TakeLessons raises $6 million for music lessons

Find music instructors for any instrument on this platform (they have awesome customer service too)

TakeLessons, a local music lessons marketplace, announced Wednesday that it has raised $6 million in funding led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from SoftTechVC and other angel investors.

Eric Chin, partner at Crosslink, with be joining the company’s board of directors.

On TakeLessons, finding a private music instructor is as simple as typing in what kind of lessons you want along with your zip code. From voice lessons and piano to Flamenco guitar and DJ lessons, instructors are available for all styles.

“TakeLessons was founded out of a personal experience,” said CEO Steven Cox, who founded the company in 2006. “A friend was searching for a guitar teacher for her 7-year old daughter and didn’t know where to look. An Internet search turned up a list of teachers, but no way to compare them or to see if they were experienced, professional, and safe to come into her home.”

This is what turns up when I look for bass guitar lessons in San Francisco:



Clicking “More” for any instructor takes you to a detailed page about the teacher, including their biography, subjects they teach, their personal approach to lessons and availability. From there, you can read former student feedback and check out photos and videos that the instructor might have uploaded.

Finally, once you’ve selected an instructor, you can book lessons directly through the site. Decide whether to travel to the teacher’s studio or have the lesson in your home (more expensive), choose a lesson length and pick a day and time.

Probably the most incredible thing about TakeLessons is its customer service. At some stage in the process of researching how the service works, I entered in my contact information. Not long later, I received a phone call from Matthew, a “student counselor” at the company who just wanted to make himself available in case I had any questions about booking through TakeLessons.

Over the course of our six minute conversation, I learned about the company’s 100% Money Back Guarantee (“if you are not satisfied after the first lesson then we will refund the total amount you paid, including the lesson that was taken”) and just talked about how awesome music is, in general.

That kind of warm, personal customer service makes you feel really differently about a company. While we might love the slick and easy process of using an online platform like TakeLessons, it’s also nice to know you can talk to somebody if you need to.

Today, TakeLessons is available in 2,800 cities. The company, which is headquartered in San Diego, Calif., recently partnered with Best Buy to bring music lessons in-store to over 50 locations across the country.