We started Revolution Prep with a vision to transform education and provide the highest quality instruction to all students, regardless of their ability to pay. In building a team of smart people who are dedicated to this vision, we have developed innovative methods and curricula to help students achieve their test score potential and become better learners for the future. Revolution also has a social mission. We are committed to make positive differences in our communities through our generous scholarship program, company service days, and partnership programs.
We know it is wrong to expect yesterday's technology and techniques to work for today's students. Revolution Prep has embraced the use of online resources to personalize learning, and our instructors are trained to infuse energy into every class, keeping students focused and engaged. At Revolution, we are passionate about what we do and you will see this passion in everything we do.
Jake and Ramit met at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. They soon realized that while they both had business backgrounds, they'd also both spent significant time as SAT prep tutors (Jake at Kaplan, Ramit at Princeton Review). They also realized they both felt that something was missing from the big tutoring companies. So Jake and Ramit came up with an idea … a revolutionary idea. Together, they decided to start a new test prep company, one that was completely different from the two market leaders.
Revolution Prep started with no outside investment. At first, they ran the company out of Jake's apartment and paid for everything with newly-opened credit cards. This meant late nights, high risk, and mounting debt. This meant answering every phone call themselves. It even meant having their phones turned off temporarily because of a missed payment. But it also means they provided individual attention to every student, with complete involvement from Jake and Ramit. They devoted themselves to the company and treated every potential new client as a make-or-break situation, because in a way it was.
Jake and Ramit had become the scrappy underdogs of the test prep world. At times, they could not help wondering if they were crazy for giving up the big pay checks and job security that goes with the consulting or investment jobs awaiting many of their peers from UCLA. But the passion they felt for their new business and the confidence they had in Revolution Prep's superior ability to help students achieve success, kept them going. Within just a few years, Revolution Prep became the leading SAT and ACT test prep company in California. They accomplished this milestone by trying new things, being flexible, listening carefully to students, and committing to the social mission of never denying a student the chance to take a Revolution Prep class, even if that student could not pay.
Revolution successfully turned the old test prep model on its head. Instead of focusing only on teaching students tricks to “beat” the test, Revolution teaches long-term learning strategies and ways to alleviate test-day stress. Instead of spending money on specialized testing centers, Revolution partners with high schools to hold classes on-campus, making test prep classes much more convenient for students. Also, Revolution has stuck to its promise to never turn away a student who wants to take a test prep course, but cannot pay. They do this, Jake explains, "because it's the right thing to do."
Jake and Ramit set a lofty goal for their company. They didn't want to create a test prep company that just helped students prepare for college admissions tests. They wanted to create a transformative educational company that empowers students to take control of their education and teaches them to become better, more confident learners. In 2008, Revolution Prep started Revolution K12, an educational technology company that develops math and english language arts software for K12 schools. Today, hundreds of thousands of students in school districts across the country use Revolution K12 software to improve academic skills.
As Revolution has continued to develop new and innovative products, it has increased in size, revenue, and scope. Yet the mission hasn't changed: to revolutionize the test prep industry and help as many students as possible. Revolution, now a major competitor in the education services industry, still embraces the attitude and work ethic of the scrappy underdog it used to be.
