Preply, a platform to find foreign language tutors for home or Skype lessons, has entered the acceleration program of TechStars in Berlin, which the US accelerator launched earlier this year.
The Ukrainian startup, which has received $120,000 from the accelerator, will move its headquarters to the German capital.
“We are going to Berlin, the heart of the European start-up bash. This is an excellent opportunity to reach a new level and become the leading platform for tutor search around the world,” said Preply co-founder and CEO Kirill Bigai.
So far Preply had its headquarters in Kyiv (Kiev) and Moscow.
Launched in 2012, the startup initially expanded to the Russian, Belarussian and Kazakhstani markets. In February 2015, the startup entered the Polish market with a localized version of its website.
It is now preparing itself to enter the German market.
Among Preply’s competitors are E-korepetycje.net in Poland and Repetitors.info on the Russian and Ukrainian markets.
Preply’s financing has been modest so far. An initial investment of $175,000 was brought in by Vostok Ventures and Value Adding Company as well as business angels Semyon Dukach, Torben Majgaard, Boris Shakhnovich and Vadim Yasinovskiy.
So far more than 8,000 tutors have registered on Preply’s platform to teach 12 languages, including English, German, French, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Arabic, Chinese, and others.
Last month two Ukrainian startups, Kwambio and GVMachines, entered the summer program at the TechStars accelerator in Boston, joining a class that includes 12 teams from various countries. Kwambio also obtained $650,000 from TechStars and business angels.
