Mia Share, a full-stack payments solution designed specifically to meet the tuition management and payment needs of trade and technical schools, today announced that it has closed its seed round with $6.5 million in funding.
The round was led by TTV Capital and joined by CreativeCo Capital, Nine Four Ventures, Innovating Capital, and WYVC Fund (Wyoming Business Council), along with participation from preexisting investors.
While enrollment at four-year colleges and universities has declined over the past few years, research from the National Student Clearinghouse found that trade and technical programs are experiencing growth. Data from 2022 showed that enrollment in two-year skilled trade programs has increased, with significant jumps in construction (+19.3%), precision and production (+16.7%), mechanic and repair (+11.5%), and culinary (+12.7%) areas of study. With rising tuition costs and an increasingly challenging labor market, students are turning to trade programs to learn specialized skills for in-demand jobs. Yet trade and technical schools often lack the administrative infrastructure needed to manage increased enrollment and tuition payments.
“There is no shortage of SaaS products for K12 and higher education, but trade and technical schools have been overlooked when it comes to software and payments solutions, leaving far too many students without a path to their dreams,” said Joshua Haghani, CEO and Founder of Mia Share. “The majority of trade schools across the country are accepting tuition payments in house and through antiquated ways. They need a tailored solution that can handle collections, provide meaningful data and reporting, and interface with students on their behalf. We’ve built that from the ground up with Mia Share, and in doing so, we’re increasing accessibility to trade and technical education.”
Mia Share is a robust payments platform for trade and technical schools that allows administrators to manage all of their tuition options, collect payments, send invoices, and view data and reports. The platform enables multiple payment options and plans - including invoices, payment plans and deferred tuition - making it easier to collect and manage student funds. Schools also have access to advanced insights on performance metrics like applications, enrollment, attrition, and accounts receivable. For students, Mia Share provides an easy-to-use portal that keeps track of application status, payment history, payment plans, and upcoming payments. The platform also offers more than 150 dynamic notification types along with human customer service and collections support to help students make payments on time.
“We always look at external market conditions, product-market fit, and the founding team when deciding whether to make an initial investment. When we learned how trade and technical schools have been historically underserved by software solutions, and how program enrollment is on the rise across the country, we saw a huge opportunity,” said Lizzie Guynn, Partner at TTV Capital. “Mia Share is solving a critical need for payments and collections, and in doing so, they are freeing up resources so that schools can focus on what they do best - preparing students for jobs in high-demand industries. We’re proud to support Josh and the Mia Share team as they enter their next phase of growth.”
Mia Share will use this new infusion of capital to add more product features, onboard new users, and expand the customer service team. More than 200 schools across the country use Mia Share to manage their payment options, and participating institutions have experienced increased enrollment, student retention, and collection rates. Mia Share also delivers massive time savings for administrative staff and reduction in payment processing cost, both of which free up additional revenue.