Magoosh

Magoosh (pronounced /məˈɡuːʃ/) is an American online test preparation and study abroad counselling company based in Berkeley, California. It offers instruction for students through audio/video lessons, practice test questions, and online email support.^[1][2]

Magoosh, Inc.

Company type	Educational Technology
Industry	Education, Internet
Founded	2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Founder	Bhavin Parikh Hansoo Lee Pejman Pour-Moezzi Vikram Shenoy
Headquarters	Berkeley, CA, USA
Website	magoosh.com

Magoosh provides test preparation materials and counselling for the competitive exams, such as GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, IELTS and Praxis.^[3] The company also has free mobile apps for both iPhone and Android.^[4]

History

Magoosh was founded in 2009 by Hansoo Lee, Bhavin Parikh, Pejman Pour-Moezzi and Vikram Shenoy while they were students at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.^[5][6] The name is a play on the Old Persian word magush, which refers to a wise person.^[7]

In June 2009, Magoosh released its first product—GMAT math practice questions with video explanations. They received their first paying customers a couple months later in August.

The company grew over the following two years. Pejman stepped away from the business in 2010 to pursue other opportunities, but remained on the board. Hansoo and Bhavin hired two full-time employees and developed a prep program for the GRE. In August 2011, Magoosh launched their 'New GRE' product for the revised GRE^[2] and later renamed it 'Magoosh GRE' once the reformatted GRE became standard.

In December 2011, Magoosh gave away 800 free SAT accounts to high school students through partnerships with Bay Area non-profit organizations.^[8] It was also around this time that Bhavin's co-founder Hansoo Lee was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to remove himself from daily operations.

Hansoo Lee died of cancer in March 2013 at the age of 35.^[9] Bhavin Parikh and former co-founder Pejman Pour-Moezzi, along with Lee's fiancée Wendy Lim, founded The Hansoo Lee Fellowship for Entrepreneurs, which is used each year to support Haas MBA students wishing to pursue their entrepreneurial ventures full-time.^[10]

After Hansoo Lee's death, Bhavin Parikh became the CEO and the only remaining co-founder of Magoosh. The company continued to grow, launching full preparation products for the TOEFL and SAT from late 2013 to 2014. In 2015, it launched full prep programs for the ACT, LSAT and Praxis exams. And in 2016, the company launched a full MCAT product.

Recognition

• San Francisco Business Times No. 21 Fastest-Growing Private Company in the Bay Area (2016)^[11]
• Entrepreneur 360 No. 111 Best Entrepreneurial Company in the U.S. (2016)^[12]
• Inc. 500 No. 186 Fastest-Growing Private Company in the U.S. (2016)^[13]
• Localwise Best Employer: Education (2016)^[14]
• San Francisco Business Times No. 5 Fastest-Growing Private Company in the Bay Area / No. 2 Fastest Growing Company in the East Bay (2015)^[15]
• TINYpulse Happiest Company in Education (2015, 2017)^[16][17]
• Intel Foundation Entrepreneurial Award (2010)^[18]
• North Bridge Venture Partners Competition (2010)^[19]
• UC Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Venture Lab Competition (2009)^[19]