About Niche
Niche is an Education company based in Pittsburgh (United States) founded in 2002 by Luke Skurman. A platform for finding and comparing educational institutions is provided. It operates on a EduTech and Two-Sided Marketplace model. Niche has raised $45.1 million across 5 funding rounds from investors including Allen & Company, Radian Capital and Tim Armstrong. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Luke Skurman. Its website niche.com draws about 7.5 million monthly visits. Niche offers products and services including School Search Platform, College Search Tools, and Direct Admissions Service. Its focus areas include EdTech and School Search Platforms. Its legal entity is Niche.com Inc. Its competitors include CollegeVine, SchooLinks and Schola; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
A comprehensive platform for discovering and connecting with educational institutions is offered by Niche. Services cover K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate programs across various regions. Tools for personalized searches, rankings, and direct admissions are provided to assist students and families. Data analysis and user reviews are integrated to ensure informed decisions. Partnerships with schools and colleges are facilitated to enhance visibility and engagement throughout the search process.
- Total Equity Funding$45.1M (USD)
in 5 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$35M (USD), Series C
Apr 2020
- InvestorsAllen & Company
& 6 more
Products & Services of Niche
Niche offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including School Search Platform, College Search Tools, and Direct Admissions Service.
A platform for finding suitable schools is provided.
Tools for college search and comparison are offered.
Admission to colleges without applications is facilitated.
Apps and channels of Niche
Niche publishes 2 mobile apps with over 100K+ downloads; its YouTube channel Niche: The College Search App has 11.4K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Niche
The most watched videos on Niche's YouTube channel, Niche: The College Search App (11.4K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Niche: The College Search App.
Funding Insights of Niche
Niche has successfully raised a total of $45.1M across 5 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $35 million completed in April 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $45.1M
- Total Rounds 5
- Last Round Series C — $35M
- First Round $500,000
(Nov 2004)
- Investors Count 7
All 5 funding rounds of Niche with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2020 | $35M | Series C | – | Radian Capital | |
| Feb 2019 | $2M | Series B | – | Tim Armstrong | – |
| Feb 2018 | $6.6M | Series B | – | allen.com, Grit Capital Partners | – |
| Nov 2015 | $1M | Series A | – | – | – |
| Nov 2004 | $500,000 | Seed | – | – |
7 investors in total: 6 institutional and 1 angel.
Investors in Niche
Niche has secured backing from 7 investors, including venture fund, institutional, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Allen & Company, Radian Capital and Tim Armstrong.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tech focused stage agnostic VC firm investing globally | radiancapital.com | New York, United States | ||
Early-stage tech startups are funded by corporate-backed Salesforce Ventures. | salesforceventures.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
| grit.vc | ||||
Venture Capital firm investing in growth stage companies primarily in the US | mbvc.com | Sewickley, United States | ||
Wealth management firm | 1932 | alleninvestments.com | Lakeland, United States | |
| allen.com | ||||
TA Tim Armstrong | Angel investor, ex-AOL CEO, focused on tech and media startups. | unknown_f296fa465f2343bcb |
Investor details for Niche
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Niche
55 people are tracked at Niche (23 in leadership, 32 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Luke Skurman | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Athena Meyers | Chief Product Officer | Leadership |
Michelle Loizeaux | Senior Director Of Revenue Operations | Leadership |
Quiana Kinloch | Director, People Success | Leadership |
Nicole Woody | People Operations Partner | Leadership |
Lise Lahood | Director, Training And Enablement | Leadership |
Kristina G. | Marketing Director | Leadership |
Nick Liberati | Director Of Communications & Content | Leadership |
Peter Edwards | Chief Marketing Officer | Leadership |
Rob Wellner | Chief Revenue Officer (cro) | Leadership |
Mark Eshelman | Executive Vice President Of Sales | Leadership |
Leah Wiegmann | Creative Director | Leadership |
Manjari Gupta | Head Of Finance | Leadership |
Alicia Stetzer | Director Of Communications | Leadership |
Lindsay Zappala | Talent Acquisition Partner | Leadership |
Sydney Evans | Associate Talent Development Partner | Leadership |
Rory Parness | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Paul Champion | Vp, Operations | Leadership |
Andrea Gerlach | Vp, Revenue Operations | Leadership |
Jason van Dusen | VP Account Management & Customer Success | Leadership |
35 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Niche
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Niche
3 dated milestones of Niche across 18 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Niche is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $500K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $35.0M.
Competitors of Niche
Niche has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include CollegeVine, SchooLinks and Schola.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| collegevine.com | 2013 | Cambridge, United States | $30.7M | 43 | College admissions consulting and student mentorship services are provided. | |
| schoolinks.com | 2013 | Beverly Hills, United States | $88.32M | 8 | A platform is provided for college and career readiness. | |
| schola.com | 2016 | Phoenix, United States | $13.24M | Online school discovery solutions are provided for students. |
Detailed competitors of Niche
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Niche
The website of Niche (niche.com) receives about 7.5M visits a month and ranks #8,003 among all websites worldwide, #368 in Universities and Colleges.
- Monthly visits7.5M
▲ 4% vs previous month
- Unique visitors3.1M
per month
- Global rank#8,003
among all websites
- Category rank#368
Science and Education · Universities and Colleges
- Bounce rate48%
- Pages per visit3.5
- Average visit3 min 02 sec
- DevicesDesktop 37% · Mobile 63%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Niche. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| collegevine.com | 100% | 2.1M | View details | ||
| commonapp.org | 97% | 13.1M | #2,539 | View details | |
| collegefactual.com | 92% | 316.4K | #173,169 | View details | |
| greatschools.org | 91% | 2.2M | #30,455 | View details | |
sallie.com | sallie.com | 90% | #81,414 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Niche
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Education Technology Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Niche (Education Technology Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Developer of a platform providing gamified language learning through interactive exercises | 2011 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | USD 183.3 M | USD 748.02 M | 900 | |
Cloud-based software for K-12 education is provided. | 1997 | Folsom, California, United States | USD 32 M | USD 47.59 M | 1,308 | |
Online platform for preschool management and parent updates is offered. | 2014 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 88.8 M |
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Related news about Niche
Complete news archive for Niche
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- Full article archive
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- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about Niche
Niche was founded in 2002 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.
Niche is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States. It is registered at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Luke Skurman is the CEO of Niche, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Niche is a funded company, having raised a total of $45.1M across 5 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $500K, raised on Nov 2004.
A comprehensive platform for discovering and connecting with educational institutions is offered by Niche. Services cover K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate programs across various regions. Tools for personalized searches, rankings, and direct admissions are provided to assist students and families. Data analysis and user reviews are integrated to ensure informed decisions. Partnerships with schools and colleges are facilitated to enhance visibility and engagement throughout the search process.
Niche's top competitors include CollegeVine, SchooLinks and Schola.
Niche offers School Search Platform, College Search Tools, and Direct Admissions Service.
Niche has 7 investors. Key investors include Allen & Company, Radian Capital, Tim Armstrong, Salesforce Ventures, and allen.com.
Niche operates through Niche.Com Inc..
Yes. Niche publishes Niche: College Search and 1 more app, with over 100,000 downloads.
The website of Niche receives about 7.5 million visits a month and ranks #8,003 among all websites worldwide.