Six Red Marbles
Six Red Marbles is a private learning experience design agency that develops courses, curricula, and educational content for K-12, higher education, continuing education, and publishing clients, combining professional services with AI-augmented products like CourseStart and Semester Prep.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Six Red Marbles does
Six Red Marbles is a privately held learning experience design and educational content company headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, with operations in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jouve India. Founded in the mid-1990s out of a typesetting business, the firm has served more than 500 clients over 30+ years and serves four primary verticals: K-12, higher education, continuing education, and educational publishing. Its core service portfolio spans content development, course design, creative and media production, print and digital production, and technology integration, with named higher education and K-12 clients including Discovery Education, Boston College, Emory, Howard, Tulane, SNHU, Landmark College, and Core Knowledge Foundation.
The company's commercial model combines project-based professional services with a growing set of productized offerings. Higher education course development is sold in three published tiers — Essential at $15,000, Enhanced at $20,000, and Premiere at $25,000 — structured as multi-year engagements. Layered on top of services are two SaaS-style products: CourseStart, an AI-powered course creation platform with a 30-course general education library priced at $20,000 per year per campus, and Semester Prep, a per-course pre-term readiness service at $1,500 per course that the company claims saves an average of 16 hours per course. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise field sales supported by inside sales, with thought leadership content (white papers, webinars, case studies) and media partnerships with Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed driving demand generation.
Underpinning the delivery model is the company's AI+HI (Human Insight) four-stage workflow (Ideate, Create & Refine, Review, Evaluate), which integrates generative AI for first-draft instructional content, assessments, and accessibility remediation with human instructional designers at quality gates. The framework is applied across text, image, video, audio, and structured data modalities, and is supported by acquisitions of Triple SSS Press (2020), Jouve India (2024), and The Babb Group (2026), the last to expand higher education channel capacity. The company is founder/internally owned, with no disclosed external funding rounds, and was named to the 2026 GSV 150 list.
Six Red Marbles firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Six Red Marbles
- Legal name
- Six Red Marbles, Inc.
- Website
- https://sixredmarbles.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Six Red Marbles is a private learning experience design agency that develops courses, curricula, and educational content for K-12, higher education, continuing education, and publishing clients, combining professional services with AI-augmented products like CourseStart and Semester Prep.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Six Red Marbles industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Learning Experience Design Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services (EDAGAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Higher Education Course Design & Online Program Development (EDAGAKAB), Curriculum, Lesson Planning & Instructional Content Platforms (EDAJAMAD), Electives & Enrichment Curriculum (Arts, Music, PE, CTE Exploratories) (EDAGAAAG)
Keywords
Where Six Red Marbles is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Six Red Marbles business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Course Development Services: Fee-for-service course design and development engagements structured in three tiers: Essential ($15,000), Enhanced ($20,000), and Premiere ($25,000). Services include instructional design, content creation, media integration, and accessibility compliance.
- CourseStart Platform Subscription: Annual subscription model for CourseStart platform providing AI-powered course creation tools and access to 30-course general education library. Subscriptions priced at $20,000 per year per campus.
- Semester Prep Services: Per-course engagement model for Semester Prep pre-term readiness services. Priced at $1,500 per course for LMS cleanup, calendar alignment, gradebook accuracy, and link/media reliability checks.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Premiere tier - $25,000 for full-service course development |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Enhanced tier - $20,000 for collaborative course development |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Essential tier - $15,000 for instructional design finalization |
| Subscription | Annual | CourseStart platform - $20,000/year/campus |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Semester Prep - $1,500 per course |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Six Red Marbles product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Six Red Marbles designs, develops, and produces educational content and courses for K-12, higher education, continuing education, and publishing customers. Its portfolio spans content development, course design, creative and media, production, and technology integration services, supplemented by three purpose-built solutions: CourseStart (AI-powered course creation platform with a 30-course general education library, $20,000/year per campus), Semester Prep (pre-term readiness service at $1,500 per course), and Product Development Workshops (collaborative consulting engagements). Tiered course development packages are sold at $15,000, $20,000, and $25,000.
Product overview
Six Red Marbles is a global learning and publishing solutions company offering integrated services from concept through delivery. The core portfolio includes Content Development, Course Design, Creative & Media, Production, and Technology & Innovation services. These are complemented by named product offerings: CourseStart (AI-powered course creation platform with a 30-course gen ed library), Semester Prep (pre-term readiness solution saving 16 hours per course), and Product Development Workshops. For higher education, SRM offers three pricing tiers (Essential $15K, Enhanced $20K, Premiere $25K). The company also employs its proprietary AI + HI (Human Intelligence) Framework—a four-stage workflow (Ideate, Create & Refine, Review, Evaluate) that uses AI to amplify instructional design while maintaining human oversight at quality gates. SRM serves K-12, Higher Education, Continuing Education, and Publishing industries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Content Development High-quality instructional content development aligned with educational standards and learner needs, supporting publishers and institutions across subjects, grade levels, and delivery formats.
- Course Design Learner-centered course and program design for any delivery model, transforming complex subject matter into meaningful learning experiences that balance academic rigor, engagement, and real-world instructional constraints.
- Creative & Media Purpose-driven design and media services that blend usability, accessibility, and visual clarity to ensure learners can focus on content over navigation or technology.
- Production Reliable, high-quality production services for print and digital learning materials, ensuring content is accurate, accessible, and ready to deliver at scale.
- Technology & Innovation Technology integration services that support learning at scale, using emerging tools and platforms intentionally to strengthen learning outcomes.
- CourseStart AI-powered course creation platform with a ready-made 30-course general education library for generating, managing, and publishing high-quality online courses efficiently. Subscriptions start at $20,000 per year per campus.
- Semester Prep Cost-effective pre-term readiness support for higher education institutions to prepare online courses for term start, including LMS cleanup, calendar updates, and course QA. Saves 16 hours per course on average. Starting at $1,500 per course.
- Product Development Workshops (PDW) Collaborative workshops that help teams clarify ideas, align stakeholders, and move concepts forward from early thinking into actionable plans.
- Higher Education Course Development Packages Fixed-fee course development for higher education institutions offered in three tiers: Essential ($15,000) for instructional design finalization, Enhanced ($20,000) for collaborative course development, and Premiere ($25,000) for fully developed, faculty-driven courses with the highest level of instructional design support.
Quantifiable outcome
- 16 hours saved per course on average with Semester Prep pre-term readiness solution
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Six Red Marbles
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Six Red Marbles technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Feature4 records
Six Red Marbles partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- The Babb GroupcoreAcquisition of assets and relationships from The Babb Group to expand higher education partnerships. Deal includes support for existing institutional relationships, operational resources, and intellectual property to enhance SRM's presence and capabilities in higher education.
- Core Knowledge FoundationflagshipPartnership to develop two free K-8 arts curricula: Core Knowledge Visual Arts (CKVA) and Core Knowledge Music (CKMusic). Programs designed to provide hands-on, knowledge-rich arts education aligned with the Core Knowledge approach, integrating creative practice with historical and analytical understanding.
- Jouve IndiacoreAcquisition of Jouve India, a content and technology solutions provider, to enhance Six Red Marbles' production, development, and AI capabilities. The merger aims to expand SRM's educational solutions and increase technological and AI-driven innovations offering.
- Chronicle of Higher EducationcoreMedia partnership for webinars on AI in higher education course design and Workforce Pell readiness. Chronicle hosts and sponsors educational content featuring Six Red Marbles expertise.
- Inside Higher EdcoreMedia partnership for workforce Pell and AI in higher education webinars. Inside Higher Ed provides platform for SRM thought leadership content.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Six Red Marbles competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SweetRush: Custom learning experience design agency serving corporate and education clients with instructional design, content development, and AI-enhanced solutions—directly comparable to SRM's services model and target buyers.
- Allen Interactions: Custom eLearning design and development agency producing instructional content and interactive courses for enterprise and education buyers; closely aligned with SRM's course design and creative/media offerings.
- Hurix Digital: Digital content and learning solutions provider for K-12, higher education, and publishers with global production capability; comparable to SRM's content development and K-12 publishing services.
- MPS Limited: Content development, learning solutions, and publishing services provider with AI-enabled capabilities serving education and publishing markets; overlaps with SRM's Jouve India-acquired production footprint.
- ELB Learning: Custom learning content and instructional design agency offering course development, gamification, and immersive solutions; comparable mid-sized competitor in the custom LXD space.
Broad incumbents
- GP Strategies: Larger performance improvement and custom learning solutions company with deeper corporate training footprint and acquired Intrepid Learning assets; broader portfolio but overlapping learning experience design services.
- Cengage Group: Major educational publisher and services provider serving higher education and workforce learning; broader portfolio but competes for similar institutional content and course development budgets.
- McGraw Hill: Educational publisher with K-12 and higher ed content plus digital learning services; competes for similar standards-aligned curriculum and instructional design engagements.
- Pearson: Global education and publishing company with significant higher education and English language learning services; broad incumbent whose enterprise services overlap with SRM's higher ed work.
Emerging players
- D2L: Learning management platform with growing course content and design services for higher ed and K-12; emerging alternative for institutions that might otherwise engage SRM for CourseStart-style offerings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Six Red Marbles social profiles
Digital presenceSix Red Marbles financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Six Red Marbles leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Six Red Marbles subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Six Red Marbles funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Six Red Marbles M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Six Red Marbles
What does Six Red Marbles do?
Six Red Marbles designs, develops, and produces educational content and courses for K-12, higher education, continuing education, and publishing customers. Its portfolio spans content development, course design, creative and media, production, and technology integration services, supplemented by three purpose-built solutions: CourseStart (AI-powered course creation platform with a 30-course general education library, $20,000/year per campus), Semester Prep (pre-term readiness service at $1,500 per course), and Product Development Workshops (collaborative consulting engagements). Tiered course development packages are sold at $15,000, $20,000, and $25,000.
Is Six Red Marbles a public or private company?
Six Red Marbles is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Six Red Marbles founded?
Six Red Marbles was founded in 1995. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Six Red Marbles based?
Six Red Marbles is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Six Red Marbles make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Course Development Services are the primary driver. The others are courseStart Platform Subscription and semester Prep Services.
Who are Six Red Marbles's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SweetRush, Allen Interactions, Hurix Digital, MPS Limited and ELB Learning. Broad incumbents are GP Strategies, Cengage Group, McGraw Hill and Pearson. D2L is listed as an emerging player.
Does Six Red Marbles have an API?
No public API is recorded for Six Red Marbles.
What industry is Six Red Marbles in?
Six Red Marbles's product category is Learning Experience Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAKAA, K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services, with a secondary code of EDAGAKAB, Higher Education Course Design & Online Program Development. Its NAICS code is 6117 and its SIC code is 8200.