Sprint is beyond excited to announce our investment in Clipboard’s $3.1M seed round, alongside EVP and Jelix Ventures! Clipboard is a Sydney-based start-up that is changing the way extracurricular activities are managed within schools.
Currently, schools, teachers and coaches – who are notoriously time-poor – coordinate communication, enrolment, attendance, payments, liability waivers and incident reporting using static records. These tasks consume many hours each week and distract them from delivering students with a better education and extracurricular experience. And for parents, receiving communications, scheduling and making payments around extracurricular activities occurs in disjointed interfaces, which leads to poor experiences. With all of these variables to solve for, it’s clear schools need a better way to manage their extracurricular programs.
Clipboard is leading the change by carving out a new category of EdTech systems: the EMS (Extracurricular Management System), which provides a one-stop-shop for extracurricular data and process management. Gone are the days of paper timesheets, manual attendance tracking and generic communications to parents. Clipboard now allows schools to streamline many of the functions schools need to run an efficient extracurricular program, delivering a better experience for all involved.
Why we Love Clipboard
Unstoppable, viral growth
Last year, in the face of COVID-19 lockdowns – when many extracurricular programs were canceled – Clipboard still managed to beat growth expectations in what was an unprecedented time. Now serving over 100 schools, including Churchie, Cranbrook School, The Scots College, and Geelong Grammar School, Clipboard is showing strong signs of unstoppable, viral growth.
With a robust pipeline of incoming customers, a first-class onboarding process, and sticky product, they’re not slowing down. The team now has their sights on the Asian international school market and the UK, both of which we believe represents a massive untapped opportunity. In fact, Clipboard has already begun its entrance into the Asian market, and we can’t wait to help them grow their international awareness and product adoption!
The timing for Clipboard’s product has also never been better as we become increasingly aware that activities beyond the classroom are just as important as activities inside the classroom. This is why we’ve seen universities across the globe – including at the ANU – change their admissions criteria to consider a student’s involvement in extracurricular activities (article). In this context, we believe Clipboard will play a pivotal role in putting students on the right path which extends beyond their school education.
Founders First
Founders, Sam Clarke and Ed Colyer, are well-positioned to spearhead Clipboard’s campaign of becoming a global leader in the EMS space. Having both worked as school sports coaches themselves, they have a holistic view of the extracurricular system firsthand and understand the pain points. They’re both extremely resilient and have demonstrated they can achieve in the most difficult of conditions, including last year’s lockdowns.
When speaking to the quality of Clipboard’s founding team, Llew Jury, Sprint Ventures’ Managing Partner, said “Sam and Ed are dynamic founders who have a big vision to change the way extracurricular activities are done in schools. They’re inspiring leaders who’ve already attracted and assembled a showstopping team to execute on their vision. Most importantly, their mission is to help students get more value out of extracurricular pursuits, and the team is well on their way to building a better future for our next generations”.
Put simply, Clipboard’s founders embody everything that Sprint stands for, and we’re beyond excited to support them on their journey.
Product potential
Today, Clipboard’s product is already improving the lives of schools, parents and students in the domain of extracurricular activities. From eliminating hours of manual paperwork to improving communications to staff and parents around student activities, the benefits have been tremendous. And with all of Clipboard’s features centrally located and accessible from any device, Clipboard can deliver this frictionless experience no matter the location of the end-user.
However, the team has only scratched the surface with their current product and we’re excited about where Clipboard’s product is heading next. Led by an ambitious product roadmap and a big vision, the team is currently working on a host of new product features that will undoubtedly unlock further viral growth. With the best of the best working to develop and implement these, watch this space…
At Sprint, we invest in Australia’s best opportunities. If you’re an early stage or growth stage founder, Sprint can help you secure investment and support your growth with leading industry advisors. Apply for funding and we’ll sprint with you.
