Craftsy

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Craftsy is an online platform based in Denver, Colorado that delivers crafts education, from quilting and knitting to cake decorating and paper craft, via high-definition interactive video tutorials and downloadable workshops. It also offers community project forums and craft supplies, including independent designer patterns. It was launched by the company Sympoz Inc in July 2011, and within a year Craftsy had attracted over half a million enrollments. On May 10, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired Craftsy.

Video Craftsy

History

Craftsy parent company Sympoz Inc was founded in April 2010 by former eBay executives John Levisay and Josh Scott, plus Todd Tobin and Bret Hanna. It raised $15 million in an angel round of funding from Access Venture Partners, Foundry Group, Harrison Metal and Tiger Global Management, launching the website just over a year later. By September 2012, the company estimated that an average of 1,600 people a day were signing up for Craftsy courses.

In November 2014, Craftsy raised $50 million in its fourth round of financing, bringing the company's total funding to almost $100 million. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group agreed to purchase a majority stake in the company from equity firms in May 2017.

Maps Craftsy

Customer preferences and demographics

The company says that its most popular classes are in quilting, while cake decorating is showing the fastest growth. Craftsy uses social media, such as Facebook to attract new customers, also posting excerpts of classes on YouTube. Nearly all customers are female and 80% are aged over 40.