In 2004, the small company obtained an investment of US$500,000 (equivalent to $717,319 in 2021) from Glen Meakem, who became the chairman.[4] In 2005, College Prowler was recognized by Fast Company for being one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the nation.[5] Originally, the company produced print guidebooks, but by 2007 their content was made available online for a subscription fee, and then by 2009 the subscription was removed making all web content free.[3][6]
In 2013, College Prowler changed its name to Niche and started to cover K-12 school districts using federal data, state data, and user-generated reviews. Within months of launching the K-12 product, Niche had collected 500,000 user reviews on half of all high schools in the US.[7] After transitioning to the new business model, the bulk of revenue then came from partners who helped schools market and advertised to potential students.[8]
In 2018, Niche raised a $6.6 million (equivalent to about $7.1M in 2021) Series B funding round led by Allen & Company and Grit Capital Partners. The company also added Paul Palmieri, General Partner of Grit Capital Partners, to its board of directors.[9]
In 2020, Niche raised a $35 million Series C round of funding led by Radian Capital, with Radian Capital partner and co-founder Weston Gaddy, and Francisco D’Souza, executive vice chairman and co-founder of Cognizant, both joining the board of directors. At the time of funding, Niche offered over 130,000 in-depth profiles on schools and colleges with over 140 million reviews and ratings from students, parents and alumni.[10][11]
Product
Niche, as College Prowler, provided rankings, report cards (with attributed grades) and reviews of colleges in the US.[12] During its rebranding process, Niche expanded its coverage to include K-12 schools as well as neighborhoods under their "places to live" category.[1][13] In addition to its comprehensive profiles, Niche also lists scholarships from the company and third parties.[14] Niche functions as a two-sided platform with free access for prospective students and over 15,000 school clients who pay for services to help them market to these users, including placing advertising and promotional material on the site. Niche also offers access to its data for a cost to other parties such as real estate companies, which has raised concerns that this linkage might reinforce neighborhood disparities based on ethnicity and income. [15]
Controversies
In a 2008 scandal known as "Facebookgate",[16][17] hundreds of spurious "Class of 2013" groups were created on Facebook for the purpose of promoting College Prowler.[18][19] Such groups would normally be created by actual students or colleges themselves. According to the CEO, "The original purpose was to use these groups as a way to inform students that they can access a free guide about their new college on our site."[20] College Prowler later removed all administrative access from the 125 groups, admitting, "It was clearly over the line."[21]
References
^ abcEpstein, Eli (October 10, 2013). "A website for rating 'big life decisions'". CNN. from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
^ abSpencer, Malia (October 11, 2013), "College Prowler becomes Niche and wants to help you make big decisions", Pittsburgh Business Times, from the original on May 16, 2014, retrieved April 22, 2014
^ abcFenn, Donna (October 1, 2009), "Case Study: Finding the Right Price for a Hot Product", Inc. Magazine, retrieved April 22, 2014
^Todd, Deborah (October 4, 2014). "Review, rankings site College Prowler joins Niche group". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
^"2005 Fast 50 Winner". Fast Company. March 1, 2005. from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
^Spencer, Malia (August 12, 2011). "College Prowler soars after making switch to business model". Pittsburgh Business Times. from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
^"College Prowler becomes Niche and wants to help you make big decisions". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
^Spencer, Malia (August 12, 2011). "College Prowler soars after making switch to business model". Pittsburgh Business News. The Business Journals. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
^"Niche Announces $35M Series C Funding To Reimagine And Simplify The School And College Search Experience". AP NEWS. April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
^Vellucci, Justin (April 30, 2020), "Niche got $35 million to change how Gen Z applies to college", NEXTPittsburgh News, retrieved November 5, 2022
^"Niche Announces $35M Series C Funding To Reimagine And Simplify The School And College Search Experience". AP NEWS. April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
^Todd, Deborah (October 4, 2013). "Review, Rankings Site College Prowler Becomes Niche". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
^Dill, Kathryn (April 14, 2014), "Best cities and neighborhoods for millennials", Forbes, from the original on April 22, 2014, retrieved April 22, 2014
^Tretina, Kat (December 2, 2020). "How To Read Your Student Aid Report". Forbes Advisor. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^Millward, Wade Tyler (April 29, 2020), "Niche Raises $35 Million to Rival School Directory Review Sites", EdSurge News, retrieved November 5, 2022
^"Campus Overload - Facebookgate, the 2010 edition". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
^. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Facebookgate: Three Years of Facebook Forgery
^"XpertTip No. 89: Facebookgate: Summary of a scandal – TargetX | CRM for Higher Education TargetX | CRM for Higher Education". from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Facebookgate: Summary of a Scandal
^"Facebookgate". December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Facebookgate - Higher Ed Marketing
^Windish, Joe (December 21, 2008). "Facebookgate: Companies "Colonize" Facebook for Marketing Exploits". The Moderate Voice. Joe Gandelman. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
^"Company Created Official-Looking 'Class of 2013' Facebook Groups for Hundreds of Colleges". Chronicle.com. December 19, 2008. from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
niche, company, this, article, about, internet, company, other, uses, niche, niche, formerly, known, college, prowler, american, company, headquartered, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, that, runs, ranking, review, site, company, founded, luke, skurman, 2002, publish. This article is about the Internet company For other uses see Niche Niche com formerly known as College Prowler 1 2 is an American company headquartered in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania that runs a ranking and review site 2 The company was founded by Luke Skurman in 2002 as a publisher of print guidebooks on US colleges but is now an online resource providing information on K 12 schools colleges cities neighborhoods and companies across the United States 1 3 NicheFormerlyCollege Prowler Inc TypePrivateFoundedAugust 9 2002HeadquartersPittsburgh Pennsylvania United StatesKey peopleLuke Skurman Founder and CEONumber of employees325Websitewww wbr niche wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Product 3 Controversies 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditNiche Inc was founded as College Prowler in August 2002 by Luke Skurman and Joey Rahimi Then students at Carnegie Mellon University s Tepper School of Business they spun the company out of a project in their entrepreneurship class 3 In 2004 the small company obtained an investment of US 500 000 equivalent to 717 319 in 2021 from Glen Meakem who became the chairman 4 In 2005 College Prowler was recognized by Fast Company for being one of the 50 fastest growing companies in the nation 5 Originally the company produced print guidebooks but by 2007 their content was made available online for a subscription fee and then by 2009 the subscription was removed making all web content free 3 6 In 2013 College Prowler changed its name to Niche and started to cover K 12 school districts using federal data state data and user generated reviews Within months of launching the K 12 product Niche had collected 500 000 user reviews on half of all high schools in the US 7 After transitioning to the new business model the bulk of revenue then came from partners who helped schools market and advertised to potential students 8 In 2018 Niche raised a 6 6 million equivalent to about 7 1M in 2021 Series B funding round led by Allen amp Company and Grit Capital Partners The company also added Paul Palmieri General Partner of Grit Capital Partners to its board of directors 9 In 2020 Niche raised a 35 million Series C round of funding led by Radian Capital with Radian Capital partner and co founder Weston Gaddy and Francisco D Souza executive vice chairman and co founder of Cognizant both joining the board of directors At the time of funding Niche offered over 130 000 in depth profiles on schools and colleges with over 140 million reviews and ratings from students parents and alumni 10 11 Product EditNiche as College Prowler provided rankings report cards with attributed grades and reviews of colleges in the US 12 During its rebranding process Niche expanded its coverage to include K 12 schools as well as neighborhoods under their places to live category 1 13 In addition to its comprehensive profiles Niche also lists scholarships from the company and third parties 14 Niche functions as a two sided platform with free access for prospective students and over 15 000 school clients who pay for services to help them market to these users including placing advertising and promotional material on the site Niche also offers access to its data for a cost to other parties such as real estate companies which has raised concerns that this linkage might reinforce neighborhood disparities based on ethnicity and income 15 Controversies EditIn a 2008 scandal known as Facebookgate 16 17 hundreds of spurious Class of 2013 groups were created on Facebook for the purpose of promoting College Prowler 18 19 Such groups would normally be created by actual students or colleges themselves According to the CEO The original purpose was to use these groups as a way to inform students that they can access a free guide about their new college on our site 20 College Prowler later removed all administrative access from the 125 groups admitting It was clearly over the line 21 References Edit a b c Epstein Eli October 10 2013 A website for rating big life decisions CNN Archived from the original on April 26 2014 Retrieved April 22 2014 a b Spencer Malia October 11 2013 College Prowler becomes Niche and wants to help you make big decisions Pittsburgh Business Times archived from the original on May 16 2014 retrieved April 22 2014 a b c Fenn Donna October 1 2009 Case Study Finding the Right Price for a Hot Product Inc Magazine retrieved April 22 2014 Todd Deborah October 4 2014 Review rankings site College Prowler joins Niche group Pittsburgh Post Gazette Retrieved October 17 2018 2005 Fast 50 Winner Fast Company March 1 2005 Archived from the original on September 29 2014 Retrieved April 22 2014 Spencer Malia August 12 2011 College Prowler soars after making switch to business model Pittsburgh Business Times Archived from the original on May 16 2014 Retrieved April 22 2014 College Prowler becomes Niche and wants to help you make big decisions www bizjournals com Retrieved June 14 2021 Spencer Malia August 12 2011 College Prowler soars after making switch to business model Pittsburgh Business News The Business Journals Retrieved June 14 2021 Niche Announces 35M Series C Funding To Reimagine And Simplify The School And College Search Experience AP NEWS April 29 2020 Retrieved June 14 2021 Vellucci Justin April 30 2020 Niche got 35 million to change how Gen Z applies to college NEXTPittsburgh News retrieved November 5 2022 Niche Announces 35M Series C Funding To Reimagine And Simplify The School And College Search Experience AP NEWS April 29 2020 Retrieved June 14 2021 Todd Deborah October 4 2013 Review Rankings Site College Prowler Becomes Niche Pittsburgh Post Gazette Archived from the original on April 26 2014 Retrieved April 22 2014 Dill Kathryn April 14 2014 Best cities and neighborhoods for millennials Forbes archived from the original on April 22 2014 retrieved April 22 2014 Tretina Kat December 2 2020 How To Read Your Student Aid Report Forbes Advisor Retrieved July 15 2021 Millward Wade Tyler April 29 2020 Niche Raises 35 Million to Rival School Directory Review Sites EdSurge News retrieved November 5 2022 Campus Overload Facebookgate the 2010 edition washingtonpost com Retrieved May 1 2018 Episode 14 Facebookgate amp Three Years of Facebook Forgery Higher ed Live Archived from the original on April 29 2014 Retrieved April 29 2014 Facebookgate Three Years of Facebook Forgery XpertTip No 89 Facebookgate Summary of a scandal TargetX CRM for Higher Education TargetX CRM for Higher Education Archived from the original on April 29 2014 Retrieved April 29 2014 Facebookgate Summary of a Scandal Facebookgate December 19 2008 Archived from the original on April 29 2014 Retrieved April 29 2014 Facebookgate Higher Ed Marketing Windish Joe December 21 2008 Facebookgate Companies Colonize Facebook for Marketing Exploits The Moderate Voice Joe Gandelman Retrieved July 30 2020 Company Created Official Looking Class of 2013 Facebook Groups for Hundreds of Colleges Chronicle com December 19 2008 Archived from the original on January 10 2018 Retrieved May 1 2018 External links Edit Companies portalOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Niche company amp oldid 1148900790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
