1.1 Back Then

We started as professors at traditional universities. We still are; we teach classes, we serve in our disciplines, we write textbooks, and we conduct research. We understand what it means to be academics.

Since becoming professors, we had watched textbook prices steadily increase even while publishing and distribution costs decreased.

We also realized the market for educational materials was shifting. Traditional textbooks were being enveloped by digital materials which offered much more convenience, flexibility, and dynamic content. More and more students were bringing laptops and tablets to school.

In 2011 we decided to start a new type of publishing company. We wanted textbooks that not only can be used at the world's best institutions, but also that can remain low cost. Further, we wanted a learning platform that takes advantage of modern technologies, not a PDF book like other publishers have.

So that's what we set out to make, and it's what drives us today.