Six Red Marbles

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.

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

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

• Learning experience design
• Instructional design services
• Course development
• Educational content production
• Higher education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• The Babb GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2026Acquisition 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 FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 May 2026Partnership 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 IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2024Acquisition 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 EducationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia 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 EdcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/six-red-marbles
• Xx.com/sixredmarbles
• Facebookfacebook.com/sixredmarbles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Six Red Marbles