Founder Kavitta Ghai Raises $1.4 Million on The Pitch
Ep.127 Nectir: The Classroom of the Future
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The Problem
Classrooms aren’t accessible. The existing classroom model is four hundred years old and not built with students in mind.
Many schools are reluctant to adopt new technology. Why? Because the process of rolling out something new takes a really long time and requires campus-wide cooperation.
Nectir's 'Slack for schools' integrates directly into each school's LMS (learning management system) in a FERPA/COPPA-compliant way. This allows them to implement the product in every classroom at scale. Nectir has also developed an AI assistant called Soma that can be trained on the textbooks and syllabus used in each class. This helps bridge any information gaps and provide students with 24/7 resource accessibility, leading to a measured improvement in academic outcomes.
The Story of Nectir
Founder Kavitta Ghai has Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD and has always struggled in school. On The Pitch, she told the story of a grad student instructor who made all his students use Slack instead of holding office hours. The experience was like night and day for Kavitta.
“The entire energy of the class shifted. It was like a hundred and fifty people turned into fifteen. And it felt like elementary school again when you're sitting with your six table mates and you know you're gonna be best friends by the end of the year. I left that class with the highest grade that I got in college and more friends than I had ever made before and for the first time, I experienced what it was like to actually be in an accessible classroom for me and everyone else.”
That's when Kavitta asked the life-altering question...
"Why doesn't every classroom use Slack?"
The short answer? Slack isn't built for schools. It doesn't integrate with the LMS (Learning Management System) that every school uses AND it's too expensive.
Fast forward five years and Kavitta built her version of Slack for schools.
According to Kavitta, they have five schools (including 26,000 students on UCSB’s campus alone) using the platform, and one of their first customers, Arkansas State University, was able to increase the overall class average by an entire letter grade.
Because Nectir isn't just a communication tool, they've also built a teacher dashboard that tracks student engagement, allowing teachers to act quickly when a student disengages.
To learn more, you can join The Pitch Fund & Syndicate.
What The Pitch investors said…
They liked:
Kavitta’s tenacity, storytelling abilities, and overall expertise in Nectir’s customers and sales cycle
Nectir’s execution velocity since launch in 2023
Kavitta and her co-founder turned down money in their previous funding round – a savvy, forward-thinking move that’s rare among early founders
They didn’t like:
EdTech as an industry (see Mac’s Quote of the Day below)
That Kavitta said she was open to raising a flat round. Founders should NEVER negotiate against themselves!
Quotable moments
“I got to college, and I started paying $40,000 to be really uncomfortable. And that's when it became enough of a pain point that I said, ‘Either I'm going to drop out or I'm gonna do something about it.'" - Founder Kavitta Ghai
“I tend to hate EdTech, like, with a passion…a burning passion.” - Mac Conwell
“Don’t negotiate with yourself.” - Elizabeth Yin
“How an investor acts during a bad situation is probably more telling than anything.” - Elizabeth Yin
“That is the definition of a dope founder.” - Cyan Banister
Who’s in?
Signed term sheet from Long Journey Ventures leading the round at $1M
Paige Doherty with Behind Genius Ventures: $250K
Charles Hudson with Precursor Ventures: $50k
The Pitch Fund: $100K
Previously raised $2M in pre-seed round led by Entrada Ventures
The Essentials
Company: Nectir
Year Founded: 2018
Industry: Education
HQ: Los Angeles, CA
Founders: Kavitta Ghai, CEO and Jordan Long, CTO. They first started Nectir while in undergrad at UCSB.
Employee Count: 6
Previously Raised: $2.25M from Entrada Ventures
This round: $3M Seed
Valuation: $12 million pre-money valuation
Business Model: schools pay $1 per month, per student
Early Traction: UCSB’s entire campus of 26K students & 4 additional campus-wide contracts
Sales: $80K in 2023 revenue and $35M in the sales pipeline
Founders
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Investors
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