Textbook prices

got you down?

Like…

really…

REALLY…

R-E-A-L-L-YDown?

Us too.

So we did

somethin

g.

enter…

Open College TextbooksCreated by Experts. Enhanced by Users. Free to All.

Great Minds Are Evenly

Distributed.

Great

Textbooks Are

Not.Until Now.

“Flat World Knowledge is the world's first publisher of commercial open source textbooks.  Their highly disruptive business model and technology platform is breaking all the rules and doing nothing less than reinventing the textbook publishing industry.  Flat World publishes premier textbooks written by leading experts that are as good or better than those offered by major publishers.  Students can access their online texts for free or purchase affordable alternatives from paperback editions, audio chapters, Kindle versions, .mp3 study guides, mobile flashcards and web quizzes.  Students can consume educational content anywhere, anytime, anyhow and in anyway. 

Flat World openly licenses their books and provides a platform so faculty can modify the book and deliver a customized version to their students.  The platform also provides a collaborative learning environment for students around the textbooks where, in the future, students will be able to create, share and sell study resources to one another.”

-From blog post by Brian Hirsch, Managing Director at Greenhill SAVP

Watch this three minute overview describing Flat World’s business.

Select “PLAY”

“Thankfully, there is now a viable alternative to these Pleistocene Epoch companies and their dinosaur-like business model. Flat World Knowledge, the largest commercial publisher of open-source college textbooks, has thrown a disruptive business model right into the face of the $8 billion annual textbook market, and it’s gaining traction fast.”

-BNET News - Flat World Knowledge: A Disruptive Business Model

“Shelling out big bucks at the campus bookstore is a college tradition that students can count on each semester. Textbook prices have risen steadily over the past two decades to the point where the average student now pays $900 a year, an expense that typically isn't covered by financial aid. But come September, publishing upstart Flat World Knowledge will offer a much more appealing price point: its books will be free.”

-Time, “Coming This Fall: Free Textbooks”

"The current business model fails students, faculty and authors," Eric Frank [Flat World co-founder] says. "Students are used to having choices in what to buy; instead they're getting the same thing they got 50 years ago and paying a lot for it. Instructors have different teaching styles, but a one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter book never allows them to deliver it. Authors are getting paid less for their books. We flip the model completely."

-USA Today: “Open Textbooks Save Students Cash”

“What did you do this summer? Flat World Knowledge stayed busy on campus and now has 40 times as many students and more than 10 times the colleges using their freemium, open-source digital textbooks as they did spring semester. And they did it the old-fashioned way — one professor at a time.”

-Open Source Textbook Company Now BMOC at 400 Colleges, Wired

"Undergraduates spend an average of $1,000 a year on course materials, and textbook costs are rising by an average of 6% annually, according to the National Association of College Stores. Early next year, those scholars will have another choice. Flat World Knowledge, a startup in Nyack, N.Y., will release its first set of online college textbooks.”

-Fortune Small Business, “5 Companies to Watch in 2009”

“Even if Washington's fix doesn't lower book prices, the marketplace is coming up with its own solutions. Eric Frank, the former Prentice Hall executive just launched a new publishing house, Flat World Knowledge, that will give away college texts online for free.”

-Marketplace on National Public Radio: “Textbook Costs Getting Hard to Cover”

"Among others in Outsell’s “30 to Watch”: BBN Ad Network, Blurb, British Medical Journal, BrownBook, CNN, Collexis, Critical Media, Data Explorers, Demand Media, Exact Editions, Flat World Knowledge, Google, The Guardian, Hakia, Hulu, IHS, LiveMocha, MarketTools, Nature Publishing Group, Public Library of Science (PloS), Safari, Thomson Reuters, Wood MacKenzie, and ZoomInfo.”

-Outsell Information Industry Outlook 2009: “30 Innovators to Watch

so…

If you’ve moved past

this…

to…

THIS!

and…

You’ve got mad talent...

Then join a select few….

Impact Your World. Prep Your Career. Have Some Fun. Get Paid Doing It.

CAMPUs Rep TEAM

As part of the CAMPUS REP TEAM you will be responsible for building faculty awareness of Flat World Knowledge on campus by...

Visiting targeted business school faculty on campus to share your view on textbooks.Sharing the vision of Flat World Knowledge and the potential of open textbooks. Generating sales leads for Flat World Knowledge representatives to follow-up on.Reporting the results of your interactions through an online tracking (CRM) system.

Additionally you will...

Organize business school/dept. events that build awareness and buzz.Create / find on-campus (and around campus) public relations opportunities. Collaborate with other Team Members around the USA to generate new ideas.Execute the best new ideas that come forth from the team.Recruit your replacement for the following semester (unless you stay on with us).

Reasons

to Join the

CAMPUs REP TEAM

Make a mark.Impact the world.

Mother Theresa we are not – we want to make money. Lots. But we are thrilled to be doing it in a way that leaves behind a better world.

Knowledge is the black gold of the 21st century. Those with access to it will improve their quality of life. Those without will not. Technology enables the free flow of knowledge to those who want it. Anywhere. Anytime. Tired old business models built on restricting access to that knowledge and charging for the resulting scarcity stop the free flow. And they slow human progress.

We are building a business based on access and abundance. Let’s make knowledge available easily, to everyone. In our model, the more people that have access, the more opportunities to make money. And everyone wins. Except for those big publishers who control the market today. Oops.

Oh yeah. You’ll save a few trees and some clean air along the way. Not bad.

Build career skills. Real ones.Add juice to your resume.

This is a serious internship. No photocopying here. You’ll be doing serious sales, marketing, and public relations stuff with an entrepreneurial new venture that is racking up results and accolades. Along the way you’ll be getting:

Real training: we provide an online sales/marketing training program with substance involving Dr. Jeff Tanner of Baylor University, author of over 10 books on selling and sales management, and one of the world’s leading sales authorities.

Ongoing education: we provide an optional series of educational webinars for Team Members on entrepreneurship, sustainability in business, & more.

Professional Tools: we provide a professional campus “buzz kit” to work with. We provide faculty leads. We provide access (and training) to tracking tools.

Daily support & dedicated management: we have a dedicated Advance Team manager. She will provide advice, support, supervision, & structure. And humor.

Support for academic credit: given the rigor, structure, and supervision, we are happy to support those who wish to pursue local academic credit for their work.

You won’t get rich.But you will get richer.

In addition to great experience, training, and support, you will get:

Compensation: you will earn $8/hr. with a chance to earn additional compensation by achieving agreed upon sales, marketing, and PR objectives. This compensation structure enables you to work towards specific goals & targets which will benefit you when interviewing for your first job upon graduation.

Top Performer incentives: the top performing Team Member will receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City. S/he will get to visit Flat World Knowledge HQ, meet the full team, and participate in a Flat World Knowledge Board Meeting.

Resume blurb: ah yes, the blurb. We will provide you with a written blurb for your resume (fully alterable) detailing your role, education/training provided, and accomplishments.

Letter of recommendation from the Chief Marketing Officer: those who hit their targets will get a personal letter of recommendation from Flat World’s CMO.

You get to be David. It beats being Goliath.

Unless you like the feeling of sharp stones hitting your head. In which case you’ve got big problems. But we digress.

Our little group of Flat World cadre is, well, taking on a textbook publishing oligopoly worth billions. Oh yeah, and a book wholesale industry worth billions. Not to mention trying to change the way the multibillion college bookstore industry works. Little stuff like that.

If that worries you, that’s good. A little healthy fear is appropriate. But if it gets you out of bed in the morning raring to go, that’s even better. Because that’s what it does for us. And that’s the kind of person we are looking for.

Our favorite words to hear from people are “you can’t do that”. Oh yeah?

Values Matter.

Okay, here’s where we go a little soft on you. But we do think that values matter. If they’re real. And they’re really lived. We’re not perfect at it, but we try to live by our values. And we expect you to tell us when we’re not.

Our values are pretty simple.

Honorable behavior requires honorable intent. Treat others as we would be treated. Consider money a byproduct of sound relationships and a job well done.Share in the wealth with all of our partners. Give back to the community through time, knowledge, and a piece of profits.Maintain our sense of humor

The future is bright.Bragging rights will be yours.

Higher education enrollments in the U.S. and globally are at a historical peak. They will continue to boom into the future. Knowledge is the ticket to a better life in the interconnected global economy. Companies that provide access to that knowledge will find themselves rich with opportunity.

We envision a world where high quality knowledge is available to anyone who wishes to consume it. We envision a world where that knowledge is not static, but that it is living, breathing knowledge that people can adapt, derive, build on, make better, and then make it available to others. We envision a world where knowledge is delivered in multitudes of ways from computer screens to print books to mobile devices and more.

We envision Flat World Knowledge at the nexus of this knowledge universe.

We have a long way to go to get there. We need great people with us to do it. Those who are with us will have the satisfaction of participation, and the bragging rights to say they were there at the beginning.

It beats working in the dining hall.

What We Are Looking For…

We are looking for 10 killer-good Team Members.

Given strong demand to participate we will be highly selective. We are looking for people that are:

Really smart & creative. Mission-driven. Results-focused (and who can demonstrate results in things they’ve already done). Persuasive. Organized. Communicative. Comfortable with individual and group interactions with faculty and students. Endowed with a sense of humor. Preferably offbeat. We like that. Business Majors (preferred but not required). Wired (regular high speed internet access required).

How To Apply

Here’s how to APPLY.

We’re into people. We think they make all the difference in the world. Idea’s are a dime a dozen. People aren’t. So we want to TALK to you. We want to get to know YOU. So our process has two steps:

①Email your resume to jen@flatworldknowledge.com

①Pitch us “Brand-You” by calling Jen at 1 (877) 257-9243 ext. 107.

You’ll have 60 seconds (no leniency on time – we’re believers in “less is more”) to tell us about your brand. Who are you? What makes you unique? What is your “brand promise” that screams: “hire me, and this is what you get!”. What makes you special that will make a positive difference at Flat World Knowledge?

Call us prepared to give your best “60 Second Brand-You” promotion over the phone. Sing it, recite it as poetry, perform it as hip hop, or say it. Make it smart, sassy, colorful. Remarkable stands out!

APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED UNTIL 5PM EDT ON 11/6.

Open College TextbooksCreated by Experts. Enhanced by Users. Free to All.