Penn students, alum make finals of Milken-Penn GSE Business Plan Competition

Penn seniors Valentina Raman and Jake Lerner have a big idea to improve literacy in Philadelphia’s middle schools. Now, they just need some funding, connections, and momentum to get their plan off the ground.

That is precisely why the duo applied to this year’s Milken Family Foundation and Penn Graduate School of Education (GSE) Education Business Plan Competition. The contest, in its sixth year, will dish out more than $140,000 in cash prizes to businesses from all over the world that relate in some way to improving education. Some finalists could also be invited to join the Education Design Studio Inc., a GSE incubator and seed fund.

This year, applicants had the option of submitting an idea-stage business plan or a more mature, but still early-stage startup venture. They’re judged by path-specific criteria, and there will be prizes awarded in both categories.

Raman and Lerner’s company idea, JournalUp, is one of 20 finalists in the competition, slated to take place on campus May 12-13. It is also one of the four finalists with Penn ties.

With JournalUp, Raman, an economics major and journalism, public policy, and urban studies minor, and Lerner, a philosophy, politics, and economics major, are creating an online writing platform for middle-school students. Students will answer daily journal prompts to practice their reflective writing skills, and receive feedback on their work from college-aged tutors.

The tutors will give feedback on grammar and style, as well as qualitatively, Raman says, such as suggesting a book to read that might align with a certain student’s interests.

The plan is to incentivize youth to use the platform through games and rewards.

JournalUp is also about expanding the middle-school students’ voices. For instance, if one of the prompts asks, “If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?” and students overwhelmingly respond that they need their wobbly desks replaced, JournalUp will be able to forward that information to the person or group necessary for fixing such a problem. This is just a simple example, says Raman, of how aggregating student perspectives can raise awareness in the community about issues in the classroom.

“We really believe that students can be agents of their own change, and that takes listening to their educational experiences and being able to incorporate that into practice and policy,” Raman says.

Other Penn-affiliated finalists—judged by a group of teachers, investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers—include CollegeFit and Knudge, both ideas, and venture TROBO the Storytelling Robot.

Education toy TROBO has already created quite a buzz, garnering media coverage in TechCrunch last year, as well as exceeding its $60,000 goal on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The founder, Jeremy Scheinberg, is an alumnus of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

CollegeFit, devised by first-year Wharton MBA student Son Ca Vu, is an idea for a service for soon-to-be college students that uses data to provide accurate, personalized recommendations on the best schools, financial aid, and scholarship programs.

Chian Gong, a candidate in the dual-degree Harvard Master in Public Administration and Wharton MBA program, came up with the idea for Knudge, a web-based application that provides timely reminders, resources, and rewards to college students.

“I’m trying to create a personal assistant for students that helps them succeed in school,” Gong says.

The Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition boasts its ability to spot successful education innovations early. Gong says companies that have gone through the Milken-Penn GSE competition in the past, such as Raise and Persistence Plus, are impressive, and it is their achievements that influenced her decision to apply.

The business plan competition is made possible through the Milken Family Foundation, ACT, American Public University System, Educational Services of America, K12 Inc., McGraw-Hill Education, Microsoft, TSL Education, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

JournalUP