CrossLink Capital Invests $6 Million in Funding Round for Music and Voice Lessons Provider, TakeLessons

Based in San Diego, California, TakeLessons has been revolutionizing the music and voice education industry and taking it into the 21st Century by becoming one of the largest online music and voice lesson providers. The company was founded with the vision of uniting music and voice teachers with music and voice students.

The company announced on August 3, 2011, that it has raised $6 million venture funding round that was led by CrossLink Capital. Other investors who participated in this funding round include SofTech VC plus several prominent angels who did not disclose their names.

The primary vision of TakeLessons was to fulfill the need of aspiring musicians and singers to get the lessons they need to make it big on stage at the opera house or in the orchestra. The ongoing search for musicians and teachers has been a problem that has plagued aspiring musicians for many years. This has also been a personal issue for the company’s founder, Steven Cox, who is also the company’s CEO. TakeLessons uses the internet as its primary portal to connect musicians with teachers in over 2,800 cities across America. Mr. Cox decided to found the company in 2006 with the idea of using the internet to unite musicians with the right instructors for them. According to Mr. Cox, the company was founded through his personal experience. Being an avid musician himself, Mr. Cox thought that it would be a great way to connect musicians nationwide with music teachers, however, not just any music teacher. Music teachers who want to be on the TakeLessons network need to be certified as a TakeLessons teacher to ensure that musicians using the portal to find the right teacher will find the right teacher that can accommodate their musical needs.

Mr. Cox further added that the ability to connect the right teacher with the right musician regardless of age or level is crucial for aspiring musicians to be successful.

The site works by not only connecting the music teacher with the musician but also allows the musician to pay the musician through the site, allowing the teacher and student to work together while the company takes care of all the administrative functions.

According to Eric Chin, partner at CrossLink Capital, as soon as his firm has heard about TakeLessons, he though that the company could go far and take the lead in the music education industry. Upon doing the research, Mr. Chin further concluded that the business model that TakeLessons offers can revolutionize the entire music industry and beyond, thus that was a great opportunity for the firm to invest in.

The type of music lessons that TakeLessons currently offers include drum, voice and singing, piano, guitar, and saxophone. The company plans to grow and offer more variety to its roster of music lessons.

CrossLink Capital is a prominent venture capital firm that is independent of stage preference and invest in all stages of a company’s life ranging from seed to series C and beyond. The firm currently has funds in both venture capital and growth equity that collectively equal up to $2 billion and also has hedge funds together with hybrid cross funds. This unique system has provided CrossLink a successful investment strategy for over 20 years. Other companies in CrossLink’s portfolio include Pandora, Ecast, Think 3, SilkRoad Technology, IronKey, Hi5, and others.