Emerging Industries | Startups
Co-founder and CEO
Fiveable | Milwaukee
Former high school teacher Amanda DoAmaral co-founded student tutoring platform Fiveable in Philadelphia in 2018. The following year, the ed-tech startup was accepted into gener8tor’s 12-week Madison accelerator program, and DoAmaral and her two team members moved to Wisconsin.
The company, which established its headquarters in Milwaukee, has evolved over the years from an online tutoring platform for AP students to a more holistic social learning platform for high schoolers. With the shift to online school during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fiveable filled a niche by offering to help students stay productive and connected with their peers while at home.
In early 2021, the company acquired Hours, a virtual studying platform founded in 2020 by then-16-year-old Calix Huang. That acquisition allowed Fiveable to expand its capabilities for hosting virtual study groups.
And in the fall of 2021, Fiveable closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures with participation from Owl Ventures and Progression Fund. To date, Fiveable has raised more than $14 million from investors, including tennis star Serena Williams-backed Serena Ventures. “The way they’ve brought students in to help guide their roadmap is unlike anything I’ve seen,” Williams said in 2021.
Fiveable says it has supported millions of high school students in the past four years.
The company does not have a central office, maintaining a remote-work setup since its founding.
Education: Bachelor’s, Boston University; master’s in urban education, Loyola Marymount University