Flybridge Capital’s Jon Karlen Joins our Board of Directors

Back in April we reported raising $5M in our Round A from a strategic Central American investor, Grupo TVOffer. We’ve now completed the final closing of that round with an additional $1M from Flybridge Capital Partners. Flybridge is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Boston that focuses on the consumer, healthcare and IT markets.

As a part of this closing, Jon Karlen has joined our board of directors. I’ve known Jon since late-2009 and from the very beginning he stood out for his hands-on approach and the valuable insights he brought to the table. This is his first Latin American investment but he’s already travelled with us to visit our offices in Caracas and San Salvador, as well as our Miami headquarters. 

We’re excited that Open English now combines capital from angel investors across the region, strategic LatAm investors, as well as a US-based venture capital fund.

I’m including the press release below.

Upwards and onwards!

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Online English School Open English Completes $6 Million Financing 

Flybridge Capital Partners Participates in Series A Round

Miami, FL—November 10, 2010 —Online English school, Open English, today announced the final closing of its $6 million Series A round of financing with participation from Flybridge Capital Partners.  The company will use the funding to continue the expansion of its Internet-based English language school throughout Latin America.  As part of the funding, Jon Karlen, a Genenal Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, will join the company’s Board of Directors.

With thousands of students in more than 20 countries, Open English provides a revolutionary new approach to English language learning which combines live instruction with native English-speaking teachers and multi-media learning content customized to each learner.  Open English students study from their home or office and avoid inconvenient scheduling, long commute times, high tuition costs, and outdated books and CD-ROMs.

“We are very excited to be teaming up with Flybridge Capital Partners. They have a deep understanding of consumer Internet businesses and have already been tremendously helpful as we work to grow the footprint of Open English throughout the Americas,” commented Andres Moreno, CEO of Open English.  

“Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in broadband Internet usage in South America.  This, along with the emergence of a robust middle class in which English is a critical component for career advancement, has created an exciting opportunity for English language-learning programs throughout the South American region,” said Jon Karlen of Flybridge Capital Partners.  “The Open English platform is a truly innovative service that provides students with anytime, anywhere access to live instruction with native English speakers.”

Open English is currently available to Spanish-speaking students around the globe. 

Tags / Keywords: 
Open English, Internet based English-language school, learn English, on-line school, language learning, on-line education, on-line school, English fluency, e-learning, ESL, venture capital

Links / URLs:
•    Open English Blog: http://blog.openenglish.com/ 
•    Open English LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/open-english
•    Follow Open English on Twitter: http://twitter.com/openenglish 
•    Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/openenglish?ref=ts  

About Open English
Open English, based in Miami, is an on-line school created to reinvent the English learning experience.  Through live language instruction with native English speaking teachers and multi-media learning content, all provided over the internet, Open English empowers students on their customized path to English fluency.  For more information on Open English visit: www.openenglish.com.  

Flybridge Capital Partners 
Flybridge Capital Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm whose mission is to assist entrepreneurs in growing innovative, global companies. With $560 million under management, the firm is focused on investing in consumer, healthcare and information technology markets and is led by a team with domain expertise and more than half a century of combined experience in venture capital. For more information, visit www.flybridge.com.