Upstryve

Founded in 1946 as ProBility Media Corporation, Upstryve is an EdTech company dedicated to building the first full-service training and career development brand for skilled professionals in the US. Together with its subsidiaries, the company owns over 500 test prep courses, 600 self-study books, and teaches more than 1,000 virtual classes through its platform One Exam Prep, annually. 

In August 2021, ProBility Media announced plans to acquire Upstryve, a tutoring platform, in an all stock transaction. Founded in 2020, Upstryve is an online tutoring platform that targets professionals and offers curated learning experiences. This includes assistance for corporations in training, career coaching, employee retention, and employee-centered initiatives. With an online marketplace of over 5,000 certifications and licenses, Upstryve allows users to pick from a range of industry professional tutors with different levels of experience and prices-per-hour. On completion of the acquisition, Upstryve will have trained upto 500,000 professionals and students. With the acquisition of Upstryve, ProBility Media aims to rebrand itself and all companies in its portfolio under the Upstryve platform. The company also partnered with Bizfluence, a social media platform for professionals, to provide instant messaging services on the Upstryve platform and to tap into Bizfluence’s network of corporate professionals. Further, it launched a pre-apprenticeship program through Upstryve in September 2021 to provide novice tradespeople with learning opportunities prior to entering the workforce. In November 2021, the company partnered with Build Show Network, a platform for educational video content related to construction, to build brand awareness across the country. It also teamed up with the Plumbing-Heating and Cooling Contractors (PHCC) of Ohio and the Air Conditioning Contractors (ACC) of Ohio to support contractors with education and business skills.

Upstryve’s GAAP revenue rose 57% YoY to USD 2.0 million for Q3 FY2022 ending February 28, 2022, and it reported a narrowed net loss of USD 27,269 (compared with a net loss of USD 320,777 in Q3 FY2021). Furthermore, the company reported an adjusted EBITDA of USD 96,634 in Q3 FY2022, compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of USD 320,777 the previous year. At the segmental level, test preparation and career advancement-related sales reported a revenue of USD 1.2 million (+27% YoY) and corporate training, certification, and testing reported YoY revenue growth of 38%. Upstryve’s gross margin shrank 2.8 percentage points YoY to 62.9% in Q3 FY2022. The company reported an operating loss of USD 125,752 compared to an operating loss of USD 39,586 in Q3 FY2021.