TeachStreet unveils online payment system for teachers |
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TeachStreet unveils online payment system for teachers
Back in May, we reported that TeachStreet was working on a new system to make it easy for teachers to accept online payments from students
Well, the Seattle upstart -- which lists thousands of music, sports, crafts and other classes in the seven cities where it does business -- officially rolled out a PayPal-powered payment offering today. TeachStreet -- led by former Amazon.com and JibJab employee Dave Schappell -- is charging a 4.9 percent processing fee and 2.5 percent new student fee for every registration that occurs through the system.
That means when a new student enrolls in a $50 class through TeachStreet, the company would earn $2.70 in fees. For an existing student on a $50 class, TeachStreet would get $1.45. There is no processing fee on classes that are free.
The new offering also includes call tracking technology powered by Twilio, a free call forwarding and voice mail service that teachers can use to manage leads.
The payment system is yet another sign that Internet startups are looking at other ways to drive revenue that go beyond online advertising, a message that was also apparent at last week's Naked Truth event in Seattle.
Several of the entrepreneurs on the panel expressed the difficulty in making money from online advertising alone.
The new payment system follows a $1.2 million venture round from Madrona Venture Group and others last Spring. The company also cut about 30 percent of the full time and contractor staff in May.
John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow him on Twitter @johnhcook.
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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