College Contact
College Contact is a SaaS platform that connects K-12 high school students with a network of 350+ certified undergraduate near-peer coaches for college and career readiness advising, sold via annual subscriptions to school districts nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What College Contact does
College Contact is a SaaS platform that connects high school students with certified near-peer college and career coaches. Founded in 2020 by Sophie English Smith and Leah Guesman, the company operates a web-based platform with monitored messaging, virtual meeting capabilities, and a district reporting dashboard, supplemented by iOS and Android mobile applications. The company's underlying technology includes a coach-student matching system that pairs students with undergraduate coaches aligned to their interests, background, and goals, along with supervised messaging that records and transcribes sessions for FERPA-compliant quality assurance and district oversight. The platform's mobile and web products support virtual advising sessions, structured College and Career Readiness (CCR) activities, and real-time outcomes dashboards for administrators.
The company sells annual subscriptions directly to K-12 school districts through a B2B sales motion using Calendly-based discovery calls and a website contact form. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to district size and needs; specific contract values are not publicly disclosed. The service layer consists of a network of 350+ certified undergraduate coaches drawn from 100+ institutions, representing 150+ career pathways and 30+ languages, compensated at $25/hr plus semesterly stipends. College Contact's primary customer segment is K-12 school counseling departments seeking to extend advising capacity amid a national counselor shortage (411:1 student-to-counselor ratio), with secondary end users being individual high school students — particularly first-generation, ELL, and underserved populations.
The company was bootstrapped through a viral TikTok origin that generated 5,000+ waitlist signups within months of founding, then transitioned to enterprise district sales. It raised $1,025,000 in a 2023 SEC Rule 506(b) offering with Techstars participation, won the SXSW EDU 2025 Launch Startup Competition, and serves 13+ named districts nationwide including Palm Springs USD, Iraan-Sheffield ISD, and Shenandoah School Corporation. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, incorporated in Delaware as College Contact, Inc., and is female-founded and founder-controlled.
College Contact firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- College Contact
- Legal name
- College Contact, Inc.
- Website
- https://yourcollegecontact.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- College Contact is a SaaS platform that connects K-12 high school students with a network of 350+ certified undergraduate near-peer coaches for college and career readiness advising, sold via annual subscriptions to school districts nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
College Contact industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 College and Career Readiness Software
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- College Readiness & Admissions Prep Centers (Small-Group Workshops) (EDANAHAI)
Keywords
Where College Contact is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
College Contact business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- District Subscription Services: School districts pay for access to the network of certified college and career coaches who support their students. Services include coach matching, virtual advising sessions, monitored messaging, structured CCR activities aligned to district goals, and reporting dashboards for administrators.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | District-level subscription - pricing not publicly disclosed |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
College Contact product offering
Product offeringCore offering
College Contact is a SaaS platform that connects K-12 school districts with a network of 350+ certified near-peer (undergraduate) college and career coaches who advise high school students via virtual calls, supervised messaging, and structured College and Career Readiness activities. Districts subscribe annually and receive matching, multilingual coaching support, FERPA-compliant monitoring with session transcription, and a reporting and outcomes dashboard, while students access services through a free iOS/Android mobile app.
Product overview
College Contact is a unified platform combining software and human coaching services to connect high school students with near-peer college and career coaches. The core offering includes the College Contact Platform (web-based software for matching, messaging, activities, and reporting), the College Contact Mobile App (iOS/Android), and a Coach Network of 350+ certified undergraduate coaches. School districts subscribe to access these services to expand counseling capacity and meet CCR goals. The company also operates a Become a Coach Program to recruit and train coaches.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- College Contact Platform Core web-based SaaS platform connecting high school students with certified near-peer college and career coaches through virtual calls, secure messaging, structured CCR activities, coach-student matching, and district reporting and outcomes tracking.
- College Contact Mobile App iOS and Android mobile app for student end-users to connect with their assigned coach, send messages in a supervised environment, and track progress toward college and career goals.
- Coach Network Service A managed service providing K-12 districts with access to 350+ certified near-peer college and career coaches from 100+ institutions representing 150+ career pathways and 30+ languages, supporting students during school, after school, and on weekends.
- School District Subscription Services Annual subscription sold to K-12 school counseling departments to expand advising reach and meet College and Career Readiness goals, bundling coach matching, virtual advising, monitored messaging, structured CCR activities, and outcomes reporting for administrators.
- Become a Coach Program Recruiting and certification program that onboards undergraduate students as paid near-peer coaches, providing $25/hr compensation, semesterly stipends, bonuses for workshops and referrals, professional development, and networking opportunities.
Quantifiable outcome
- One rural district generated $1M in student outcomes from $6K investment
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use College Contact
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
College Contact technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
College Contact partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
College Contact competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Naviance by PowerSchool: Naviance is the dominant K-12 college and career readiness platform, used by thousands of US school districts. It is the most direct competitor to College Contact given overlapping buyer (school counseling departments), overlapping use cases (CCR planning, reporting), and district-level B2B SaaS motion; College Contact's near-peer coaching layer is the primary differentiator.
- SchooLinks: SchooLinks is a modern K-12 college, career, and financial aid readiness platform sold via subscription to school districts. It directly competes with College Contact on CCR software, FAFSA completion tracking, and district dashboards, with the main contrast being SchooLinks' heavier software focus versus College Contact's human near-peer coaching.
- Xello: Xello (formerly Career Cruising) is a K-12 college and career readiness platform with deep district penetration in North America. It competes directly with College Contact in serving school counseling departments with CCR lesson plans, assessments, and reporting. Comparable buyer and use cases.
- Scoir: Scoir is a college admissions network and CRM platform used by high schools and counselors to manage the college application process. It directly overlaps College Contact's admissions guidance use cases for the K-12 counseling buyer, with comparable SaaS subscription model.
- MajorClarity by Instructure: MajorClarity is a K-12 college, career, and life readiness platform, now part of Instructure (Canvas parent). It directly competes with College Contact on CCR planning, career exploration, and district reporting for school counseling departments.
- Cialfo: Cialfo is a college counseling and application management platform serving high schools and counselors globally. It is comparable on the admissions guidance use case and the K-12 institutional buyer, with stronger international presence but similar SaaS delivery model to College Contact.
Emerging players
- YouScience: YouScience provides aptitude-based career discovery and pathway planning tools for high school students, often integrated with district CCR programs. It overlaps with College Contact's career exploration use case but is assessment-led rather than coaching-led.
Broad incumbents
- BigFuture by College Board: BigFuture is the College Board's free college and career planning platform used broadly by US high school students. It competes indirectly with College Contact by offering a free baseline of college search and planning tools that districts already have access to.
Others
- Common App: Common App is the dominant college application platform used by US high school students and counselors. It is adjacent rather than direct given its application-submission focus, but it intersects with College Contact's admissions workflow at the point of application completion.
Regional players
- BridgeU: BridgeU is a college and career guidance platform serving international schools primarily outside the US. It is comparable in product category (CCR SaaS for secondary schools) and buyer (counseling departments), but operates in different geographies than College Contact.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
College Contact social profiles
Digital presenceCollege Contact compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
College Contact financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
College Contact leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
College Contact funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
College Contact M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about College Contact
What does College Contact do?
College Contact is a SaaS platform that connects K-12 school districts with a network of 350+ certified near-peer (undergraduate) college and career coaches who advise high school students via virtual calls, supervised messaging, and structured College and Career Readiness activities. Districts subscribe annually and receive matching, multilingual coaching support, FERPA-compliant monitoring with session transcription, and a reporting and outcomes dashboard, while students access services through a free iOS/Android mobile app.
Is College Contact a public or private company?
College Contact is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was College Contact founded?
College Contact was founded in 2020. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is College Contact based?
College Contact is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does College Contact make money?
One revenue line is on record: district Subscription Services.
Who are College Contact's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Naviance by PowerSchool, SchooLinks, Xello, Scoir, MajorClarity by Instructure and Cialfo. YouScience is listed as an emerging player. BigFuture by College Board is listed as a broad incumbent. Common App is listed as an others. BridgeU is listed as a regional player.
Does College Contact have an API?
No public API is recorded for College Contact.
What industry is College Contact in?
College Contact's product category is K-12 College and Career Readiness Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDANAHAI, College Readiness & Admissions Prep Centers (Small-Group Workshops). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.