LearnLaunch picks five edtech startups for new Breakthrough to Scale program

Boston-based edtech investor LearnLaunch Fund + Accelerator announced on June 20, 2024, that it had invested in five startups selected for the 2024 cohort of a newly launched program called Breakthrough to Scale. The announcement, issued through PR Newswire, did not disclose the size of the investments in the individual companies.

The cohort included four US companies and one from Singapore. Highfive, based in Indianapolis, gathers school community and classroom behavior data to help district and school staff reduce harmful behaviors. Reflection Sciences of Minneapolis developed the Minnesota Executive Function Scale, a measure of executive function skills, and offers early childhood interventions for children aged three to eight. Thriving Students Collective, based in Oakland, runs a professional development platform for educators, school psychologists and families supporting children with mental health and learning challenges. Prentus, from Miami, is a career platform that uses AI and community features to link learning with employment and to support college career centers. Hardskills, from Singapore, offers immersive, AI-powered programs that companies use to train employees in professional and soft skills.

Breakthrough to Scale is a 12-week program run by LearnLaunch Accelerator. According to the release, it concentrates on strengthening product-market fit, building impact measurement plans and setting up operational frameworks that can scale, and it concludes with a demo day. Founders work with mentors, venture partners and entrepreneurs in residence. The firm named Kripa Sundar as an entrepreneur in residence leading impact measurement training and Steve Stalzer as an entrepreneur in residence advising on AI tooling, data analytics and growth strategy. It also added Jamie Farrell and Andrew Morrison as venture partners.

LearnLaunch describes its model as a combination of milestone-based funding and one-on-one support, and it says it looks for companies that already have revenue and the potential for scalable impact. The release stated that the firm had invested in 86 edtech companies since 2013, that its portfolio companies had raised more than $275 million, and that those companies had reached more than 52 million learners worldwide. General partner Tetyana Atashkina said the program and its support were designed and delivered by practitioners with domain knowledge and an understanding of the challenges early-stage startups face.