How Bucks County-based startup MentoMind harnesses the power of AI and Startup Bucks grant funding to improve students’ SAT preparedness.
Amit Jain is on a mission to change digital SAT prep and the narrative around artificial intelligence (AI), one practice test at a time. Co-founder and CEO of MentoMind, a Bucks County-based startup that is harnessing the power of AI for exponential growth in learning, Amit is amazed by what his business has accomplished thanks to the generosity of investors and looks forward to what the future holds.
MentoMind is an AI-powered chatbot that guides learners towards their goals and can provide instant assistance when your teacher isn’t around. Through the app’s advanced learning techniques, students can master content in a way that allows them to reach their test score.
Like most, the Covid-19 pandemic left Amit with some extra time on his hands to take on a passion project. Inspired by his children who were navigating the online learning environment and his previous role as a computer science professor in India, he knew the education industry was an area his skills could make an impact and put his unique crossover in computer science and education, both locally and abroad, to good use.
For the next 2 years, Amit focused on developing MentoMind and growing his team while maintaining his full-time job. Once the pilot app was created, the team received its first offer from a college preparatory school in India to test the SAT prep app.
Recently, there has been news coverage around artificial intelligence – a narrative that is commonly negative, wary of the extent of its capability and its place in society. Amit says he’s using the technology to be a bridge between the student and the teacher. Unlike a teacher, AI and the MentoMind app is available whenever you need it.
Want to prep for your upcoming SAT at 10pm? Not a problem.
“AI has been around for a while, but now it’s becoming mainstream. AI platforms are great, but few are designed for an actual use case. That’s why we’re focused on just the SAT,” he says.
To ensure the integrity of educational content on the app, MentoMind has partnered with a Colorado-based educational company to assist with valuable, high-quality content generation of its AI software. Additionally, Amit and his co-founders have professional education backgrounds and are committed to providing accurate and beneficial content.
MentoMind is currently a free service for students available in the app store on smartphones. By 2023, Amit plans to launch a paid version – giving users access to more practice tests, personalized study plans, live mock tests, and his team the funding to continue to maintain the app. Prior to the Startup Bucks grant, a school in India was helping finance the project due to the positive feedback from its students utilizing the SAT prep features.
With the Startup Bucks grant, Amit says the product can continue to improve. His team was able to purchase tools and software, and attend a conference that lead to incredible networking opportunities – experiences that would not have been possible without the grant. Most importantly, the funding allows MentoMind to materialize and amplify its mission of universalizing learning.
Startup Bucks is a non-profit organization founded in 2019 and is based in Doylestown, PA. Their mission is to help innovative companies start, grow, and scale in and beyond Bucks County. They do so by supporting founders through networking and grant funding, and connecting the startup ecosystem across the county.
Amit learned of the Startup Bucks program from attending a weekly pitch event, a reoccurring meeting designed for startup founders to present their business to a forum of fellow founders, business owners, and industry experts and receive feedback. In turn, Amit would lend his expertise to other startups looking for technology advice.
“It’s a wonderful, open format that Startup Bucks has created. It’s allowed me to receive real advice on how to shape my business at no cost – a factor that is very valuable to businesses like mine,” says Amit.
Currently, more than 25,000 students are using MentoMind’s transformative learning experience worldwide to accelerate their learning – and growing daily! Amit would like to thank Startup Bucks for the opportunities they create for businesses like his, and Penn Community Bank for its funding of the Startup Bucks grant.
