Mathematics is the Achilles heel of many students and the company Innovamat wants to solve this problem with an alternative didactic proposal.
"Our content does not invent anything new, but it puts the focus on learning through the understanding and manipulation of content, instead of memorization exercises, which can create anxiety in students", notes engineer Andreu Dotti, who founding the company with his university classmate Isaac Sayol and Àlex Espinet, also an engineer.
The company started in 2017 in ten public and private schools in Sant Cugat and Terrassa. "We started with content for preschool and primary school students and have been expanding the catalog up to secondary school. In 2024, we will cover training up to the fourth year of secondary school", explains the CEO of the company, which has 320 employees, 260 of whom work at the Sant Cugat headquarters.
Since its birth, Innovamat has reached 2,000 schools in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. Half are public, and the other half, private. The company, which competes with traditional publishers, charges schools an annual fee that varies depending on the students who receive the training. In 2022 the company invoiced 11 million, 90% from Spanish schools.
"This year we expect to increase turnover by 40% because we will expand in Italy, Latin America and the United States", explains Dotti. To achieve this, the company has 20 million euros that it obtained last year in an investment round led by venture capital funds Reach Capital, Kibo Ventures and Bonsai Partners, in addition to Axon Partners Group, 10x, Barlon Capital and Dozen Investments. "Although we have not announced the capital increase until now, we closed the operation in the summer, just before the brake on investment activity experienced by the entrepreneurial sector", comments Dotti.
In addition, it will enhance the diversification of the activity. Last year the company launched the Bmath website, which is aimed directly at families who want to encourage the learning of mathematics outside of school.
The bet on growth implies that the company has had to give up net profit. “We started out profitable, but when we boosted the international business we returned to losses. We hope to return to green numbers in 2025”, says Dotti, who retains the majority of the property with the other founders.
