Instructure Considering Sale Options

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7 replies
  1. Phillip Davis
    Phillip Davis says:

    We’ve seen this before…in early 2000s, when a market-leading innovative LMS, named WebCT, invented by a brilliant computer scientist (re: Josh Coates) was purchased by a money-grubbing, soul-sucking private equity company in Boston. The result was Blackboard, of course, and we know how that ended for WebCT and it’s users.

    Hello, Moodle? You still around??

    • James
      James says:

      Phillip, you really have a colorful and creative way of rewriting history. WebCT was purchased by a company in Boston, which was later acquired by Blackboard. When Blackboard took over operations for WebCT there was thousands of bugs in the backlog for Vista 3, and CE6/Vista 4 was almost dead on arrival. Blackboard did nothing to WebCT except deal with a bunch of angry clients who couldn’t even access the grade center because of bugs.

  2. Kevin
    Kevin says:

    From a customer standpoint this could be unsettling . Phil, perhaps you could convince one of these activist investors to do an interview with you to explain how what they are proposing would increase investor value etc? Investors fail to understand the LMS market and customer dynamics which is totally different than any other EdTech market I have come across in my 28 years in higher education. I think customers like myself who do not understand how these investment ideas work, could use some more info and understanding.

  3. Phil Hill
    Phil Hill says:

    Clarification on Bb timeline:
    – Privately-held, VC-funded 1998 – 2004
    – Public company 2004 – 2011
    – Acquired WebCT 2005/6
    – Acquired ANGEL 2009
    – PE-owned (Providence) 2011 – present
    – Original exec team (Chasen CEO) thru 2012
    – New exec team (Bhatt CEO) 2012 – 2015
    – New new exec team (Ballhaus CEO) 2016 – present

    Instructure Timeline:
    – Founded by Brian Whitmer and Devlin Daley after taking course from Josh Coates 2008
    – Coates initial funding 2008
    – Corey Reid first CEO 2008 – 2010
    – Josh Coates CEO 2010 – 2018
    – Privately held, VC funded 2009 – 2015
    – Publicly traded 2015 – present
    – New exec team (Goldsmith CEO) 2019 – present

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  1. […] Hill, consultant and author of Phil on Ed Tech blog, wrote that competitor Blackboard went through a similar process a few years ago, going private in 2011. […]

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