London, April 7, 2022. Bunsen, the UK’s first marketplace for the outdated school
supplies industry, is announcing its £250,000 pre-seed round. Investors include Fuel
Ventures and prominent angels including executives from tech giants like Snap Inc.
and Callsign, and a former executive at Airbnb.

Bunsen is on a mission to build the definitive marketplace for schools to buy anything
they need to teach at the best price, saving them time and money on the £3bn national
annual spend on classroom equipment. When equipment arrives, schools can keep
track of it in an integrated stock management app.
This comes as schools contend with rising energy bills, and the Institute for Fiscal
Studies projecting that per pupil spending in 2024 will be no higher than in 2010.
Appropriately, Bunsen is free for schools to use and purchase from, instead of requiring
a subscription fee. Businesses that sell to schools pay when a purchase is made.

Alex Tep, founder of Bunsen, said, “I used to be a teacher, so I know that buying
classroom supplies is an outdated process. Some schools still rifle through paper
catalogues and phone orders in. That hasn’t changed since the 1950s. It’s hard to find
the best prices, so money that could be better spent on supporting children’s learning is
wasted. These frustrations drove me to leave teaching, teach myself to code, and create
Bunsen, an online marketplace that lets schools compare prices of educational
equipment on a single website, just as you would when buying things for yourself.”

Bunsen is quickly gaining UK school and supplier market share, already listing the
largest range of school science equipment in the UK from leading suppliers. They carry
everything from microscopes to virtual reality learning systems, anticipating the rise of
the metaverse in the classroom.

Bunsen follows a trend of B2B marketplaces streamlining traditional industries, with the
number of European B2B marketplaces rising from 20 in 2010 to 300 today as
tech-native millennials are promoted to purchasing roles in businesses and schools.
Investors in this round include Fuel Ventures and angel investors such as Claire Valoti
(VP EMEA, Snap Inc.).

“As angel investors we love investing in marketplaces, especially those disrupting
traditional industries such as the school supplies space. With Bunsen being run by a
brilliant founder like Alex Tep, this was a very easy investment decision.” Claire Valoti,
VP of EMEA Snap Inc.

About Bunsen:
Bunsen, based in London is the first B2B marketplace for school supplies. When
equipment arrives, schools can keep track of it in an integrated stock management app.
More at: www.bunsen.education
Press contact
Alex Tep
Founder
[email protected]
www.bunsen.education