User:Karida2013/OpenEnglish

Open English is an online English language school based in Miami, Florida; it was founded in Venezuela in 2006.

Open English

Company type	Private
Founded	Venezuela, (2006 (2006))
Founder	Andres Moreno
Headquarters	Miami, Florida , USA
Number of locations	6 (2012)
Website	http://www.openenglish.com

Company Overview

Open English is an online school founded in 2006 by CEO and Venezuelan entrepreneur Andres Moreno.

The program is mainly targeted to an audience ranging from 20 to 45 years of age, middle class Spanish and Portuguese-speakers. The online English school currently services Central and South American countries, including Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil.

History

In 2005, Andres Moreno co-founded Optimal English, an English-training company that provided service for international executives. With the rapid development of technology and a growing market, Moreno decided to leave the company, so he partnered with Universidad Simon Bolivar classmate and friend, Wilmer Sarmiento, to create an English school online. While Sarmiento developed the technological aspect of the company in Venezuela, Moreno went to California to raise funds. Moreno met his future wife and business partner, Nicolette Moreno, in Venezuela six months after they had started programming the first website. She formally joined the company as the first American team member in November of 2006. The three established the company in February 2007, and opened six offices in the cities of Miami, Caracas, Bogotá, São Paolo, and Buenos Aires.

Television Commercials

Dozens of Open English’s TV ads have been broadcasted throughout Latin American cable channels. In them, Moreno plays the role of the young professional that is enrolled in Open English’s classes and makes fun of a frustrated and naïve student who has not been able to learn the language. Nicolette Moreno, Open English’s CPO, plays Jenny from California.

Awards, Recognitions, and Media Coverage

Open English has been awarded by the following:

• International E-Learning Award: Academic Division
• 2011 Education Software Review
• 2011 LINGOs Best Online English School
• 2011 David Riley Award for Innovation in Business English
• 2010 Interactive Media Awards

Media coverage

Several publications have covered Open English’s story in the U.S. and in Latin America:

• Tech Crunch: "Open English Lands $43M From Insight, Redpoint to Bring Online Language to Ed to Latin America"
• Colombian newspaper Diario La República: “El éxito vino de pensar en grande”
• The Miami Herald: “Miami Based Open English Secures 43M in Venture Founding”
• Interview of CEO, Andres Moreno in MasTV and CNN Chile: “El exitoso proyecto de Open English”
• Poder 360°: “Vuelven los entrepreneurs” ; “English… Virtually”