Keypath Education (company)
Keypath Education is a private, global online program management (OPM) company.
Company History
In 1989, Michael Platt founded PlattForm to provide marketing services for colleges and universities. With the growth of the Internet, PlattForm's business also expanded. In addition to online ad placements, PlattForm began collecting or creating websites, such as careerexplorer.net, that offered higher education information to consumers while also generating leads for schools who paid for the service.[1]
In 2005, Arlington Capital Partners, a private equity firm, invested in PlattForm Holdings, Inc. and gained a majority stake in the company.[2] While PlattForm Holdings was a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, they made a number of acquisitions to expand their reach in the enrollment lead generation market, including PFP Advertising[3], VentureDirect Worldwide, Inc. and Zuma, LLC.[4]
In 2008, PlattForm Holdings reorganized and began operating as AdVenture Interactive (AVI) with three main divisions: PlattForm Advertising, VentureDirect Worldwide, and Beauty Schools Marketing Group. Michael Platt became CEO of AVI to oversee all divisions.[5] PlattForm Advertising continued to grow through acquisitions of niche higher education marketing websites.[6][7] AVI remained a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners.[8]
In 2009, PlattForm Advertising rebranded its higher education division as PlattForm Higher Education, which became a fourth brand under AVI. PlattForm Higher Education would focus on marketing, enrollment, and call center services for "traditional" colleges and universities.[9] PlattForm Advertising continued to acquire website properties[10].
In January 2013, Arlington Capital Partners announced that AVI and its subsidiaries had been sold to Sterling Partners.[11] After this time, the name "Ad Venture Interactive" was no longer used in press releases.[12]
In January 2014, Steve Fireng replaced Michael Platt as CEO of PlattForm. Platt continued as executive chairman.[13] In the first half of the year, PlattForm announced the AttriBrandTM enrollment management service and a new program management service, Academic Program Management (APM).[14] (Keypath Education appears to take the creation of APM as its origin, listing 2014 as its founding year on the company's LinkedIn profile.[15]) In May, PlattForm expanded the APM senior leadership team.[16] PlattForm added to its APM services through acquisitions of existing companies and technologies.[17]
In 2015, PlattForm Higher Education changed their name to Keypath Education, Inc. and focused entirely on the higher education market. The new name was intended to better reflect their core services: online program management in the U.S., U.K., and Melbourne, Australia, and the Seelio student portfolio technology connecting education to career outcomes.[18] Keypath Education Holdings, LLC was also created around this time.[19]
In 2017, Keypath Education separated its marketing/lead generation services from its OPM business. According to SEC filings, Keypath Education, Inc. was still a subsidiary of AdVenture Interactive (and a brand of Keypath Education Holdings, LLC[20]) at the time. A new LLC was created to be the parent of the marketing services division, which was acquired by Oaktree Capital Management. For a brief time, both the OPM business and the marketing services business were named Keypath Education, Inc.[21] In April, the marketing services business was renamed Thruline Marketing, Inc.[22] AVI was still a portfolio company of Sterling Partners, including the Chicago-based OPM business which retained the name Keypath Education.[23]
In early 2019, 2U acquired a minority stake in Keypath Education's parent company and announced a strategic partnership between 2U and Keypath Education to expand 2U's range of higher education clients to smaller degree programs.[24] In August, Keypath Education was ranked at 457 on Inc. Magazine's 5000 fastest-growing private companies.[25]
References
- ↑ Blumenstyk, Goldie. "Marketing, the For-Profit Way". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "Arlington Capital Partners Announces Investment in PlattForm Holdings, Inc". PRWeb. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Holdings, Inc., a Portfolio Company of Arlington Capital Partners, Announces Acquisition of PFP Advertising, Inc. (U.S. College Search)". PR.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Holdings, Inc., a Portfolio Company of Arlington Capital Partners, Announces Acquisition of VentureDirect Worldwide, Inc. and Zuma, LLC". PRWeb. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "Plattform Holdings, Inc announces reorganization under the new name, Ad Venture Interactive". Arlington Capital Partners. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Announces New Website Acquisitions from Degree Prospects, LLC". PR.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Higher Education Announces Acquisition of Online College Search Portal AnyCollege.com". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Reorganizes, Renames". Venture Capital Journal. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Advertising's Traditional College and University Division Rebrands as PlattForm Higher Education". PR.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Announces Strategic Website Acquisitions to Control and Maintain Quality in the Education Inquiry Generation Space". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "Arlington Capital Partners Announces the Sale of Ad Venture Interactive and its primary operating subsidiary, PlattForm Advertising". Arlington Capital Partners. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "PRWeb Search results - "ad venture interactive"". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Announces Steve Fireng as New CEO". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Makes Kansas City Business Journal's List of Top 150 Private Companies". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "Keypath Education: About". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Adds Senior Leadership to Academic Program Management Team". PRWeb.
- ↑ "PlattForm Announces the Acquisition of Career Preparation Company, Seelio". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "PlattForm Changes Its Name to Keypath Education". PRWeb. PRWeb. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "KEYPATH EDUCATION HOLDINGS, LLC". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "KEYPATH EDUCATION HOLDINGS, LLC". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp (OCSL) SEC Filing 10-Q Quarterly report for the period ending Sunday, March 31, 2019". SEC.gov. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "Keypath Education's agency and lead generation division rebrands as Thruline Marketing". Career Education Review. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ↑ "Company formerly known as PlattForm splits in two, rebrands". Google cache of original article. Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ McKenzie, Lindsay. "2U Announces Partnership and Stake in Keypath". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ "Inc. Magazine Unveils Its Annual List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies—the Inc. 5000". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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