SXSW EDU® Launch Competition Announces Quottly as Winner

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The SXSW EDU Conference & Festival named Quottly as the winner of the 2018 SXSW EDU Launch startup competition. Following a day of pitches from this year's ten finalists, the announcement was made at the Launch party, presented by the Walton Family Foundation, in Austin, Texas.

Quottly, whose CEO is Alicia Policinski, is a marketplace for accredited, transferable college classes. Students who use Quottly can find and register for convenient, affordable classes at other colleges that count for their degree. Quottly helps students graduate on time, with less debt and helps universities increase graduation rates and fill empty seats.

The SXSW EDU Launch startup competition showcases early-stage companies from around the world that are dedicated to supporting teaching and learning. During the competition, early-stage startups pitch leaders across the business, investment and learning sectors and gain knowledge about how to take their company to the next stage of growth.

"Year after year we are excited and inspired by the concepts and ideas for these early stage edtech startups," said Greg Rosenbaum, General Manager of SXSW EDU. "We are so proud that this competition continues to grow and evolve and that we can provide the forum for educators and business leaders to see the amazing work of these early stage startups at SXSW EDU."

This year the competition has seen a nearly 30% increase in overall submissions with nearly 20% of submissions coming from international companies. Since its inception, many of the startup finalists have gone on to receive millions in funding and impact learning across the country, including BloomBoard, Clever, Zaption, and last year's winner The Whether by Better Weekdays. This year's top 10 finalists are: •Choosito // Wynnewood, PA •DisruptED // Austin, TX •Epigrammar // New York, NY •ExamPAL // Ramat Gan, Israel •M-Shule // Nairobi, Kenya •Nimble // Daly City, CA •PAIRIN // Denver, CO •Quottly  // San Francisco, CA •Solfeg.io // Riga, Latvia  •WealthyLife //  Washington, DC.

The finalists were selected with input from the Launch Advisory Board to compete onsite at SXSW EDU 2018. For more information on the 2018 Launch finalists, please go to our website https://www.SXSWEDU.com/competitions/launch/.

"I am impressed by the breadth of the start-ups in SXSW EDU Launch and the diversity of challenges the respective founders are striving to tackle," said Mike Wang, Global Director — Student Experience, Minerva Project. "I know that our students at Minerva — especially our female entrepreneurs — will be inspired and encouraged to see that more than 50% of the start-ups in SXSW EDU Launch have a female founder/CEO."

All ten of the finalists spent time with coaches to help them hone their skills needed for the final stage of the competition. The coaches were Asha Aravindakshan (Busca Tu Clase), Peter Nilsson (Deerfield Academy), Deborah Chang (#NYCEDU) and Darryl Adams (DrDarrylAdams.com)

The competition drew upon the insight and expertise of this year's judges, all of whom serve as leaders in investment, entrepreneurialism, schools and classrooms. The 2018 Launch judges were Bridget K. Cherry (Walton Family Foundation), Z. Mike Wang (Minerva Project), Mark Miller (Good Harbor Partners) and Chian Gong (Reach Capital).  The 2018 SXSW EDU Launch competition was emceed by Alexandra Bernadotte (Beyond 12) and Andrew Smith Lewis (Cerego).

About SXSW EDU

The SXSW EDU® Conference & Festival cultivates and empowers a community of engaged stakeholders to advance teaching and learning. The annual four-day event affords registrants open access to engaging sessions, immersive workshops, interactive learning experiences, film screenings, early-stage startups, business opportunities and networking. SXSW EDU is a component of the South by Southwest® family of conferences and festivals. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 5-8, 2018 in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit SXSWEDU.com.

Contact:
Liz Stein
SXSW EDU Press & Publicity
[email protected]
512-467-7979

SOURCE SXSW EDU

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https://www.SXSWEDU.com