A new London start-up has raised $1m (£750k) to create an education platform for influencers, entrepreneurs and creators.
Launching today, Dorm will gather podcasts and content from entrepreneurs, YouTubers and VCs, including the founders of Snapchat, to provide its users with advice on launching their own careers.
The podcast aggregator asks “why pay universities when there are teachers all around us?” on its website.
It plans to roll out a premium offering early next year that allows these teachers to create their own schools.
Founded by former Sweatcoin chief growth officer Ranbir Arora and chief operating officer Taras Polischuk, the duo are backed by some of Europe’s and Silicon Valley’s top venture funds, including Plug & Play Ventures, Playfair Capital, and RLC Ventures.
Taras Polischuk, Dorm co-founder, said: “As online channels present real earning opportunities, we move into an era where the vast proportion of us undertake jobs to fulfill our creative passions. The rise of platforms like Twitch, YouTube and Instagram have already started enabling these roles, but this is just the beginning.
“As these careers grow, we must create an education system that supports them. Traditional higher education is struggling to adapt and we believe the best way to learn is directly from the practitioners.”
Reece Chowdhry of RLC Ventures, who led Dorm’s funding round added: “We were greatly impressed by Dorm’s proposition and their vision to challenge the order of education in a unique and topical way. We believe this company is building the infrastructure that enables careers in the passion economy – something we see as a mainstream narrative for the coming generation.”