Rock By Rock

What Rock By Rock does

Rock By Rock is a K-5 project-based learning membership platform founded in 2020 by former educators Jeff and Sung-Ae during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company delivers fully planned, interdisciplinary projects that integrate science, literacy, and life habits, aligned with NGSS and CCSS standards. Each project follows a structured journey combining online interactive modules with offline hands-on activities, supported by monthly live virtual field trips featuring real-world experts and partnerships with organizations such as the Birmingham Zoo. A BETA middle school add-on (Middle School Innovation Zone) launched in July 2025 extends the model above K-5.

The platform is web-based and includes student-facing digital Mission Logs, downloadable Teacher's Guides, materials lists, and a link-generation system that allows educators to share project access without requiring individual student logins. Projects have been funded through U.S. Department of Education grants, and content development was piloted with an educator team whose outcome data is referenced for marketing. The product surface spans a K-2 full project library, a 3-5 full project library, 3-5 Take Action Projects (ELA writing), Live Virtual Field Trips, and supporting instructional resources.

The business operates on tiered annual and monthly subscriptions. Homeschool families can subscribe to Home Flex ($30/month or $150/year for 1-3 students) or one of several "Crew" tiers scaling from 4-8 students ($250/year) up to 51+ students (custom). Schools and districts with 150+ students receive custom quote-based enterprise memberships on a school calendar (expires June 30, 2026), while individual educators can purchase a Launch Pad starter tier at $135/year. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer via rockbyrock.com, with a channel partnership through the National Microschool Center offering a 10% member discount. The company is founder-owned/bootstrapped with 1-10 employees and has disclosed no external funding.

Name

Rock By Rock

Legal name

Rock by Rock LLC

Website

https://rockbyrock.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rock By Rock is a K-5 project-based learning subscription platform founded in 2020 by former educators, delivering standards-aligned interdisciplinary projects with virtual field trips to schools, microschools, homeschool families, and individual educators across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Annual Subscriptions - Home/Family: Tiered annual subscription model for homeschool families and individual teachers. Pricing based on student count (1-3 students up to 51+ students). Home subscriptions run 365 days from purchase date. Auto-renewal enabled by default.
2. Annual Subscriptions - Schools/Districts: School and district memberships for 150+ students with custom quote-based pricing. School accounts operate on school calendar expiring June 30th, 2026. Includes unlimited link generation for student access.
3. Middle School Innovation Zone: Separate BETA program subscription for middle school access at $150/year, providing 2 full projects and complete Take Action library through June 30th, 2026.
4. Training and Professional Development: Customized virtual and in-person training services for schools and districts with tailored support plans, included as part of membership but also available as standalone customized services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rock by Rock provides a K-5 project-based learning membership platform that delivers fully planned interdisciplinary projects integrating science, ELA, and life habits. The offering combines web-based interactive modules with offline hands-on activities, monthly live virtual field trips featuring real-world experts, and printable/digital Student Mission Logs. Subscriptions are sold directly to homeschool families, microschools, individual teachers, and K-5 schools and districts.

Product overview

Rock By Rock is a K-5 project-based learning membership platform offering a unified ecosystem of products and services. The core offering includes a K-5 Library of Projects (with separate K-2 and 3-5 grade-level projects), Live Virtual Field Trips, and Take Action Projects for ELA writing. These are delivered through multiple subscription tiers (Launch Pad for individual teachers, Full Membership for schools/districts, Home Flex/Explorer for homeschool families, and Microschool/Crew memberships). Supporting resources include the Student Mission Log, Teacher's Guide, Materials List, Free Teaching Tools, and the Student Success Framework. An add-on Middle School Innovation Zone (BETA) provides early access to middle school content. All products integrate online and hands-on learning experiences aligned with NGSS and CCSS standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-5 Library of Projects
• Take Action Projects (ELA Writing)
• Live Virtual Field Trips
• Middle School Innovation Zone
• Training and Professional Development
• School/District Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 12,300 students across 28 states served
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Birmingham ZoocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for virtual field trips featuring zoo experts. Students learn from zoo professionals including elephant care experts. Project partners include Shay Hoffman, Lead Elephant Care Professional, who helps students discover how elephants influenced radio tracker design for wildlife protection.
• National Microschool CentercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRock by Rock is a preferred provider of the National Microschool Center. NMC members receive 10% discount on membership. Partnership supports microschool founders with project-based learning resources.
• University of Miami / Professor Lindsay GraceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo game designer and professor contributes to Too Much Gaming project, teaching students about how video games are designed and the pros and cons of gaming.
• CBS News / Ramy InocenciominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBS News Senior Correspondent teaches students in Take Action Projects about creating compelling news stories, covering how to hook viewers, share key information, and inspire action.
• Shark Tank / Rose WangminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatures in Pitch Take Action Project where students learn to create persuasive pitches for their ideas, modeled after Shark Tank entrepreneurship format.
• Children's Author Caron LevisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Picture Book Take Action Project teaching students about character, plot, and word choice from published children's author.
• Smithsonian / Maurice CherryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmithsonian-affiliated podcaster featured in Podcast Take Action Project teaching students how to use sounds, words, and hooks to engage audiences.
• Nebraska State Senator Tony VargasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Save the Elephants project teaching students about elected officials and how to effectively write letters to representatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Newsela: K-12 literacy and content platform widely adopted in schools and districts. Competes for the same ELA/reading instructional time and school procurement budgets.
• Discovery Education: Large established K-12 digital curriculum provider offering standards-aligned content and virtual field trips to schools and districts. Overlaps with Rock by Rock's core content library and NGSS alignment but at much broader scale.
• Nearpod: K-12 interactive lesson and virtual field trip platform with school and district adoption. Direct overlap in the virtual field trip and standards-aligned lesson category.
• BrainPOP: Standards-aligned K-12 science, ELA, and social studies content subscription used widely in schools. Competes directly for the same curriculum minutes in K-5 classrooms.
• Khan Academy: Free and freemium K-12 learning platform offering standards-aligned content. Competes as a free alternative for homeschool families and as a supplemental resource for schools.

Others

• Minecraft Education: Microsoft's K-12 game-based learning platform with project-based lessons and educator resources. Adjacent in the PBL-plus-digital-tools category used by innovative classrooms and homeschoolers.

Direct peers

• Outschool: Subscription-based marketplace for live K-12 classes and project-based learning experiences. Both serve families seeking alternatives to traditional curricula via subscription/credit models, with overlapping homeschool and microschool audiences.
• Mystery Science: K-5 NGSS-aligned science curriculum with hands-on lessons and video content, sold to schools and homeschoolers. Closest direct comparable on the science-PBL side.
• Prenda: Microschool-in-a-box platform that provides learning guides and curriculum support to families running microschools. Direct overlap in microschool segment and family-led learning model.

Emerging players

• Tynker: Subscription K-12 coding and STEM platform serving schools, homeschoolers, and individual learners. Comparable subscription GTM and homeschool/segment diversification.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rockbyrockprojects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rock-by-rock

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Rock By Rock