The Think Tank

What The Think Tank does

The Think Tank Education, LLC is a privately held, founder-owned education services company founded in 2011 by Matt Miklius, PhD and headquartered at 510 W Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The company delivers standardized test preparation (ACT/SAT and other exams), one-on-one and small-group academic tutoring, college-application essay coaching, and a proprietary subscription-based math learning platform called Fill the Math GAPS. Fill the Math GAPS — the company's primary technology asset — is a web and mobile application (apps.thinktankprep.com, plus Play Store and App Store listings) that combines weekly adaptive assignments, 45+ hours of proprietary YouTube-style video tutorials covering 5th-grade math through Trigonometry, and a real-time data analytics engine that surfaces student-level and question-level proficiency data to parents, teachers, and administrators. The platform is offered in three SKUs: Parents, Homeschool, and Schools. The Think Tank generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) professional-services tutoring and test prep delivered in-person at its Arlington Heights center, remotely via Zoom, and on-site at partner schools; (2) recurring subscription revenue from the Fill the Math GAPS platform sold to parents, homeschool families, and schools; and (3) ancillary branded merchandise via its online shop. Go-to-market is consultative and primarily sales-led — prospective families contact the company by phone or contact form — supplemented by a channel-partner motion through private K-12 school relationships, most notably a strategic partnership with ADAC (a K-12 private school consortium) that distributes the platform into ADAC member schools. The company serves students primarily in the Northwest and North Chicago suburbs, with remote delivery extending geographic reach. Management reporting a 99.5% success rate on ACT score improvement, 5–7 point average ACT gains, and over $47 million in documented college scholarships earned by its students.

Name

The Think Tank

Legal name

The Think Tank Education, LLC

Website

https://thinktankprep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Think Tank is a privately held Chicagoland education services company offering ACT/SAT prep, academic tutoring, college essay coaching, and its proprietary Fill the Math GAPS adaptive math learning platform to middle and high school students, families, and partner private schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Test Preparation & Tutoring Services

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Test & Admissions Writing (SSAT/ISEE/SAT/ACT Essays, Personal Statements) (EDAMAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Essay, Research & Academic Writing (Middle/High School) (EDAMAJAL), College-Level Core Subject Tutoring (Gen Ed: Math, Writing, Sciences, Humanities) (EDANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Test preparation services
• Academic tutoring services
• College admissions coaching
• Math diagnostics platform
• Standardized test prep

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Academic Tutoring: One-on-one and small-group tutoring for middle school through college students in math, science, and other subjects. Delivered in-person and remotely via Skype. Tutoring available weekly, monthly, or pre-exam.
2. ACT/SAT Test Prep: Standardized test preparation courses for ACT, SAT, HSPT, GRE, GMAT, OAT, and DAT. Offered in one-on-one, hybrid, and group class formats. Programs include a benchmark exam at start and personalized study strategy.
3. Fill the Math GAPS SaaS Tool: Subscription-based online math learning platform (web app) providing weekly assignments, adaptive video tutorials, and real-time analytics. Sold directly to parents, homeschool groups, and schools.
4. College Essay Coaching: College essay writing support including brainstorming, outlining, feedback/editing, word count trimming, and application navigation. Holistic approach to college application essays.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Think Tank provides ACT and SAT test preparation, individualized academic tutoring (in-person and virtual), and college essay coaching to middle and high school students and their families. It also sells access to its proprietary Fill the Math GAPS diagnostic and instruction platform to parents, homeschoolers, and schools.

Product overview

The Think Tank is an education services company offering a unified portfolio centered on its proprietary Fill the Math GAPS platform (available in Parents, Homeschool, and Schools versions) combined with tutoring services. The core product suite includes ACT/SAT Test Prep, Academic Tutoring & Virtual Learning, College Essays support, and general Test Prep for various standardized tests. Fill the Math GAPS serves as the primary technology product—a data-driven math learning platform with video tutorials and adaptive learning features—while the tutoring services represent the human-powered complement. Ancillary merchandise is also offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fill the Math GAPS: A proprietary math educational platform developed by Matthew Miklius PhD that employs real-time data analytics, supplemental weekly assignments, and YouTube-styled tutorials to help students from 5th grade through Trigonometry.

Products and services

• ACT/SAT Test Prep Structured preparation programs for the ACT and SAT standardized tests delivered to middle and high school students, in-person and virtually.
• Academic Tutoring Individualized academic tutoring across subjects delivered in-person at the Arlington Heights, IL center and virtually to students and families.
• College Essay Coaching Coaching service guiding high school students through the college application essay writing process.
• Fill the Math GAPS Proprietary diagnostic and instruction platform that identifies math skill gaps and delivers targeted remediation; sold to parents, homeschoolers, and schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.5% success rate on ACT score improvement; average improvement from 21 to 27
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• St. Teresa of Calcutta SchoolcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 February 2023In February 2023, St. Teresa of Calcutta School partnered with The Think Tank to implement Fill the Math GAPS for their 8th grade students. Based on the success of the pilot, the program was expanded to serve the full 7th and 8th grade student body in September 2023.
• Holy Trinity High SchoolflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 August 2022Holy Trinity High School partnered with The Think Tank as a flagship school to implement the Fill the Math GAPS program school-wide. The Think Tank works closely with administrators and teachers to deliver individualized support and critical data to address student needs. Additionally, an in-school ACT Prep program is offered for Holy Trinity's top-performing students.
• ADAC (Association of Directors of Assessment & Curriculum)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerADAC empowers K-12 private school leaders and teachers with customized professional services in teaching & learning, special education, educator coaching, and fundraising. In partnership with The Think Tank, ADAC delivers comprehensive implementation support for the proprietary 'Fill the Math GAPS' program, designed to accelerate student achievement through targeted, data-informed instruction. ADAC member schools gain access to the Fill the Math GAPS platform.
• Saint Viator High SchoolflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSaint Viator High School has partnered with The Think Tank to produce customized ACT prep classes for busy students. The program is broken into matched-ability groups administered multiple times per year to provide optimal instruction for students at any level.
• Holy Name SchoolcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHoly Name School partnered with The Think Tank to implement Fill the Math GAPS for their 7th and 8th grade student body. The Think Tank works closely with administrators and teachers to ensure Holy Name has supplemental math data to serve students on an individual level.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tutor.com: Online tutoring platform providing one-on-one instruction across K-12 and college subjects, including standardized test prep. Comparable to The Think Tank's academic tutoring and test prep offerings, often delivered via institutional contracts with schools and libraries.
• Magoosh: Online test prep company offering affordable self-paced ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT and other exam prep. Comparable to The Think Tank's ACT/SAT prep offerings, distinguished by Magoosh's asynchronous online model versus The Think Tank's hybrid live-plus-platform approach.
• Wyzant: Online marketplace connecting students with private tutors across subjects and test prep. Comparable to The Think Tank's one-on-one academic tutoring and standardized test prep offerings, differentiated by its marketplace model versus Think Tank's curated tutor roster.
• Varsity Tutors: Large online tutoring and test prep platform offering one-on-one instruction and standardized test prep across the U.S. Directly comparable to The Think Tank's tutoring and ACT/SAT prep services, though operating at much greater scale.
• Huntington Learning Center: Franchised in-person tutoring and test prep center network serving K-12 students with academic tutoring, ACT/SAT prep, and subject remediation. Closely comparable to The Think Tank's physical-center tutoring and standardized test prep service model.
• PrepScholar: Online ACT/SAT prep and college admissions platform using adaptive learning algorithms. Comparable to The Think Tank's ACT/SAT prep and college admissions support, with PrepScholar positioned as a more technology-driven, self-serve alternative.

Broad incumbents

• IXL Learning: Large-scale K-12 adaptive learning platform covering math, ELA, science and social studies, with school-licensed and family subscriptions. Directly comparable to The Think Tank's Fill the Math GAPS adaptive math platform, though IXL operates at vastly greater scale.
• Princeton Review: Long-established national test prep and tutoring brand offering ACT/SAT prep courses, tutoring, and college admissions services. Directly comparable to The Think Tank's ACT/SAT prep and college essay offerings, with substantially broader geographic reach.
• Khan Academy: Free, large-scale online learning platform with extensive video tutorials and practice across math and other subjects. Explicitly named by The Think Tank as a benchmark for Fill the Math GAPS, and a meaningful free substitute for parents evaluating paid math tutoring.
• Kaplan Test Prep: Major incumbent in standardized test prep and admissions tutoring, including ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT and other exams. Overlaps directly with The Think Tank's ACT/SAT and broader standardized test prep portfolio at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thinktankprep
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheThinkTankPrep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/think-tank-prep
• Instagraminstagram.com/thinktankprep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Think Tank