Bookboon

Bookboon Learning is a digital learning service provider for corporate learning & development, providing eBooks, audio learning, online courses & learning.^[1]

Bookboon Learning

Type of business	Online, private company
Type of site	Digital learning services
Available in	Multilingual
Founded	1988 (as Ventus Publishing)
Headquarters	Copenhagen, Denmark London, United Kingdom
No. of locations	2 international locations
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Kristian Buus Madsen (CEO) Thomas Buus Madsen (COO)
Industry	eBook Publishing, Learning & Development
Products	eBooks, Audio learning, Online courses, Online learning subscription, Corporate learning & development, Team learning
Services	Personal development, Soft skills development
Advertising	Yes
Registration	Required for reading books
Launched	2005
Current status	Active

Bookboon was originally founded in Denmark in 1988 under the name Ventus. Today, Bookboon operates globally with offices in London and Copenhagen.^[2]

Bookboon offers free university textbooks^[3] to students and content, focus lies on soft skills and personal development for bite-sized learning for professionals.^[4][5]

History and background

Bookboon started as a family business named Ventus in 1988 in Denmark. At that time, Ventus focused on publishing student textbooks. The owners of Ventus had two sons named Thomas Buus Madsen and Kristian Buus Madsen. In 2005, the two brothers took control of Ventus and in 2008 they re-named the company Bookboon. Soon after, the two brothers developed an innovative business model: offer free eBooks online financed by a few in-book ads, with a limit of 15% advertising space per book. The advertisers were companies looking to promote their career opportunities towards students and professionals.^[6]

In 2006, the company expanded its business model to Sweden, followed by Germany and the Netherlands in 2007. In 2008, Bookboon expanded its operations to the United Kingdom and started publishing eBooks in English.^[7]

Bookboon in the media

In 2016, Bookboon was highlighted for its activities on the African continent, especially in terms of offering free textbooks for students based on employer branding. This was reported by the Danish newspaper business.dk, the German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle^[8] as well as CNBC South Africa.^[9]