Boddle’s new $350K investment comes with a catch: KC startup relocating to Tulsa
Summary
“Our team is looking forward to the growth and impact that this investment will allow us to achieve as we continue to work toward improving student outcomes,” said Edna Martinson, co-founder of Boddle, noting she and husband/co-founder Clarence Tan plan to find ways to remain active within Kansas City’s innovation scene. Atento’s $350,000 investment is expected to boost product development, go-to-market, grow the team, and further support the thousands of teachers, parents, and students who currently use the platform, the startup said Thursday. Boddle officially launched its platform in 2019 — seeing massive upswing in growth this spring as COVID-19 school closures sent parents and teachers scrambling for an at-home tool that captures student attention and gives them actionable data. “We believe education has been moving toward a systematic digitization that has only been exacerbated by COVID’s recent upheaval of how children are learning today,” said Michael Basch, managing partner at Atento Capital. We could not be more excited to be backing Edna, Clarence and the Boddle Team, and see this as the beginning of a great education technology company to be.” A rising star in the Kansas City startup ecosystem, Boddle was among five tech companies named finalists in this spring’s OHUB.KC accelerator program — earning $50,000 and an opportunity to pitch at a live showcase in March at SXSW in Austin (though the SXSW event later was adapted to a virtual format when the popular tech, music and arts festival became one of the first cancelation victims of COVID-19).