Blackboard is the big player in university learning management systems. Today, Mozy Founder Josh Coates announced open source Instructure.
Instructure is funded by Coates. In addition to being the founder of Mozy, Coates owns a fully-operational M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer that he keeps in his garage, as well as a flame thrower that was used in this Instructure ad.
Coates also teaches a course on venture startups at Brigham Young University. Two of his students came up with the idea to build a better Blackboard, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington reported.
“Last year the company raised around $1.5 million,” Arrington said, “nearly half from Coates himself, and got to work. They now have 20 employees and working with twenty six educational institutions, some of which have left Blackboard entirely.”
