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AUSTIN, Texas-May 30, 2000 Ò notHarvard.com, the pioneer in developing online branded universities and the concept of eduCommerce, today announced it has raised $26 million in its second round of venture funding. New investors include Barnes & Noble.com (NASDAQ: BNBN), and several prominent venture firms including Adam DellÌs Impact Venture Partners and Merrill Lynch KECALP. The round was led by Austin Ventures, which also led the companyÌs first round of funding, and included previous investor TL Ventures. Other investors included CenterPoint Ventures and Sanchez Capital Partners.
Central to its strategic equity investment, Barnes & Noble.com announced it has selected notHarvard.com to create Barnes & Noble University, which will be a free online education resource for the bookseller's millions of customers. Barnes & Noble.com also becomes the primary distributor of notHarvard.com's eduCommerce course materials across its network of branded online universities. **(See related press release "Barnes & Noble.com Acquires Minority Stake in notHarvard.com" issued today by Barnes & Noble.com.)
ÏWe consider distance learning as a natural extension of Barnes & Noble.com's core business,Ó said Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes & Noble.com. ÏBy partnering with notHarvard.com to create Barnes & Noble University, we bring together the recognized expert in eduCommerce and the best online bookseller to provide a completely new and unique learning opportunity to Barnes & Noble.comÌs millions of customers."
"There is no question that eduCommerce is a strategic asset for companies looking to provide greater context to their sales and marketing efforts,Ó said Adam Dell, General Partner at Impact Venture Partners. ÏeduCommerce is the ultimate permission-based sales and marketing tool that generates additive revenue streams. notHarvard.com is strategically positioned to become the leading provider of eduCommerce solutions."
"We are pleased to enlist the support of a key strategic corporate investor in Barnes & Noble.com and the support of well-respected venture capital and investment banking firms,Ó said Judith Bitterli, CEO of notHarvard.com. ÏThis underscores the scope of the opportunity we envision for free online education as a contextual sales and marketing tool, and the strength of our overall business model.Ó
With the newly committed funds, notHarvard.com plans to expand its eduCommerce development efforts, course offerings and the sales and marketing of its flagship platform, the FreeSchool eduCommerce SuiteÙ. The software provides the foundation for quick and easy deployment of a branded online university.
About notHarvard.com
notHarvard.com is the pioneer in developing online branded universities and the concept of eduCommerce Ò the use of free, online education as a sales and marketing weapon. Based in Austin, Texas, notHarvard.comÌs client list includes Barnes & Noble.com (NASDAQ: BNBN), jobs.com, Pervasive Software (NASDAQ: PVSW), Motorola/Metrowerks, and TalkCity (NASDAQ: TALK), among others. Through its private-labeled network of universities, notHarvard.com has access to millions of prospective students. The company, founded in July 1999, has attracted more than $34 million in financing from a number of marquee venture capitalist firms (Austin Ventures, TL Ventures, Adam DellÌs Impact Venture Partners, CenterPoint Ventures and Sanchez Capital Partners), investment banks (Merrill Lynch KECALP), and Internet angels. For more information, visit www.notHarvard.com.
About Barnes & Noble.com
Since launching its online business in May 1997, Barnes & Noble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) has become one of the worldÌs largest Web sites and the sixth largest e-commerce site, according to Media Metrix. Focused largely on the sale of books, music, software, magazines, prints, posters and related products, the company has become one of the fastest growing online distributors of books.
Customers can choose from millions of new and out-of-print titles and enjoy a variety of related content such as author chats, book synopses and reader reviews. The site also offers thousands of bargain books discounted up to 91 percent, the most popular software and magazine titles, as well as gift items for every occasion. The company recently launched its Prints & Posters Gallery, a unique collection of images that can be produced on demand on museum-quality canvas or high-quality paper, and its eCards service, an exclusive selection of greeting card images that can be personalized and enhanced with animation and music. With access to more than 800,000 in-stock titles, Barnes & Noble.com has the largest standing inventory of any online bookseller ready for immediate delivery. The URL http://www.bn.com makes the site easy to find.
The Barnes & Noble.com affiliate network has more than 360,000 members and the company maintains strategic alliances with major Web portals and content sites, such as AOL, Lycos and MSN. The company is also a leader in business-to-business e-commerce with its unique Business Solutions program.
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