Built by people who ran schools and built hiring systems.
We're building in the open, because the schools, clubs, and funders we want are the ones who value being told the truth about stage.
In active testing
A working prototype of the backwards planning and common app modules, validated with real students in high-school advisory sessions.
Grounded in the field
Structured interviews with youth, guardians, counselors, and superintendents shaped what we built — and what we deliberately left out.
What's next
Our designs are out of design-partner status and in an independent third-party outcomes study. We will publish findings in full daylight.
If you want in early
Design partners help us shape product roadmaps, get updates, access direct engineering Slack channels, and lock in our guaranteed future partner rate.
DESIGN PARTNER #1
“We don't need another generic dashboard. We need a clean compass young people actually trust.”
— Beth on School Lynxes
Field testing inside 1:1 life advisory
FOUNDATIONAL AXIOM
“The plan belongs to the young person.”
Not the district's reporting quota. Not the algorithm's target funnel. Not the employer's early talent acquisition filter. Every recommendation must center the agency and trajectory of the individual student.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
What we believe
Six structural commitments that govern every line of code, every design decision, and every partnership agreement we ink.
Every path is a real path
The four-year journey is not well trod among us all. Vega treats trade schools, union apprenticeships, community colleges, CTE credentials, military enlistment, workforce entry, and entrepreneurship with equal depth, structural dignity, and verifiable outcome metrics.
Student data is never sold
Student aspirations, grades, notes, and pathways remain exclusively, unconditionally theirs. They will never be sold, used to train third-party advertising algorithms, or shared with commercial entities without explicit, affirmative consent.
Milestones, not rankings
Vega rejects leaderboards, percentile skimming, and competitive anxiety loops. The only comparison that matters in our interface is self-referenced progress: where you stand today relative to where your curiosity sat thirty days ago.
Built by educators
Everyone on our founding product team has served inside an urban public high school, an after-school youth collective, or a regional college. No former developers only. We refuse to design for learners from an insulated tech bubble.
Equity is the design brief
We first optimize Vega for the 16-year-old student with no private college counselor, no family alumni networks, and low platform fluency — then make sure the platform is clear and self-sufficient for them. It works seamlessly for every student.
Transparent about outcomes
EdTech is flooded with vague efficacy hype. We are committed to conducting an independent longitudinal study with a neutral evaluator, and to sharing the raw outcomes data publicly: what worked, what stagnated, and how we adapted.
RADICAL CANDOR
Where we are, plainly.
Most technology companies present early-stage prototypes as finished miracles. That erodes trust with district leadership and frontline counselors who bear the brunt of overpromised software.
Here is the reality today. Our core software architecture is live. Students are actively backmapping planning high school coursework to realistic career destinations, tracking certifications, and reviewing four-year cost estimates with embedded schools.
What we don't have yet: A five-year longitudinal randomized controlled trial proving efficacy. That proof takes time. What we do have: district partners, rigorous cohorts, and genuine patience. We are enrolling design partner districts right now who want to build that evidentiary standard alongside us.
Our pledge to founding schools: We will never take a feature test without you. Every design partner has a designated seat in our bi-weekly product council.
Current Development Matrix
SPRING 2024 CYCLELeadership & Advisors
A blend of former classroom teachers, school system operators, labor economists, and young adult advocates.
Maya Lin-Sterling
Former High School Principal & District Chief of Staff
14 years in Chicago Public Schools leading academy pathway redesign, community school expansion, and district-wide counseling transformation serving 35,000 students.
Marcus Adebayo
Former VP Product, Workrise Systems
Architected digital platform connecting 10K+ vocational graduates to licensed union apprenticeships. Former high school robotics mentor and alumni entry college advisor.
Dr. Rafael Morales
Chair of Workforce & Labor Economics
Leading researcher on youth apprenticeship, wage premiums in skilled credentials, and regional occupational opportunity zones. Advising Vega on wage floor-setting models.
Elena Zhao
Lead Counselor & District Data Director
23 years building postsecondary access and CTE systems. Oversees Vega's inference engine usable with 60-minute new-advisor training guidance sessions.
Talia Washington
Youth Co-Designer & Apprenticeship Scholar
Building youth voice research in 10 cities for 2024. Ensures language and workflows reflect what school seniors need to make trusted decisions with high school advisors.
Seat Open, Vocational & CTE Director
Regional technical or career-leadership nomination in progress.
Join the Council
We are actively expanding practitioner circle with leaders in dual system advising, CTE pathways, and trade education programs.
Nominate a practitionerJoin the Council
We are actively expanding our practitioner circle with leaders in rural district administration, CTE pathways, and tribal collaboration programs.
Nominate a practitionerDesign partners help shape the product.
We're selecting five high schools, three youth-serving community centers, and two workforce boards for our 2026–2027 founding cohort.
THE VEGA ETYMOLOGY
Be your own cynosure.
cynosure /ˈsɪnəʒʊr,ˈsɪnəsjʊ/
noun — a person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration.
We do not hold a map to steer students from above; we light a lantern in the middle of the path through which every young person charts their own direction.