COMPANY

Name: BestFit

Legal Name: BestFit

Location: New York City, New York

Founded: 2017

Founders: Asha Owens and Rebecca Kwee

Website: https://best-fit.app/

Social Media Following: 8 likes on Facebook,  47 followers on Twitter, 49 followers on Instagram

Industry – US Education Market

Size: $1350B in 2017 (Source: Zion Market Research)

Projections: $2040B by 2026 (CAGR of 4.5%) (Source: Zion Market Research)

Introduction

Did you know that approximately 75% of college students from low-income, minority, and first-generation backgrounds won’t graduate? To address this gap, Asha Owens and Rebecca Kwee founded BestFit to ensure students – who lack the support and insights of a college-going network – are assisted in their college decision-making process. 

The Product

BestFit is aimed at creating an educational system wherein colleges emphasize programs, services and real-life experiences over rankings and diversity statistics. Using the app, students can create their detailed profiles and are then provided with higher-quality data and advice to decide where to spend their next few years. 

BestFit not only empowers students by easing the process of choosing the right college, but also works towards supporting counselors and parents. The team has collaborated with high schools and college access programs to build a college-going culture and introduce their services to students. BestFit also designs college advising curricula and resources so that students, mentors, and educators can make the most of the app. 

Origin and Founders

A graduate from Brown University and Columbia University, Asha Owens initially wanted to become a neuropsychologist but ended up falling in love with computer science and became a software engineer. She enjoys user-interface design and recommends youngsters start on their application in advance. Rebecca Kwee, on the other hand, had planned on being a talent scout for musicians. Post graduating from Columbia University, she worked in finance for three years before becoming an educator and college advisor. 

What started as a research project in 2017 has now transformed into a full-fledged service to match the right students with a college that suits their career path. The founders wanted to help students fully understand how their choice of school can impact outcomes, and hence, created a platform that assists them and provides them the support that is crucial to finding and enrolling at the right colleges. 

Performance and Trends

According to its website, BestFit is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is a member of the AWS EdStart accelerator. It also lists New York University and Teachers College, Columbia University among its partners in its efforts to connect students, counselors, and colleges.