How is your business helping to solve the health, social, or economic challenges created by COVID19?
PeerSquared's first pilot involved connecting high school Mandarin students with elementary Mandarin immersion learners to provide continued conversation practice. We also organized and trained 50+ high school volunteer tutors to offer limited but free online peer tutoring for all K12 students in AZ. Over the past 2 months, we have validated the need and effectiveness of 1-on-1 online peer tutoring even with decreased demand during the summer. We are working to partner with more schools and community organizations to serve students opting for online learning in the 2020-21 school year where student-teacher engagement will drastically decrease and traditional support resources will be obsolete.
Does your business contribute most to recovery, response, or resilience?
Recovery - we're positioned to support in the recovery of those directly affected.,Response - we're responding directly to issues caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak.
What is the stage of your product development?
I have a market ready product/service. I have sold to customers.
What strengths does your team bring? Include skills and personal experience with the problem.
Michael Wang (cofounder & CEO): upcoming college senior in finance and CIS- Built and pivoted PeerSquared to have helped 80+ students since school closures- Twice received funding through Arizona State University entrepreneurship pitch competitionKe Liu (cofounder & CLO): Master's student in learning sciences- 2 years teaching experience- Utilizing learning experience to build tutor training curriculumCason Mandigo (Digital Marketing Director): B.S in CS, minor in Digital Culture- Previous internship experience in digital marketing increasing organic growth for online retail company- UI/UX redesign resulting in decreased customer error and checkout time
What countries do you operate in?
United States
Is your company headquartered in a US "Opportunity Zone"?
No
