Unleash Your Inner Genius.
For founders Hansoo Lee, Pejman Pour-Moezzi, and Bhavin Parikh, they viewed themselves as education nerds and felt they could better help students achieve their dreams.
Magoosh is out to prove that those months leading up to test day don't have to be miserable.
In 2009, a group of ambitious students from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley embarked on a mission to revolutionize the test preparation industry. Thus, Magoosh was born, founded by Hansoo Lee, Bhavin Parikh, Pejman Pour-Moezzi, and Vikram Shenoy. What started as a humble endeavor quickly gained momentum as Magoosh introduced its first product, GMAT math practice questions accompanied by video explanations, in June 2009. Within a few short months, their dedication paid off when they acquired their first paying customers in August.
The subsequent years witnessed Magoosh's remarkable growth. As the customer base expanded, so did the team and product offerings. While Pejman pursued other opportunities, Hansoo and Bhavin brought on two full-time employees and embarked on the development of a new preparation program for the GRE. In August 2011, Magoosh proudly unveiled their 'New GRE' product tailored for the revised GRE, later renaming it 'Magoosh GRE' as the reformatted GRE became the industry standard.
Magoosh's commitment to education even extended beyond their commercial interests. Through partnerships with Bay Area non-profit organizations, it generously provided 800 free SAT accounts to high school students. However, this period also brought forth a personal challenge for Bhavin's co-founder, Hansoo Lee. He was diagnosed with a rare case of non-smokers' lung cancer, forcing him to step away from daily operations.
Tragedy struck in March 2013 when Hansoo Lee, only 35 years old, succumbed to cancer. This devastating loss could have crippled the company, but Magoosh displayed remarkable resilience. Bhavin Parikh, now the sole remaining co-founder, assumed the role of CEO, carrying the torch of their shared vision.
Undeterred by adversity, Magoosh continued its growth trajectory, expanding its offerings to include comprehensive preparation programs for the TOEFL and SAT in late 2013 and 2014, respectively. The following years witnessed further expansion with the launch of prep programs for the ACT, LSAT, Praxis exams in 2015 and a full MCAT product in 2016.
COMPANY PROFILE: MAGOOSH
Traditional test prep flipped on its head.
Helping students study for the GRE, GMAT, SAT, ACT, New SAT, Praxis, LSAT, TOEFL, MCAT, and IELTS.
FOUNDERS:
→ Hansoo Lee
→ Pejman Pour-Moezzi
→ Bhavin Parikh
LAST FUNDING STAGE:
Series A
VECTOR:
Human Machine Interaction
30
Team Members
2M
Funding to Date
Bhavin Parikh, Pejman Pour-Moezzi, and Hansoo Lee
CO-FOUNDERS
Bhavin Parikh, Pejman Pour-Moezzi, & Hansoo Lee.
Today, Magoosh stands as a testament to the power of perseverance and dedication. With approximately 30 in-office employees at its Berkeley headquarters, the company has provided over 1.5 million students with access to its web and mobile apps, empowering them to achieve their standardized exam goals.
Recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. and hailed by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the best entrepreneurial companies in America, Magoosh continues to redefine the test preparation landscape.
Furthermore, in honor of their late co-founder Hansoo Lee, Bhavin Parikh and Pejman Pour-Moezzi, along with Lee's fiancée Wendy Lim, established The Hansoo Lee Fellowship for Entrepreneurs. This fellowship serves as a beacon of support for Haas MBA students pursuing their entrepreneurial aspirations full-time.
“This fellowship is a realization of Hansoo’s vision, he always talked about giving back. This is our way of celebrating him.”
-Bhavin
Read More
→ Magoosh Website and App Helps with Entrance Exams Preparation
→ Farewell Hansoo, We’ll Miss You
Delve deeper into the world of Machine-to-Machine Learning through our other inspiring articles or discover why we're also passionate about Human Machine Interaction and Biological Machines.
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