LearnSesh - Virtual Reality & Education Equity
LearnSesh provides 6th to 8th grade science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) education that uses virtual reality classrooms to help students of all learning types keep up with the curve.
The American education system is at a crossroads. Over the last decade U.S. education has fallen from the 6th in the world to 27th in 2018, with less than 40% of high school seniors able to master reading and math skills.
Co-founders William (Glen) Carlisle and Isaiah Weiss are no strangers to education. With degrees in computer science and international entrepreneurship, they have a passion for learning, technology, and the power of social purpose business. These education entrepreneurs are looking to disrupt the U.S. education system by increasing access to the latest in education technology.
Their partnership began in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Both were participating in programs at UCSD and working on virtual reality projects of their own. Isaiah was working on virtual reality office space applications, but his partner had recently left for Singapore just as they were about to apply to a UCSD venture support program. Glen was working on web based mixed-reality marketing solutions but realized that enterprise VR was becoming a crowded marketplace with a lot of competition. He felt that there was less competition and a larger opportunity for social impact in education.
On the condition that Isiah would pivot towards education, they began working together on their initial product. With the help of the UCSD entrepreneur ecosystem including The Basement and StartR Impact, they were able to create a minimum viable product and began searching for their first customers. Incorporated in 2020, they initially focused on selling their product to tutoring firms. Here the co-founders would be able to begin testing their sales approach and get valuable market feedback from STEM students.
During this process they learned the education system has three core issues that need to be addressed: access to resources, diverse individual needs, and increased distractions.
By providing interactive and customizable virtual reality content, LearnSesh would limit distractions from alternative screens and provide customization and accommodations for a learning experience tailored to students’ needs. LearnSesh has also been seeking partnerships with local education grant providers and providing discounted pricing to help reduce costs for selected schools with limited budgets.
Entering the SAIL Social Enterprise Accelerator, the co-founders had a working prototype with some direct market feedback, but they had not refined their target market or pitch.
Their initial strategy was to target tutoring firm students. Their program mentor, Tom Watlington, helped them realize that educators were the primary decision makers so creating value based on their needs would be essential to creating an impactful and successful product. With this in mind, they began speaking more directly to teachers' primary concern, catching students up after the covid quarantine.
““Our mentor is incredibly knowledgeable, pushed us to think critically, and made himself very available throughout the course of the program. We are extremely happy to have him as our mentor.” ”
Through SAIL, LearnSesh was able to gain a better understanding of who their customers are, how to speak to them, and what metrics they should focus on as they work towards social impact. Not only do they provide a virtual space, but they also provide content that helps educators teach hard concepts to all students, regardless of their learning abilities. This new focus on education equity has also led them to create new content that reduces learning barriers for common learning disabilities.
Isaiah estimates that they will reach approximately 700 schools in the next three years.
At an average school body size of 526 students, LearnSesh could reach as many as 368k students and 7,000 educators in that time. Currently they are hiring their first full time developer, establishing an advisory board (including their SAIL mentor), and seeking investors to fund further content development.
Support Learn Sesh by visiting learnsesh.com and letting your school know the importance of education equity.
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