Crimson Consulting raises US$5m in international investment backing
Crimson Consulting, the brainchild of young New Zealand entrepreneurs Jamie Beaton (20), and Sharndre Kushor (21), has
secured financial investment from international hedge fund managers, raising $US5 million on a $US50 million pre-money
valuation of the company.
Investors are based both overseas and in New Zealand and include the founder of Tiger Management, Julian Robertson.
An educational consultancy that offers programmes to help high school and university students excel academically while
applying equal effort to extra curricular activity, Crimson contracts the services of 300 subject matter experts and
former admissions staff from some of the world’s prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale and Cambridge; and
corporate organisations including Google, McKinsey and Goldman Sachs.
The latest round of capital raising for Crimson comes just ten months after the start up took part in Icehouse’s Ice
Angel Showcase, raising a total of $NZ1.4 million. In those ten months Crimson has reported a revenue increase of 300%.
Aside from focusing on expanding its own operation Crimson has been busy acquiring businesses that complement its own
services including; MedView, a leading New Zealand-based pre-medical tutoring company and Undergraduate Medical
Admissions Test (UMAT) prep provider; PlayAtlantic, a leading Australasian sports admissions business; and Motivational
Corner, a youth-led initiative aimed at inspiring New Zealanders to reach the top of their game via connecting with
high-achieving professionals, artists, and innovators.
Jamie says the latest round of investment is needed to support Crimson’s ambitious plans of building the world’s
foremost quality control platform for the delivery of leading education services; and to grow the global operation.
“Most Crimson students are focused on gaining admission to specific, competitive university programmes and/or pursuing
competitive career pathways.
"In the last 12 months our clients have gained admission to eight Ivy League schools in the US and UK, including
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge and Oxford; and gained admission to Medicine schools including Monash
and Western Sydney.
"Our aim is to extend our offering to more students around the world, offering targeted, personalised programmes that
build trajectories for on-going success.
“We assist students to become the best they can be no matter what they want to achieve, whether it is gaining admission
to Harvard, working for Google, getting into medicine in New Zealand or creating a fantastic learning environment at
home.”
Founder of Tiger Management Julian Robertson, believes the world needs to cut down the barriers that stop top talent
getting access to the world’s best resources; and that Crimson Consulting does exactly that in a highly focused and
efficient way.
“Young people can no longer rely on any one company, or any one industry, to provide life-long support and
sustainability.
“In a world where your technical skill set can become irrelevant, or your company, that was once an industry leader
could be knocked to the ground in a matter of years, the single most important investment you can make is in yourself.
Education is the only sustainable defence against disruption.”
Crimson has made the shortlist for the Rising Star category of Deloitte Fast 50 2015.
ENDS