# GSV Advisors

> GSV Advisors is a VC fund in Chicago backing Education, Art and EdTech. See 5 investments, round sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Chicago, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Jun 2016
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/asugsvsummit
- Website: http://gsvadvisors.com/

GSV Advisors is an online platform that connects education businesses with investors. It was launched by Deborah Quazzo and is based in Illinois.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Education | 2 | 40% |
| Art | 1 | 20% |
| EdTech | 1 | 20% |
| E-Learning | 1 | 20% |
| Employment | 1 | 20% |

10 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 2 | 40% |
| Seed | 1 | 20% |
| Series A | 1 | 20% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Round size | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IVY | IVY is poised to be the global 21st century version of a top University, with a decentralized lifelong member-base across 50 hub cities. We will disrupt the $4 trillion global education market as the leading platform mobilizing passionate individuals towards entrepreneurship, arts, social impact, policy, and wellness. The average IVY member is aninfluential high income millennial who is 31 years old. Our vision is to establish a lifelong membership spanning from adolescence to late adulthood.IVY has more than 20,000 members across 7 US cities and is hosting 1,000+ gatherings with foremost thought-leaders, cultural institutions, venues, and brands in 2017. It is the number one community that mobilizes the next generation towards entrepreneurship, art, philanthropy, policy and wellness. Founded by Harvard Business School classmates Beri Meric and Philipp Triebel, IVY is currently based across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago and Miami, with upcoming international expansions scheduled for London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. | $3.1M |  | Jun 10, 2016 |  |
| Handshake | Handshake is a college career network that helps students and recent graduates find their next opportunity.The company's network gives students access to more career opportunities and insights, provides employers with more comprehensive and efficient access to talent, and gives colleges more tools to drive student engagement and increasestudent employmentHandshake was launched in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Denver and London, England. | $10.5M | Series A | Feb 03, 2016 |  |
| IVY | IVY is poised to be the global 21st century version of a top University, with a decentralized lifelong member-base across 50 hub cities. We will disrupt the $4 trillion global education market as the leading platform mobilizing passionate individuals towards entrepreneurship, arts, social impact, policy, and wellness. The average IVY member is aninfluential high income millennial who is 31 years old. Our vision is to establish a lifelong membership spanning from adolescence to late adulthood.IVY has more than 20,000 members across 7 US cities and is hosting 1,000+ gatherings with foremost thought-leaders, cultural institutions, venues, and brands in 2017. It is the number one community that mobilizes the next generation towards entrepreneurship, art, philanthropy, policy and wellness. Founded by Harvard Business School classmates Beri Meric and Philipp Triebel, IVY is currently based across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago and Miami, with upcoming international expansions scheduled for London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. | $3.5M |  | May 01, 2015 |  |
| ThinkCERCA | ThinkCERCA’s personalized literacy platform helps educators teach critical thinking skills through argumentative writing. With students and teachers using its platform in all 50 states and 130 countries, the company has partnered with prominent education leaders, including Follett Corporation, and has been featured by The Atlantic and EdSurge. A2016 SIAA CODiE Awards finalist in the Best Learning Capacity-Building Solution and Best Reading/English/Language Arts Instructional Solution categories, ThinkCERCA has also been named one of the best tools in ed tech by Common Sense’s Graphite. In July 2013, ThinkCERCA was the recipient of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Literacy Courseware Challenge grant, and in December 2012, graduated from the inaugural class of Impact Engine’s social impact accelerator. To learn more, please visit ThinkCERCA.com | $1.5M |  | Jun 03, 2014 |  |
| ThinkCERCA | ThinkCERCA’s personalized literacy platform helps educators teach critical thinking skills through argumentative writing. With students and teachers using its platform in all 50 states and 130 countries, the company has partnered with prominent education leaders, including Follett Corporation, and has been featured by The Atlantic and EdSurge. A2016 SIAA CODiE Awards finalist in the Best Learning Capacity-Building Solution and Best Reading/English/Language Arts Instructional Solution categories, ThinkCERCA has also been named one of the best tools in ed tech by Common Sense’s Graphite. In July 2013, ThinkCERCA was the recipient of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Literacy Courseware Challenge grant, and in December 2012, graduated from the inaugural class of Impact Engine’s social impact accelerator. To learn more, please visit ThinkCERCA.com | $1.5M | Seed | Jun 03, 2014 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Annox Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/annox-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [AGO Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/aspiration-growth) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Edovate Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/edovate-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Founders Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/founders-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [GSV Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gsv-acceleration) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Kleiner Perkins](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kleiner-perkins-caufield-byers) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does GSV Advisors invest in?

GSV Advisors invests primarily in Education, Art and EdTech startups, most often at Funding Round and Seed stage. Most of the 5 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 GSV Advisors last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for GSV Advisors closed in Jun 2016. Shizune tracks 5 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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