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Crimson Education is a for-profit college-prep company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.

The business specializes in providing college-prep services focused toward students gaining admission at elite universities including Ivy League institutions. It charges students between NZ$2,000 - $30,000 for its university admissions support services aimed at obtaining entry at top international universities, or NZ$80 an hour for tutoring.[1][2][3]

As of 2024 the company is privately held, with a post-money valuation of around NZ $1B following a 2022 funding round.[4]

The company is heavily branded around Jamie Beaton, one of its founders, who is notable in part for having obtained a remarkably large number of credentials from various elite international universities.[1] Crimson Education currently operates in 13 key markets and has 30 offices around the world, including Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei.

History

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2013–2016

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The business was founded in 2013 by New Zealander then-teenagers Jamie Beaton, Fangzhou Jiang, and Sharndre Kushor.[5][6][7][8] The business was initially conceived as a college-prep consultancy. It grew substantially after an initial funding round of NZ$1.4m raised from Julian Robertson, Chase Coleman, and Alex Robertson (all associated with Tiger Management); as well as from Japanese tutoring billionaire Soichiro Fukutake.[1] Crimson was also supported by New Zealand based venture capital fund Icehouse.[9] This 2016 funding round implied a post-money valuation of NZ$75m, with Beaton the largest shareholder.[1]

Crimson Education partnered with private Christchurch girls’ school Rangi Ruru in what was reported to be “the first partnership of its kind between a school and a commercial enterprise in New Zealand.”[10] The company also acquired learning center operator NumberWorks'nWords for an undisclosed sum, as well as rival firms Medview and Unitutor.[11]

Later in 2016, it was reported that the company had raised a further NZ$41 million, implying a valuation of NZ$220 million.[12]

2017–2018

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One of the co-founders of the company, Jiang, was New Zealand’s winner at the Global Student Entrepreneurs’ Awards for his role in establishing the company.[13] In April 2017, the other Crimson co-founders, Beaton and Kushor, were named in a Forbes 30 Under 30 list alongside other New Zealanders like All Blacks rugby player Beauden Barrett and singer Lorde.[14]

Crimson was named amongst New Zealand companies with the highest revenue growth in a competition sponsored by Deloitte, as were Xero, Pushpay and Pic’s Peanut Butter.[15][16][17]

2019–2020

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In late 2019, it was reported that the company had raised a further NZ$31.5m from investors, including from a Hong Kong based firm and affiliate of the Chow Tai Fook conglomerate CTF Education Group, and from South Korean firm Solborn.[18][19][20] Crimson had offices in Kazakhstan and Brazil, and planned to use the additional investment to expand into Asia. At the same time, the company was criticized for not being transparent.[21] The new investment reportedly valued Crimson Education at NZ$410m.[22]

The New Zealand Herald reported that the company had hired former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key as an “advisory member” to its board. It also reported that the firm had started a high school called Crimson Global Academy which had been registered with the Ministry of Education.[22] The business later offered its support to the Ministry of Education to help other schools transition to online classes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] The school was also launched in South Africa in 2020.[24]

2021–2022

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In early 2021, Crimson acquired Unfiltered, a platform that provided interviews and advice from high-profile individuals started by New Zealand entrepreneur Jake Millar.[25] It was later reported that Crimson paid US$60,000 for the platform.[26]

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also joined the advisory board of Crimson Global Academy, alongside John Key.[27][28] The company was reportedly valued at NZ$656m after investment from Australian-investment fund Heal Partners and The Warehouse founder Sir Stephen Tindall.[28] As of August 2021, Crimson Education had 430 students across 23 countries, as well as 70 teachers and 2,000 mentors.[27]

In September 2021, the Australian Financial Review reported that the company was contemplating an initial public offering.[29]

The Australian Financial Review has reported that, in 2022, the business had 630 full-time staff and around 3,000 tutors and mentors.[6] In the same year, a post-money valuation of US$550 million was obtained after a capital raise.[5][30]

2023–2024

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In July 2024, it was reported that the business had completed a 'stealth round' and raised further capital.[31] Crimson plans to apply for an online charter school under the charter school model reintroduced by the New Zealand Government in 2024.[32]

Controversies

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In 2017, Crimson Education was involved in a breach of contract litigation with a former employee. The matter was eventually subject to a confidential settlement.[33] In 2018, the University of Auckland filed a suit against a Crimson Education subsidiary, alleging breach of copyright. The suit was eventually settled.[33]

In January 2021 it was reported that a $10-million High Court lawsuit had been filed by a competitor of Crimson involving allegations of employee poaching.[33] Beaton had also filed a civil assault claim against the owner of that competitor.[33] The business chose not to comment on the assault claim filed by Beaton. Crimson stated it was not unusual for companies like it to "experience some commercial litigation".[33] In May 2022, media reported that the parties reached a confidential settlement.[34][35]

USA Today and the NZ news website Stuff has accused the company of running "ghost offices" and relying on untrained tutors.[2][36] Crimson refuted these accusations. NZ news website The Spinoff reported on push-back Crimson received from Rhodes Scholars after Beaton attempted to recruit them to work for Crimson. A spokesperson for Rhodes House confirmed that a number of Rhodes Scholars provide mentorship through Crimson's platform; but, that none provided paid advice on the interview process.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Nippert, Matt (4 February 2016). "Meet Jamie Beaton, the 20 year-old worth $40 million". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  3. ^ Flaws, Bonnie. "Partnership with private school group could add 45,000 students to Crimson Consulting's books". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  4. ^ "Kiwi unicorn Crimson Education seeks capital partner, bankers up". Australian Financial Review. 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  5. ^ a b Nippert, Matt (16 October 2022). "Billion-dollar growth: Jamie Beaton's Crimson claims unicorn status". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Patten, Sally (14 September 2022). "Meet the 27-year-old with degrees from Harvard, Stanford and Oxford". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  7. ^ Skoric, Nikolina (24 October 2017). "Meet The 22-Year-Old CEO Who Used Facebook To Build A $200M Business". GQ. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ^ Bolton, Robert (15 October 2019). "Meet the 24-year-old CEO who just raised $20m". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  9. ^ "$15m boost to turn ideas into businesses". NZ Herald. 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  10. ^ "High school teams up with tertiary consultancy firm". NZ Herald. 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  11. ^ "Young millionaire Jamie Beaton buys up rivals". NZ Herald. 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  12. ^ "The Kiwi 21-year-old now worth $73m". NZ Herald. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  13. ^ #nzentrepreneur (2017-03-13). "Young Entrepreneurs storm EO's Global Student Entrepreneur Awards". NZ Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  14. ^ "Which young Kiwis made the Forbes list?". NZ Herald. 2017-05-07. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  15. ^ Reidy, Madison. "Deloitte Fast 50: 2017 winner basking in building industry's boom". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  16. ^ Reidy, Madison. "Deloitte Fast 50 regional winners prove niche is a necessity". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  17. ^ Stevenson, Rebecca (2017-11-10). "The fast crew: The Kiwi companies to watch". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  18. ^ "Crimson Consulting secures $31.5m from investors". NZ Herald. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  19. ^ "Education consultancy Crimson snags millions in Korea play". NZ Herald. 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  20. ^ Writer, AsiaTechDaily (2019-08-26). "South Korean VC Firm Solborn Invests US$5m in NZ Edtech Startup Crimson Education". AsiaTechDaily - Asia's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  21. ^ Slade, Maria (2019-10-29). "The Crimson Education enigma". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  22. ^ a b "Plucky Kiwi hires John Key, unveils global online high school plan". NZ Herald. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  23. ^ "New Zealand's First Fully Online High School Provides Support To Ministry Of Education | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  24. ^ "South Africa is getting a new online private school – here's how it works". BusinessTech. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  25. ^ "Jamie Beaton's Crimson Education acquires Jake Millar's Unfiltered". NZ Herald. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  26. ^ Junn, Jihee (2021-03-31). "Popping the Unfiltered bubble: Jake Millar on how it all went so wrong". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  27. ^ a b "Rudd joins $622m education start-up board after big raising". Australian Financial Review. 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  28. ^ a b Morrison, Tina (2021-06-23). "Former Aussie PM Kevin Rudd joins John Key as Crimson education adviser". www.stuff.co.nz.
  29. ^ "Kiwi university admissions consultant Crimson Education mulls IPO". Australian Financial Review. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  30. ^ Andrew, Michael (1 May 2022). "Jamie Beaton's rules for life". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  31. ^ "NZ's Crimson Education retains unicorn status after stealth round". Australian Financial Review. 2024-07-23. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  32. ^ "Kiwi founder of online private school plans to apply for online charter school". RNZ. 2024-07-11. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  33. ^ a b c d e Dunkley, Daniel (3 January 2021). "Dark cloud looms over NZ's bright young thing". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  34. ^ Mace, Will (2 May 2022). "Crimson and Eurekly settle legal claims". National Business Review. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  35. ^ Young, Victoria (9 May 2022). "Inside Crimson's latest secret settlement". Business Desk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  36. ^ Quintana, Chris; McCoy, Kevin (8 December 2019). "Crimson Education accused of using untrained tutors and operating ghost offices". USA Today.
  37. ^ Slade, Ollie Neas and Maria (2019-12-11). "Rhodes Scholars are meant to serve humanity. Crimson Education wanted them to tutor wealthy students". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
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