I am drawn to early-stage venture because I love the 0-to-1 process. There is something thrilling about starting with an idea, exploring a problem, researching the market, testing assumptions, pivoting when you are wrong, and searching for something that works and that customers will pay for. Building my own startup gave me firsthand exposure to that process and to just how difficult it is. Before a startup becomes an organization with established processes and predictable execution, almost everything is still being figured out. I love those small beginnings and the process of watching zero become one.
My approach to sourcing began with learning the Lean Startup method in college: get out, ask questions, and follow the evidence. When a venture my team was building failed initial validation, we pivoted, interviewed roughly 120 people in one weekend, and within three weeks developed a new thesis that made us finalists for Dreamit Ventures' health accelerator. I've applied that same curiosity and resourcefulness ever since, sourcing startups for Founder Institute and Washington DC Economic Partnership ecosystem events and later identifying companies aligned with business needs and investment themes at Wells Fargo Strategic Partnerships. The newest area would be deepening my experience in transaction execution.
YouTube. When I moved from Ghana to the U.S. at 12, I struggled with the jump in the level of math, particularly algebra. A substitute teacher eventually explained it in a way that clicked, and I realized that difficult concepts were often about finding the right explanation. Unable to afford tutoring, I turned to YouTube and found teachers whose styles worked for me, like PatrickJMT for math and Walter Lewin for physics. YouTube became my free, personalized tutor. I never earned below an A in math afterward, completed Calculus II in high school, and graduated 10th in a class of 565. In the age of AI, I think there is a massive opportunity to bring textbooks to life through video, interactive content, and explanations tailored to how each student learns.
Education has repeatedly changed what was possible in my life. I moved from Ghana to the U.S. at 12, and those early immigrant years were financially difficult. Even then, I understood education as my clearest path to a different future. When I initially struggled to adjust academically, particularly in math, I found teachers and free resources that explained concepts in ways I understood. I went from struggling with algebra to completing Calculus II in high school and eventually studying engineering at RPI.
Two years later, financial circumstances forced me to leave RPI. Once again, education opened another door. Berea College, a tuition-free college, gave me the opportunity to continue my education, and I made the most of it, graduating summa cum laude, earning internships at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, and ultimately building a career in banking and strategy.
Those experiences shaped my belief in what access to the right learning opportunity can unlock. They also taught me that very little is truly beyond someone's ability to learn. Often, the difference is having access to someone or something that can teach it in a way that makes sense to you.
That is what makes Pearson particularly meaningful to me. Its mission is fundamentally about expanding what people can become through learning. Pearson Ventures takes that mission one step further by finding and backing the companies building new ways for people to learn, develop skills, and access opportunity. I want to be part of finding those companies early and helping them scale, because I have experienced firsthand just how much the right learning opportunity can change what someone believes is possible for their life.
Pearson Ventures needs sourcing, diligence, strategic thinking, executive communication, and fluency in AI and automation. Here's the case in five points.
At Wells Fargo Strategic Partnerships, I researched emerging technologies and companies, managed opportunities from sourcing through proof-of-concept, and assessed strategic fit and business value. I also helped support two Innovation Summits connecting Wells Fargo with leading venture investors and emerging companies, giving me direct experience with the front end of the CVC investment funnel.
Today, I support Global Payments & Liquidity leadership by analyzing sales performance, pipeline, attrition, competitive losses, and revenue trends to identify growth opportunities and inform commercial strategy, including developing materials used by the CEO and CFO to support executive decision-making. Previously, I worked in Wells Fargo's Enterprise Strategic Consulting group on strategic assessments across Commercial Banking and Consumer Lending, advised the C-suite of a $20B AUM private equity fund on a major operating-model decision, and conducted investment-oriented market analysis at JPMorgan to identify high-potential sectors for the expansion of an entrepreneurship fund.
I started at Founder Institute Sydney, later built a workforce startup at Draper University that placed Top 10 at Demo Day, supported founders and investors through the Washington DC Economic Partnership, and then founded Solaset, raising capital, conducting 60+ customer interviews, securing 25 partnerships across four markets, and building to MVP, before eventually moving to the enterprise side and evaluating startups myself.
My Strategic Partnerships work required working across business lines and functional partners to define strategic problems, evaluate emerging solutions, navigate diligence, and move opportunities through proof-of-concept. Across my broader strategy work, I've coordinated cross-functional stakeholders and translated complex analysis into clear recommendations and next steps for senior leadership.
I've built automation from scratch at Bank of America, developed a $10B+ portfolio-analysis tool used by banking teams, redesigned enterprise sales-reporting processes to eliminate redundant work, and now use AI to accelerate research, analysis, and workflow design. That same instinct is behind this application: understand the objective, figure out what would make the work better, and build it.
Evolutiva enables educational institutions to provide personalized, Socratic tutoring while gaining visibility into student engagement and learning progress, without requiring students to adopt another learning platform.
AI is rapidly becoming part of how students learn and how employees work, but access to high-quality AI-enabled education will not be distributed evenly. Pearson itself has identified a growing gap between exposure to AI in education and the ability to apply it in the workplace. In emerging markets, where traditional digital-learning infrastructure can be less accessible, that gap risks becoming even wider.
Pearson could bring far more than capital. Its educational content, assessment capabilities, institutional relationships, credentials, and global distribution could strengthen Evolutiva's product and accelerate expansion. The investment would also align with Pearson's existing push to close the AI-readiness gap by embedding practical AI skills into education.
The product is compelling, but the moat is not yet obvious. WhatsApp distribution and access to foundation models can be replicated, and other companies are already experimenting with AI tutoring through messaging platforms. Evolutiva would need to demonstrate that its pedagogy, institutional integrations, proprietary learning data, outcomes, or distribution advantages become increasingly difficult to replicate as it scales.