Don Burton
Co-Founder and Managing Partner @ LearnStart
New York, United States
Don Burton is a seed investor at LearnStart in New York focused on Education and EdTech. Don has had an interesting career at the cutting edge of education innovation and technology-- primarily launching, scaling, and exiting companies as well as a thought leader on the topic of the Future of Education. As a strategic advisor, Don worked with McKinsey & Co consulting on strategies to launch interactive media business units and howto create open innovation within large corporates such as Apple, IBM, Sony, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Cox Cable, Viacom and Disney and with Goldman Sachs advising on exits and acquisitions. As an Intrapreneur, he has built education startups within large companies such as Walt Disney Company and Kaplan. As an Entrepreneur, he has built multiple edtech startups on his own as a founder with a major exit to Kaplan/Washington Post. He most recently has been a successful edtech investor with a portfolio of more than 30 startups as a seed stage investor. Don was an angel investor before running edtech Startup Accelerator programs with Techstars, and for his own company, graduating 3 cohorts who have raised more than 100 million in financing and have an estimated market cap of more than $400 million. He currently is co-founder and managing partner of LearnStart, a seed stage venture capital fund focused exclusively on learning, education and talent. Don graduated from Harvard Business School and Duke University. A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Business School, he enjoys spending time with his own kids and encouraging them to find and pursue their passions.
- Total investments:
- 26
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 27%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Don Burton invests in
Stages Don Burton invests in
Countries Don Burton invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Education 15 (58%)
- EdTech 9 (35%)
- E-Learning 9 (35%)
- Software 4 (15%)
- Health Care 2 (8%)
Stage
- Seed 14 (54%)
- Pre-Seed 4 (15%)
- Convertible Note 3 (12%)
- Funding Round 2 (8%)
- Series A 1 (4%)
Country
- United States 15 (58%)
- Canada 1 (4%)
- Bangladesh 1 (4%)
- United Arab Emirates 1 (4%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Flourish Labs
|
Flourish Labs is a purpose-driven startup combining cutting edge mental health science and technology to foster flourishing and good mental health. Our mission is to mobilize and scale professional peer support with tech to address the mental health crisis. | $6.4M / Seed / Jul 20, 2022 | |
Englease
|
Englease.com is an online English learning platform for users in the MENA region. It offers English courses, including IELTS and TOEFL preparation, through a subscription-based model with live and flexible online classes. | $3.4M / Seed / Dec 19, 2021 | |
Novakid
|
Novakid is a fully remote EdTech company specialising in online English language education for children aged 2 to 14. A US company, with a head office in London, this Series B startup has raised $41.5 million in funding from leading global investors. With a mission to equip young learners for success in a globalised world, Novakid deliverspersonalised, immersive English learning experiences that are effective, engaging, and accessible to families worldwide. The company’s full-immersion methodology combines one-on-one live lessons with certified native or near-native English-speaking teachers, interactive group speaking practice, gamified digital content, and AI-driven progress tracking. Novakid’s expert-designed curriculum is aligned with CEFR standards and fosters both language fluency and cognitive development through storytelling, conversation, and age-appropriate activities. In September 2024, Novakid acquired Lingumi, a UK-based EFL app that offers AI-assisted, interactive English lessons for early learners. This acquisition strengthens Novakid Junior, a free, self-paced English learning app for young children, by integrating Lingumi’s AI capabilities with Novakid’s live teaching and gamified learning tools. The result is a comprehensive, accessible language environment that widens access to high-quality English instruction from as early as two years old.Novakid has been recognised by a number of organisations across the world: - Novakid was named to the highly-anticipated 2025 edition of the GSV 150: GSV’s annual list of the top 150 private companies transforming digital learning and workforce skills. Novakid was also included on the list in 2022. - Novakid was named at position #84 on the 2025 Newsweek Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces list. - Novakid was included on the 2025 Forbes Top 500 list of America’s Best Startup Employers - position #83. In 2022, Novakid was on the Top 500 list in position #133. - Novakid was included on the 2025 and the 2023 Inc 5000 list. - Novakid was awarded an 2025 EdTech X People’s Recognition Award in June 2025. Novakid was nominated as a finalist in the ‘Growth’ category of the Edtech X Awards 2024, and was a finalist in the ‘Early Years’ category of the EdtechX Awards 2023. - In 2023, Novakid won the Best Digital Language Learning Product of the Year Award in the Digital Education Awards. - Novakid was recognised as a finalist in the 2022 and 2023 EdTech Digest Awards in the category of Best Language Learning Solution. | $35M / Series B / Aug 02, 2021 | |
Shikho
|
Shikho is a Bangladeshi education technology company on a mission to revolutionise the way Bangladesh learns today and democratise access to a high quality education. It is building a hyper-localised digital learning ecosystem designed specifically for the Bangladeshi national curriculum to serve a growing total addressable market of ~42 millionstudents. "Shikho - The Learning App" is available on the Google Play Store. | $1.3M / Seed / Jul 28, 2021 | |
YaizY
|
YaizY is a live online education platform that allows 8-to-17-year-olds to explore their passions, develop future-proof skills and competencies focused on innovation, leadership, design, and multimedia arts.YaizY exists to help students identify and explore their natural aspirations through advanced and diverse courses that seek to bridge the gapbetween today’s traditional educational system and what’s needed to succeed in the job market of tomorrow. Turning passions into professions, YaizY curates a child’s learning path based on their interests, goals, and achievements. Our outcome-based curriculum offers flexible course selection to spark or nurture kids' curiosities and encourages a test-drive experience through real-world applications, with the ultimate goal of building a personalized learning path that inspires the next generation of designers, innovators, and thought leaders.YaizY was founded in 2019 by a global team of entrepreneurs, industry experts, and professionally trained, award-winning educators with decades of international experience - all on a mission to become the most trusted online learning platform inspiring students to turn their passions into professions. | $2.1M / Seed / Jul 10, 2021 | |
|
Novakid
|
Novakid is a fully remote EdTech company specialising in online English language education for children aged 2 to 14. A US company, with a head office in London, this Series B startup has raised $41.5 million in funding from leading global investors. With a mission to equip young learners for success in a globalised world, Novakid deliverspersonalised, immersive English learning experiences that are effective, engaging, and accessible to families worldwide. The company’s full-immersion methodology combines one-on-one live lessons with certified native or near-native English-speaking teachers, interactive group speaking practice, gamified digital content, and AI-driven progress tracking. Novakid’s expert-designed curriculum is aligned with CEFR standards and fosters both language fluency and cognitive development through storytelling, conversation, and age-appropriate activities. In September 2024, Novakid acquired Lingumi, a UK-based EFL app that offers AI-assisted, interactive English lessons for early learners. This acquisition strengthens Novakid Junior, a free, self-paced English learning app for young children, by integrating Lingumi’s AI capabilities with Novakid’s live teaching and gamified learning tools. The result is a comprehensive, accessible language environment that widens access to high-quality English instruction from as early as two years old.Novakid has been recognised by a number of organisations across the world: - Novakid was named to the highly-anticipated 2025 edition of the GSV 150: GSV’s annual list of the top 150 private companies transforming digital learning and workforce skills. Novakid was also included on the list in 2022. - Novakid was named at position #84 on the 2025 Newsweek Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces list. - Novakid was included on the 2025 Forbes Top 500 list of America’s Best Startup Employers - position #83. In 2022, Novakid was on the Top 500 list in position #133. - Novakid was included on the 2025 and the 2023 Inc 5000 list. - Novakid was awarded an 2025 EdTech X People’s Recognition Award in June 2025. Novakid was nominated as a finalist in the ‘Growth’ category of the Edtech X Awards 2024, and was a finalist in the ‘Early Years’ category of the EdtechX Awards 2023. - In 2023, Novakid won the Best Digital Language Learning Product of the Year Award in the Digital Education Awards. - Novakid was recognised as a finalist in the 2022 and 2023 EdTech Digest Awards in the category of Best Language Learning Solution. | $4.3M / Series A / Dec 03, 2020 | |
|
Shikho
|
Shikho is a Bangladeshi education technology company on a mission to revolutionise the way Bangladesh learns today and democratise access to a high quality education. It is building a hyper-localised digital learning ecosystem designed specifically for the Bangladeshi national curriculum to serve a growing total addressable market of ~42 millionstudents. "Shikho - The Learning App" is available on the Google Play Store. | $100K / Pre-Seed / Jun 11, 2020 | |
Proto
|
Proto offers schools a results-proven solution to advance student achievement and teacher excellence. Their suite of project-based, standards-aligned courses for grades 4 to 12 inspire student learning and interest in STEM and Computer Science subjects and careers. The company's turnkey solution offers digital textbooks, online portfolios, andexpert support community. Students learn to apply Computer Science knowledge through designing and coding their own educational video games. A secure, members-only platform with built-in implementation pathways and pacing guides, class management, and assessment tools make it easy for teachers to guide personalized CSEd learning in any subject and grade level.Proto formerly known as Globaloria was founded by Idit Harel in 2006 and is headquartered in New York, NY, United States. | $1.5M / Dec 05, 2014 | |
CreatorBox
|
CreatorBox is a group of passionate parents, and educational technologists, who have come together to with one goal: to inspire their future creators. They want their kids to have every opportunity to do what they love someday. And maybe they’ll want to pursue fields that require technical skills. So, they’ve tried their best to help them learnabout science, technology, engineering and math (“STEM”). And they're not alone. Obama dedicated over $3 billion to improve STEM education, because that’s where the good jobs are, and where the graduates aren’t. | $20K / Seed / Jul 25, 2014 | |
Branching Minds
|
Branching Minds solves a large and growing problem for teachers, principals and superintendents: educators have no clear way of figuring out why students are struggling to learn, or what teachers should do to help them get back on track. Our platform helps teachers to identify students’ cognitive learning strengths and challenges, algorithmicallymatches them with research-backed learning supports, and then tracks and reports data on student progress. | $20K / Seed / Jul 25, 2014 | |
| See all 26 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About LearnStart
LearnStart is a seed fund that focuses on the development of global education technology companies through seed funding.
LearnStart Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Don Burton
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
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Michael Staton
Founding Partner
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3 more contacts available
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FAQ
What does Don Burton invest in?
Don Burton invests primarily in Education, EdTech and E-Learning startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 26 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did Don Burton last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Don Burton closed in Jul 2022. Shizune tracks 26 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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