With what Ignite! describes as a pre-IPO, mezzanine style of investment, Ignite! is securing sufficient funding to reach new sales and profit milestones. Ignite!’s founder, Neil Bush, transitions to a new role as a non-executive board member at the completion of the transaction. "The investment being made by this consortium of new and existing investors is a strong vote of confidence in Ignite!’s products, management and business model," said Bush. "The Company has grown from concept to commercial viability and is being positioned with this capital to ably carry on beyond my founding vision that all children can learn if given the right intrinsic motivation, relevancies and stimulation. Ignite!’s future is filled with great potential served by both our many accomplishments to date and those which this new investment allows Ignite! to confidently consider. I look forward to seeing Ignite! appoint highly qualified professionals to its Board who will help ensure that Ignite! and its capable management realize the next plateau of success." The Company’s current President & CFO, Ken Leonard, becomes interim-CEO and Chairman of Ignite! Learning. Tom McDonald, a senior sales executive with 20+ years experience in public and private venture-backed software companies, assumes the role of Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Ignite!
"This investment comes at a time of incredible opportunity for Ignite! Learning," said CEO, Ken Leonard. "After painstakingly building an innovative and instructionally solid library of middle school curriculum since 1999 through the unified vision and capable talents of hundreds of well- qualified teaching and learning professionals, we are now rapidly growing sales, generating profits and building a vibrant community of very satisfied teacher users. We are truly becoming a middle school classroom curriculum leader by thoughtfully supporting the every day academic achievement objectives of both teachers and students with products that have no comparison. This important capital and corresponding vote of confidence from both sophisticated market and existing investors will help us further increase our growing penetration into additional school districts by investing in new sales territories across the U.S. With the appointment of Tom McDonald, we are fortunate to add proven senior sales leadership to our roster of very capable management. Tom’s unique experience in dynamic sales growth environments will help leverage our curriculum momentum to maximum benefit. With incredible talent across all departments in Ignite!, we believe we are on our way to being the proverbial '10-year overnight success'.
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