The College Tour

What The College Tour does

The College Tour is a private, founder-led media and edtech platform built around an Emmy-nominated, award-winning TV series about U.S. higher education. Co-created in September 2020 by Lisa Hennessy (a 14-year veteran of Mark Burnett Productions) and Alex Boylan, the company produces and distributes authentic-student-story documentary episodes for individual colleges and universities. The core technology stack is a website (TheCollegeTour.com) hosting 200+ streaming episodes, a catalog of 250+ dedicated college tour pages, an interactive "Find Your College Fit" discovery experience, four video-based TCT Classes (Core, First-Generation, International, Majors), and a portfolio of digital sub-series covering dorms, campus towns, food, financial aid, admissions, and conversations with college presidents. Episodes air across six seasons on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, and YouTube, and the catalog represents more than 2,500 student stories from campuses across 35+ U.S. states.

The business operates a two-sided model. The consumer side is entirely free for students, families, and high school counselors — accessible with no account or subscription — supported by streaming distribution and a counselor newsletter reaching 60,000 high-school advisors. The revenue side is B2B: The College Tour sells partnership packages to colleges and universities, anchored by a Spotlight Package at $2,500/year (dedicated tour page, newsletter feature, Instagram promotion) and a higher-value TV Episode Package with custom pricing that grants Amazon Prime Video distribution, full content rights to the institution, and a b-roll library for the college's own admissions marketing. Additional monetization includes Platform & Video Solutions (interactive campus maps, on-campus welcome videos, production support) and customized digital content integrations. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, operates with fewer than 10 employees, and has not raised disclosed outside capital — implying a bootstrapped, production-light operating model.

Name

The College Tour

Legal name

The College Tour

Website

https://thecollegetour.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The College Tour is a media platform built around an Emmy-nominated TV series on Amazon Prime Video that showcases U.S. colleges and universities through authentic student stories, serving prospective students, families, and high school counselors with free streaming content and paid partnership packages to institutional clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

College Discovery Platform

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Summer Programs, Research & Extracurricular Planning for Admissions (EDANAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

University & College Study Tours (THAKAGAC)

Keywords

• College discovery platform
• Educational video content
• Higher education marketing
• Student recruitment media
• College search platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. College Partnership Packages (Spotlight Package): The College Tour generates revenue by selling partnership packages to colleges and universities. The Spotlight Package ($2,500/year) provides a dedicated tour page, newsletter exposure to 60,000 counselors, social media promotion, and live onboarding within one week. The flagship TV Episode Package includes Amazon Prime Video distribution, full content rights, b-roll library access, and award-winning production, with custom pricing negotiated per institution.
2. TV Episode Production Services: The College Tour produces professionally filmed TV episodes for partner institutions featuring current student stories about academics, campus life, housing, athletics, and student organizations. Institutions receive all content rights, b-roll footage for marketing use, and national distribution through Amazon Prime Video. Revenue is generated through negotiated production and licensing agreements with each institution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The College Tour produces and distributes an award-winning TV series (200+ episodes across 6 seasons on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, and YouTube) and an online college discovery platform (TheCollegeTour.com) that features 250+ partner colleges, 2,500+ authentic student stories, and free interactive tools such as Find Your College Fit. The company sells partnership packages to colleges and universities, including a $2,500/year Spotlight Package and a custom-priced TV Episode Package, while keeping all content free for students, families, and high school counselors.

Product overview

The College Tour is a college discovery platform consisting of an award-winning TV series on Amazon Prime Video featuring authentic student stories about colleges and universities, combined with TheCollegeTour.com website featuring tour pages, the Find Your College Fit interactive experience, and TCT Classes (free video-based classes including Core Class, First Gen Class, International Students Class, and College Majors Class). The platform also offers Digital Series including Dorm Tours, Campus Towns USA, Campus Eats, Coffee with College Presidents, Ask Admissions, and Navigating Financial Aid. For institutional partners, The College Tour offers Spotlight Package ($2,500/year), TV Episode Package (flagship offering), and Platform & Video Solutions. The company partners with 250+ colleges and has produced 200+ TV episodes featuring over 2,500 student stories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The College Tour TV Series Award-winning TV series streaming on Amazon Prime Video (and also Tubi, YouTube, and TheCollegeTour.com) that shares the story of colleges and universities through the authentic voices of current students, covering academics, housing, athletics, internships, and campus life. Over 200 episodes across 6 seasons. Free for students, families, and counselors.
• Spotlight Package Annual B2B partnership package priced at $2,500/year that provides a college or university with a dedicated tour page on TheCollegeTour.com with unlimited edits, a featured newsletter placement to 60,000 high school counselors once per year, a featured Instagram post (10K+ followers), and live onboarding within one week. Term is 12 months, invoice payable within 30 days.
• TV Episode Package Flagship full-production B2B partnership offering for colleges and universities. Includes featured placement on Amazon Prime Video, full content rights granted to the institution, b-roll library access for marketing use, and production by the award-winning team. Pricing is custom-negotiated per institution under multi-year contracts.
• Platform & Video Solutions Custom B2B partnership solutions for colleges and universities, including Coffee with College Presidents Podcast, Interactive Campus Maps, On Campus Welcome Video, and Production Support. Pricing and scope are tailored per institution.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Amazon Prime VideoflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon Prime Video is the primary streaming platform for The College Tour TV series. The series streams seasons on Amazon Prime Video with national distribution. This partnership provides The College Tour with massive reach into Amazon Prime's subscriber base, positioning the show alongside premium entertainment content and lending credibility through association with the Amazon brand.
• TubicoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTubi serves as an additional free streaming platform for The College Tour TV series, expanding content distribution beyond Amazon Prime Video to Tubi's ad-supported viewer base and increasing accessibility for students and families who may not have Amazon Prime accounts.
• YouTubecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerYouTube serves as an additional free streaming platform for The College Tour TV series, providing broad reach to YouTube's global user base and enabling content discovery through YouTube's recommendation and search systems.
• 250+ College and University PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe College Tour partners with 250+ colleges and universities (public universities, private colleges, community colleges, HBCUs, tribal colleges, faith-based institutions, career-focused schools, and specialized programs) to create TV episodes, dedicated tour pages, and student story content. Partners include institutions across 35+ states. Institutions pay for partnership packages and receive professionally produced content, b-roll footage, national distribution, and counselor newsletter exposure. The relationship is mutual: institutions gain recruitment content and visibility while The College Tour gains access to student stories and institutional distribution.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Niche.com: Niche is a college search and review platform that combines rankings, data, reviews, and college information for prospective students. It directly competes with The College Tour's discovery and tour-page functionality, although Niche leans more on quantitative data and reviews while The College Tour emphasizes authentic student video stories.
• CampusReel: CampusReel is a video-first college discovery platform featuring student-created tours and reviews of colleges and universities. It directly mirrors The College Tour's core value proposition of student-perspective video content for prospective students and family decision-making.
• College Board (BigFuture): College Board operates BigFuture, a college planning and search platform tied to PSAT/SAT, and serves the same prospective student audience. Both platforms offer free college discovery tools and partner with high school counselors, making College Board a clear incumbent competitor.
• YouVisit: YouVisit produces virtual campus tours and 360-degree video content for colleges and universities, plus immersive virtual experiences for schools and brands. It directly competes in the same virtual college discovery category as The College Tour's Tour Now pages and TV episodes.

Emerging players

• Naviance (by PowerSchool): Naviance is a leading college and career readiness platform used by high school counselors for college search, planning, and application tracking. It is a key counselor-side competitor to The College Tour's 60,000-counselor newsletter distribution channel and classroom content library.
• CollegeVine: CollegeVine provides college search, admissions guidance, and application support content for prospective students and families. It overlaps with The College Tour's discovery-plus-applications journey but focuses more on data-driven advising and tutoring services.
• Appily (formerly Cappex): Appily is a college search and scholarship matching platform serving prospective students with school profiles, peer reviews, and admissions resources. It competes in the same college search category with comparable free consumer-facing content and content-marketing models.

Others

• Coursera: Coursera is a leading online learning platform that partners with universities to deliver courses, certificates, and degree programs. While it operates in higher education, it is thematically adjacent as a platform connecting universities to learners rather than a direct competitor in prospective student discovery.
• Mark Burnett Productions: Mark Burnett Productions is a non-scripted TV production house where The College Tour's co-creator Lisa Hennessy spent 14 years. While not a direct competitor, it is closely related as a talent pedigree reference and as an ecosystem player in unscripted television including reality and competition formats.

Broad incumbents

• EAB (Royall & Company): EAB's Royall & Company division is a leading provider of enrollment marketing and student recruitment services to colleges and universities. It overlaps directly with The College Tour's B2B value proposition of helping partner colleges reach prospective students, albeit via a broader portfolio of services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/lisa-hennessy-07133585
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecollegetour
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheCollegeTourTV

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The College Tour