The venture fund, which is part of Tulane University's Innovation Institute, said it will directly invest $250,000 in the company, which was founded three years ago by Claire Smith, a former St. Bernard Parish middle school math teacher.
Smith said she developed the app after she saw area schools losing teachers in the wake of the pandemic.
"After COVID, the profession felt impossibly difficult due to safety concerns, stressed students and parents, and staff burnout," she said in a statement. "I kept thinking there must be a better way to celebrate the positive moments that happen daily in schools instead of dwelling on the problems, to support and retain talented educators."
Smith contacted former college roommate and software developer, Krissy Taft, to initially create a tool for peer-to-peer reviewing and information sharing. They jointly founded Hilight and have developed and grown their online tool, which they say can save schools up to $25,000 to replace lost staff.
What began as a simple tool for recognition at the St. Bernard Parish school where Smith was working has evolved into "a multi-purpose, easy-to-use platform offering strategic insights and operational intelligence to school district leaders and principals," according to Tulane Ventures.
Hilight has been in "bootstrap mode" since it was founded, getting by with investment from their own sources as well as friends and family. The app is now in 135 schools across a dozen states and the money raised will be used to hire sales staff to expand into all 50 states over the next two years, Tulane said.
Kimberly Gramm, managing director of Tulane Ventures, said the progress the startup had made in a short time was impressive. "The combination of strong early traction, a clear market need and measurable impact made it a compelling choice for us to lead this (investment) round," said Gramm, who is also Tulane's David and Marion Mussafer chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer.
STUDENT HELP
Students taking the venture investing course at Tulane's A.B. Freeman School of Business conducted the due diligence and presented the investment to the venture fund, the university said.
The Tulane Innovation Institute was founded three years ago as part of its growing downtown campus, with the aim of raising up to $100 million from alumni and other sources to support investments in entrepreneurship.
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