elevator pitch: What is leved?

An education technology startup that will democratize opportunities for all Latin Americans by facilitating skills growth through technology based experiences.

What was the need that you saw in the market?

The education system in Latin America has not been updated for decades. Both parents and educators have been observing how doing things the same way lead to varied results in the education of their children. So, through research, we found out that the best way for students to reach their highest potential is not through traditional knowledge acquisition, but through the development of what we call “success skills”. Success skills include: emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem solving amongst others. These are skills that schools don’t know how to teach. In fact, they can’t be taught, they can only be developed. So we at leved faciliate skills development.

Why is this product so important right now?

Times are changing incredibly fast. We cannot even imagine what the jobs of the future will look like. So focusing on knowledge is naive. Today, students are being prepared to navigate a world that no longer exists; they should be in control, not at the mercy of luck and situational access. Why not prepare them to be agents of their own success?

When we look at what’s been going on in the media, and how students are managing life because of COVID, they are having to manage their own selves to an extent that we have not seen before. Skills based abilities will help us push through difficult times much more than we are currently doing.

So we have to ask ourselves: How do we prepare people for the adversities that life might throw at them? Life is beyond what you learn in math class. COVID has brought to light how important it is to get Leved into the market as soon as possible.

Who is your target customer?

Elementary schools across Latin America. Developing success skills will require that we engage the entire school system (e.g. Parents, Teachers, Directors, and Students).

HOW DID COMPETING IN SNVC HELP PUSH LEVED FORWARD?

It was a reality check. During the Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) process, we ended up selling what we wanted to do instead of what we had achieved. We’re now focusing on how to achieve things. When we are ready to sell and get into the market we will. We’ll get there because we’re focusing on the right things. The SNVC process made us  learn how to actually work together. It allowed us to put targets, deadlines and milestones to work against. Additionally, SNVC helped to refine our idea and reconfigure. Lastly, it showed us what we are bound to face when we start raising capital.

How Big IS the Team:

Right now we are a strong team of 2, working to build out the foundation of this product offering.

Who have been the company’s biggest supporters?

Our families that have always supported us. Our friends who have kindly gave us their time to test our MVP. And our fellow social entrepreneurs in Mexico who have given us experience based perspective and advice on how to keep pushing forward..

WHAT TYPE OF TALENT / HELP / CONNECTIONS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Eventually we will need two things:

Developmental Outcomes Co-Founder: someone that is willing to take a co-founder role and is passionate about our mission of democratizing opportunity and is knowledgeable about human and child development.

Tech Lead: someone that can iterate on our current MVP and make the product scalable.

what do you see in leved’s future?

We want every child in Latin America with access to the internet to be able to develop success skills in an engaging way. We want to make our products available for free for those who can’t afford to pay for them. Otherwise we would only be increasing the already wide educational gap.

How can WE support leved?

• By visiting our website and subscribing to our blog
• Follow us on instagram!

• Trying out our first experience for developing emotional intelligence.If you speak Spanish, reach out and we will give you access.
• Sharing our Story

Founders Stories

why do you care?

I am very aware that everything that I am and am not is a consequence of the opportunities that I had, where luck definitely played a big role. I ask myself, “What would I have liked my education to look like if I had to take luck out of the equation?”

I like waking up believing that I am building the means for people to develop themselves – it’s a life worth living.

why do you care?

Similarly to Hector, when I look back at the experiences that I have had the chance to live – the MBA being one of them – most were a consequence of a privileged education and upbringing. The vast majority of people in Brazil do not have access to these, and as we grow up the tougher it gets for this gap to be beaten.

There are people out there who are more capable than me in so many ways, but that just didn’t get the chance to explore their potential because they simply didn’t have the same access to opportunity as I did.

That’s the opportunity gap we want to narrow.