $20.4M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $20.0M Series B in June 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2022 | $20.0M Series B | Seven Seven Six | Banana Capital, Precursor Ventures, Rally Ventures, Learn Capital, MVP Ventures, Peak State Ventures |
| Aug 1, 2019 | $150K Seed | 2048 Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Dunce Capital, Founders Fund, RTP Ventures, Amos Elliston, Sumon Sadhu | |
| Feb 1, 2019 | $250K Seed | Album VC, Kickstart Fund |