Zinch
Zinch is a company.
Active
Updated: ·
Financial History
Total Raised
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Valuation
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Leadership Team
Key people at Zinch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Zinch?
Zinch was founded by Sid Krommenhoek (Founder).
Zinch is a company.
Key people at Zinch.
Zinch was founded by Sid Krommenhoek (Founder).
Zinch was an educational technology company that operated a platform helping high school students discover scholarships, build profiles akin to college applications, and connect with colleges for networking and recruiting.[1][8] Launched in 2007, it enabled colleges to search and contact student profiles, streamlining admissions and scholarship opportunities for users while serving educational institutions seeking talent.[1] The company grew to 15 employees before being acquired, marking its role as an early player in edtech matchmaking.[1]
Zinch emerged as a research project at Princeton University in June 2006, founded by students Mick Hagen, Brad Hagen, and Sid Krommenhoek, who launched the public platform on March 12, 2007.[1] The idea addressed gaps in college admissions by creating a two-sided marketplace for students and schools, gaining early traction through profile-based networking.[1] Key figures included CTO Cache Merrill, who led engineering for six years before founding Zibtek with Zinch's core team, and later leader Anne Dwane, founder of Military.com, who ran operations.[1]
Zinch rode the early 2000s edtech wave, capitalizing on rising college competition and digital profiles amid expanding online education tools.[1][8] Its timing aligned with social networking's boom (e.g., Facebook's growth), enabling profile-based discovery when admissions were shifting online. Market forces like increasing scholarship needs and college recruiting demands favored it, influencing the ecosystem by popularizing two-sided marketplaces in education—paving the way for platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Handshake.[1]
Zinch's acquisition ended its independent run, but its model endures in modern edtech firms emphasizing AI-driven matching and virtual recruiting. Post-acquisition, its legacy supports ongoing trends like personalized admissions amid remote learning surges. As edtech evolves with AI and global access, Zinch-like innovations could resurface, potentially revitalizing scholarship platforms for underserved students—echoing its original mission to democratize college opportunities.[1]
Zinch was founded by Sid Krommenhoek (Founder).
Key people at Zinch.
