BookRenter explained

BookRenter
Type:Private
Industry:Education
Fate:Acquired by eCampus.com
Predecessors:-->
Successors:-->
Founded:2006 in Silicon Valley, California, US
Hq Location City:San Mateo, California
Areas Served:-->
Products:
Owners:-->

BookRenter was an American online textbook rental company based in San Mateo, California.

History

BookRenter started the first online textbook rental service in 2006. Colin Barceloux founded the company as a startup in Silicon Valley after raising funds from Storm Ventures and Adams Capital.[1] [2]

The idea behind BookRenter came from the frustration associated with buying high-cost textbooks when the founder, Barceloux attended Santa Clara University.[3] He teamed up with two engineer majors, Chris Williams and Philippe Huibonhoa to help him with the building BookRenter.com. The website launched to offer textbook rentals for less than the retail price. BookRenter expanded its operation by partnering with over 500 college bookstores by setting up a virtual rental store on their own websites. In 2010, it reportedly served 6 million students on over 5,000 campuses in the US.[4] [5]

In 2009, Mehdi Maghsoodnia became CEO of the company, replacing Colin Barceloux.[6] In 2010, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph joined the board of directors.[7]

In early 2012, BookRenter was rebranded as Rafter Inc. after introducing its cloud-based course materials management services to colleges and universities. Through the cloud-based platform, students could obtain course materials and college administrators, professors access and manage their educational materials.[8]

In 2014, BookRenter partnered with Staples to expand its textbook rental service delivered through Staples.com.[9]

In May 2017, the company was acquired by eCampus.com.[10] [11]

Finances

BookRenter initially received financing from several venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. In 2009, it announced a Series A round of $6 million,[12] raised from Storm Ventures and Adams Capital Management, then Norwest Venture Partners led the Series B round of $10 million, which included participation from prior investors Storm Ventures and Adams Capital Management.[13] [14] [15]

In 2011, Bookrenter raised $40 million in funding from its investors including Storm Ventures, Adams Capital Management, Comerica Bank, Lighthouse Capital Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Focus Ventures.[16] [17] [18]

Awards and recognition

BookRenter received an Interactive Media Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Ecommerce" in 2008.[19] It was the recipient of About.com’s 2012 Reader Choice Award for "Best Site for Renting Textbooks".[20]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Company Gives College Students The Option To Rent Expensive Text Books. May 26, 2018. CBS Boston. August 23, 2011. en.
  2. News: Goldfisher. Alastair. BookRenter competes for huge textbook market. May 26, 2018. Reuters. June 16, 2010.
  3. News: Holiday. Ryan. Ryan Holiday. 7 Start-Ups Who Are Changing the Way We Learn. May 26, 2018. Forbes. April 18, 2012. en.
  4. News: Little Bookrenter Is Narrowing The Gap With Chegg. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. December 10, 2010.
  5. News: BookRenter Opens Up Textbook Rentals To Campus Bookstores And Other Partners. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. March 4, 2010.
  6. News: BookRenter.com Names Mehdi Maghsoodnia Chief Executive Officer as Company Witnesses Explosive Growth. May 26, 2018. June 24, 2009. en.
  7. News: BookRenter Adds Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph To Its Board Of Directors. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. May 7, 2010.
  8. News: Geron. Tomio. Bookrenter Becomes Rafter, A Content Platform For Colleges. May 26, 2018. Forbes. February 28, 2012. en.
  9. News: BookRenter Raises $40 Million To Take On Chegg In Textbook Rentals. Yahoo Finance. May 26, 2018. January 14, 2014.
  10. News: eCampus.com Announces Expanded Course Material Solutions with Purchase of Rafter Assets, Including Rafter360. May 26, 2018. May 2, 2017.
  11. News: ECampus.com ALL Access Partners with Schreiner University to Offer In-Tuition Textbook Model to Save Students Up to 50% or More on Textbook Costs. May 26, 2018. WENY-TV. May 14, 2018. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20180526190635/http://www.weny.com/story/38180288/ecampuscom-all-access-partners-with-schreiner-university-to-offer-in-tuition-textbook-model-to-save-students-up-to-50-or-more-on-textbook-costs. May 26, 2018. dead.
  12. News: Textbook Rental Market Heats Up: BookRenter Raises $6M Series A. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. November 29, 2009.
  13. News: BookRenter Raises $10 Million To Be The Netflix For Textbook Rentals. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. June 3, 2010.
  14. News: Bookrenter Binds Up $10M More As Textbook Rentals Spread. The Wall Street Journal. May 26, 2018. June 3, 2010.
  15. News: BookRenter raises $10M to challenge Chegg in textbook rentals. Venture Beat. May 26, 2018. June 3, 2010.
  16. News: BookRenter Takes In $40M, Seeks to Overtake Chegg in College Textbook Rentals. May 26, 2018. February 23, 2011.
  17. News: BookRenter raises $40M. May 26, 2018. www.bizjournals.com. February 23, 2011.
  18. News: BookRenter Raises $40 Million To Take On Chegg In Textbook Rentals. TechCrunch. May 26, 2018. February 23, 2011.
  19. Web site: Interactive Media Awards – Winners Gallery. May 26, 2018.
  20. Web site: Bookrenter.com Review – Is it Really Cheaper?. May 26, 2018.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "BookRenter".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.