Flashnotes.com, the student-to-student study materials marketplace, today announced that it raised a $3.6 million Series A round of funding led by Stage 1 Ventures, with Runa Capital, Soft Bank Capital and Atlas Venture participating in the round. Flashnotes.com will use the funds for rapid market expansion within the higher education technology market, as it accelerates the adoption of its peer-learning platform at colleges and universities across the country.

'Our entire team is excited to have such great partners supporting our mission to empower students and ensure that more students achieve their academic objectives,' said Michael Matousek, CEO & Founder of Flashnotes.com. 'With the college dropout rate remaining steady at over 40%, there is clear need for change within higher education. We believe that Flashnotes.com is a transformative force within the industry, as we're leveraging the latest technologies to power the student-to-student exchange of high quality academic materials - allowing students to learn from each other in a way that is fitting for them.'

On Flashnotes.com, college students sell and buy course-specific study materials -- study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help. Its Pays2StudyTM approach empowers smart college students to make money from their own study material while helping other students study smarter to get better grades. The platform saw a 175% growth in users in 2013 and is poised to grow even more in the current semester.

'We're impressed by the rapid adoption of Flashnotes.com among college campuses to date and how quickly they've emerged as a market leader,' said David Baum, Managing Partner at Stage 1 Ventures. 'The company has a passionate and genuine leader in Michael Matousek, and we're looking forward to working with him and his growing team to accelerate Flashnotes.com's growth into new markets.'

Dr. Shay David, co-founder of Kaltura, a Flashnotes.com investor and advisor and expert in open information systems said, 'Peer learning is disrupting education models that have been stale for hundreds of years. To achieve better learning outcomes students need to be engaged, to own their knowledge, and to rely on formal and non-formal learning models. By combining these elements Flashnotes.com represents the future of education.'

In the Flashnotes.com marketplace student buyers super-charge their learning experience by getting affordable access to high quality study materials, and student sellers earn extra cash and begin to monetize their college education prior to graduation. Students selling their study materials and services on Flashnotes set their own price, spread the word to their classmates and earn 70% of each transaction; which is paid out on a weekly basis. If any student feels dissatisfied with their purchase for any reason, Flashnotes.com offers a 100% money back guarantee for all materials purchased.

For more information on Flashnotes.com, please visit http://www.flashnotes.com, follow @flashnotes on Twitter, or become a fan of Flashnotes.com on Facebook.

About Flashnotes.com

Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Flashnotes.com is the student-to-student study materials marketplace. On Flashnotes.com, college students sell and buy course-specific study materials -- study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help. College students need two things -- more money and better grades. Flashnotes.com Pays2StudyTM approach empowers smart college students to make money from their own study material while helping other students study smarter to get better grades. For further information, visit www.flashnotes.com.