92. Schoop

Founders: Paul Smith and Chris Hamblin
Founded: February 2013 (Launched October 2014)
Website: www.schoop.co.uk

It’s a familiar conversation: “How was school?” – to which the only reply is, “fine”, or worse, “boring”. Kids can be unforthcoming about their education, leaving parents in the dark about how their child is performing.

As a father of two, Paul Smith was only too aware of this problem and decided to do something about it. Using his 19 years of experience as a tech entrepreneur working with the likes of Richard Branson, he launched Schoop: a multilingual, online communication platform giving teachers a way to tell parents about what their children have been learning in school. The company claims that, because kids are aware that there is now a direct line between parent and teacher, they perform and behave better and are more likely to ask for help when needed. Customers (schools) pay an annual fee, equating to around £1.95 per child, per year, to receive a unique Schoop ID, which they pass on to subscribers (parents).

Since launch in October 2014, 350 UK schools have signed up to the service, as well as a host of businesses, charities, community groups, sports clubs, health services and even a choir. And Smith and co-founder Chris Hamblin don’t plan to stop there. After consolidating its expansion plans in the UK, Schoop will take advantage of strategic partnerships to expand across the US, Australia, the EU and beyond…