A Note From the Founders
We first met over 4 years ago at Texas A&M University. Besides the typically college camaraderie, we often bonded over finding ways to be efficient or innovative at whatever task was at hand. This led to a lot of our conversations starting with "Imagine if we did ..."
Back in February, we met up at a coffee shop to catch up on life since college and talk big ideas as we always do. While talking through life updates and career developments, we kept coming back to the topic of passion. We both quickly agreed that our passion was less about our specific consulting careers and more in solving complex problems and making an impact in the world, a vision hard to achieve building status reports and financial models for clients.
One thing led to the next and we walked away from that coffee shop with an idea that would grow into Rift - a data science startup focused on revolutionizing our education system.
At Rift, we are building the infrastructure and intelligence to transform old-school academic data into new-school insights. Our technology follows a student through their education journey and delivers valuable insights not only to the student, but to their parents, educators, and potential employers along the way.
For some of you, education plays an active daily role, either as a student actually sitting in a classroom (or zoom session), a parent of a student, or an educator leading the frontlines of learning. But education has touched all of our lives in some way or another, allowing everyone to relate to both the opportunities and challenges of education.
Our mission isn’t to replace teachers or schools, but to equip and empower them to guide the next generation of students to new opportunities. A student who understands their unique potential and has a drive to develop into that potential is a powerful force of change and impact in this world, and we want to be a part of their journey.
“One size fits all” should be the last phrase that comes to mind when describing education, but so many schools are left with no other option as they ignore change and rely on their “trusted” methods. Our goal is to replace outdated methodologies like standardized tests, GPA-based grading systems, and rote memorization with innovative ways of learning that will personalize education and restore equity in the classroom.
Our society has let the accumulation of knowledge overshadow personalized development for too long. Rift is starting an education revolution and we’re excited for the journey.
