Founder Sam Lellouche Transitions to Executive and Board Role While Remaining Deeply Involved in the Company's Vision

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Opus1, a leading management platform for music and performing arts schools, today announced the appointment of Sharad Mohan as Chief Executive Officer. The company also announced it has raised a Series B round of financing, underscoring strong investor confidence in Opus1's product, market position, and long-term vision. Founder and former CEO Sam Lellouche will transition to the role of Chief Strategy Officer, and remain actively involved with the company as a member of both the executive team and Board of Directors.

The leadership transition and Series B financing mark an important step in Opus1's emergence as the category leader in performing arts software and expansion across the performing arts education market. As adoption accelerates among music schools and broader performing arts programs, Opus1 now supports more than 200,000 active students and powers over 10 million lessons annually, making it one of the largest platforms in the performing arts education market. The company is continuing to scale its technology to serve a rapidly expanding community of schools, educators, students, and families.

The new funding will be used to accelerate product innovation and expand Opus1's platform capabilities, enabling schools to manage and grow their businesses on a single, integrated system. The Series B round reflects growing recognition of the need for modern, purpose-built software in a large and historically underserved market, as well as Opus1's leadership in defining this category.

Music education has always been central to Opus1's mission. The platform provides modern tools for scheduling, billing, communications, marketing, and analytics that help performing arts schools operate more efficiently and deliver exceptional experiences for students and families. By reducing administrative complexity, Opus1 enables educators and school owners to focus on what matters most: helping students develop creativity, confidence, and lifelong skills through the arts.

"The first time I walked into one of our schools, I could feel the energy right away," said Sharad Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of Opus1. "Families were dropping off kids, music was coming from every room, and teachers were working with students who were clearly excited to be there. In that moment, it became clear why Opus1 exists: to support music and dance schools with technology so educators can focus on what they do best, developing the next generation of performing arts talent. I'm excited to work alongside educators and continue building the tools that support these communities as they grow and inspire generations to come."

Mohan brings deep category-building experience to Opus1. As Co-Founder and CEO of Trainerize — a vertical SaaS platform for personal trainers and gyms — he helped define and scale a new vertical SaaS category, guiding the company through rapid growth and market expansion. His track record of combining founder-led energy with operational rigor positions Opus1 to lead the performing arts software market at scale.

Mohan is passionate about mission-driven vertical software businesses and believes strongly in customer-led innovation. Under his leadership, Opus1 will continue to prioritize close collaboration with school owners and administrators, ensuring that product development is directly informed by real-world feedback and evolving industry needs.

Founder and former CEO Sam Lellouche personally selected Mohan to lead Opus1's next chapter. Lellouche will remain deeply involved in the company as Chief Strategy Officer and a Board Director.

"Building Opus1 has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," said Sam Lellouche, Founder of Opus1. "What makes me most proud is seeing how the platform has helped so many performing arts schools grow stronger businesses and deepen their impact in the communities they serve. As we enter our next chapter of growth, Sharad's experience building category-defining vertical software companies and his passion for mission-driven businesses make him the ideal person to lead Opus1. I'm thrilled to partner with him as I transition into the role of Chief Strategy Officer, where I'll remain deeply involved with our product, our customers, and the long-term vision of the company."

Opus1's mission remains unchanged: help performing arts schools spend less time on administration and more time focused on families and education. What has evolved is the scale of the opportunity. The performing arts education market is large, fragmented, and underserved by modern software, and Opus1's rapid growth reflects strong product-market fit and demand for purpose-built, vertically integrated solutions. As the company enters this next phase under Mohan's leadership, Opus1 plans to expand its capabilities across music and other lesson- and class-based performing arts businesses—positioning Opus1 as the foundational platform for the next generation of performing arts education.

About Opus1

Opus1 is the category-leading end-to-end software management platform designed for music and performing arts schools. The company provides comprehensive tools for scheduling, billing, enrollment, communications, and business analytics, enabling school owners and administrators to operate efficiently and scale sustainably. Founded with a deep commitment to music education, Opus1 is expanding across the broader performing arts category to support the next generation of educators, students, and families.

For more information, visit Opus1.io.

About Five Elms

Five Elms Capital is a growth investor in software businesses that users love, providing capital and resources to help companies accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders. With over $3 billion in assets under management and a team of over 80 professionals, Five Elms has invested in more than 70 software platforms worldwide. Beyond providing capital, Five Elms delivers strategic and operational expertise, focused on executing initiatives that move the needle on growth, retention, product, and AI to set companies up for long-term success.

For more information, visit fiveelms.com.

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