{"id":201273,"date":"2023-06-22T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T14:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refreshmiami.com\/?p=201273"},"modified":"2023-06-22T10:53:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T14:53:00","slug":"only-up-from-here-for-educup-a-rising-star-in-miami-edtech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/refreshmiami.com\/only-up-from-here-for-educup-a-rising-star-in-miami-edtech\/","title":{"rendered":"Only up from here for EducUp, a rising star in Miami EdTech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Riley Kaminer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American dream continues for Carlos Raul, Yamel Barroso, and Yusnier Viera: the three Cuban natives who landed in Miami and founded EducUp<\/a>, a freemium platform for learning everything from foreign languages to math, coding, and college prep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Refresh Miami<\/em> spoke<\/a> to the team in January 2022, the platform has grown to 1.6 million users and 22 employees, 7 of whom are based in South Florida, EducUp reports. EducUp recently joined AWS\u2019s Impact Accelerator that is focused on Latino founders, along with fellow South Florida startups Lazo<\/a> and Monadd<\/a>. AWS provides members of its cohorts a wide range of support, including mentors, technical insights, AWS credits, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the program, EducUp received a non-dilutive $225,000 grant. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing for us,\u201d Raul said. \u201cThe mentors have been great, the sessions have been excellent, and we\u2019ve made some important connections.\u201d The eight-week program culminates next week with a pitch day presenting to investors in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo shows AWS cohort that includes EducUp.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Raul explained that the timing of joining the AWS accelerator was perfect for EducUp, as they were in the midst of finalizing a new product called EducUp Studio. This offering is an AI-powered platform that enables educators to create gamified courses quickly and painlessly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is that creators can upload their video content to EducUp Studio and then easily reformat it into a course. From there, the creator can then start selling it through EducUp\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does this create a new revenue stream for creators. It also provides value to EducUp, since the company takes around a 25% cut of proceeds. It has also enabled EducUp to expand its platform to offer upwards of 100 courses, having grown from 30 online educators to more than 100. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the platform is in private beta to ensure that EducUp maintains the quality of its courses. \u201cWe want to make sure that we only attract high-quality, world-class educators,\u201d Raul said. But he signaled that a public version of the platform will be launched in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miami has played a major role in EducUp\u2019s growth. Raul said participating in local OnDeck and Endeavor Miami programs played a fundamental role in enabling EducUp\u2019s early growth. Felipe Sommer, co-founder of Nearpod, is one of EducUp\u2019s investors and advisors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EducUp\u2019s platform gamifies the process of education and keeps students engaged by giving them achievements, points, levels, and daily goals. The platform is available in an ever-expanding series of languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a new phase of growth for us, and it\u2019s where our vision is actually coming alive,\u201d Raul said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shared the team\u2019s ambitious goal is to expand to 20,000 online educators in the next few years, as well as continuing to grow their offerings. Raul also said to watch out for EducUp\u2019s upcoming B2B offering \u2013 helping companies with employee training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n