Authenticity is a common term discussed when we think about branding and how entrepreneurs should present to customers.  It’s also a challenge many minorities work through when navigating homogenous environments.  For Amanda, a Jewish and Brazilian background created some questions about identity in her early years.  Her passion for education empowered her to answer those questions, which has ultimately helped her to understand her place in the world as a tech entrepreneur.

 

Amanda is transforming education by creating social learning environment for AP students, outside of the traditional education system.  She’s a non-technical founder whose voracious appetite for learning has allowed her to quickly acquire the business acumen and tech wisdom to launch a growing tech company.

 

Founder Bio:

Amanda DoAmaral is an educator, activist, and co-founder of Fiveable - a social learning network for students. She spent a half a decade teaching high school history in Oakland, CA, where her passion for creating equitable educational opportunities was ignited. Amanda has been a vocal advocate for inclusive history curriculum and is active within the Milwaukee tech community.

 

Timestamps:

2:11  Growing up as a “history nerd” and the inspiration for becoming a teacher

4:14  How Amanda found her lane within the education industry

6:31  Finding her identity as a biracial youth and how being a Teacher empowered her authenticity

11:27  How a toxic work environment in education led to a career as an activist

15:55  The origins of Fiveable | How former students pulled Amanda into entrepreneurship

18:30  Becoming a first time founder without business experience

20:50  Hacking together a no-code solution as a non-technical founder

22:38  When and how Amanda decided to bring in a technical co-founder to build the platform

25:50  Joining an accelerator and the decision to share equity

29:45  The benefit of building a tech company outside of tech epicenter cities

34:22  Why Amanda rented a home in Philadelphia to house her entire team

36:44  What is Fiveable and the magic behind social learning?

40:45  Fiveable has grown from serving a handful of students to serving over 600,000 students

42:00  Using content as a demand gen strategy

45:30  Establishing the pricing model at Fiveable