Sown To Grow
Sown To Grow is a K-12 education technology company providing a web-based student emotional and academic check-in, reflection, and SEL curriculum platform sold via annual enterprise subscriptions to US school districts across 40 states, with proprietary ML features for reflection analysis and concerning-content alerts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Sown To Grow does
Sown To Grow, Inc. is a Delaware-incorporated education technology company headquartered in Oakland, California, founded in 2015. It provides a web-based K-12 student check-in, goal-setting, and reflection platform operating within the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. The product consists of four core modules — Emotional Check-In, Academic Check-In, SEL Curriculum & Screener, and a Simplified Check-In for K-2 — alongside role-specific dashboards for district leaders, school leaders, counselors/social workers, and teachers. Underlying AI capabilities include anomaly detection on student reflections, NLP-based reflection quality assessment, and an AI feedback suggestion engine for teachers, all built on interpretable models (Random Forest, XGBoost, Isolation Trees, KNN) with human-in-the-loop review before alerts are issued.
The platform is sold via annual enterprise subscriptions to US K-12 school districts on 1-year contract terms, with demos and evaluation periods preceding purchase. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supplemented by content marketing (research publications, case studies, blog, The Seed newsletter, weekly webinars). Sown To Grow serves named districts including Oakland Unified, NYC DOE, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Capistrano Unified, and Pajaro Valley Unified, with reported footprint across 40 US states and a 2023-24 ESSA Tier 2-validated study covering 26,763 students across 37 districts and 299 schools. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; total funding to date includes NSF SBIR awards, US DOE support, AWS Education Accelerator participation, New Schools Venture Fund backing, and a $2.34M SEC Form D exempt offering filed in August 2024. The company is small (11-50 employees), founder-led by CEO Rupa Chandra Gupta and CTO Dennis Li, and has not reported any institutional Series A/B venture rounds.
Sown To Grow firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sown To Grow
- Legal name
- Sown To Grow, Inc.
- Website
- https://sowntogrow.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sown To Grow is a K-12 education technology company providing a web-based student emotional and academic check-in, reflection, and SEL curriculum platform sold via annual enterprise subscriptions to US school districts across 40 states, with proprietary ML features for reflection analysis and concerning-content alerts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sown To Grow industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 SEL and Student Well-Being Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Safety, Wellbeing & SEL Technology (Monitoring, Reporting) (EDAJAMAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Behavioral Intervention & PBIS Supports (Tiered, Gen Ed) (EDAJAGAL), Behavioral & Social-Emotional Support (ABA, PBIS, Counseling) (EDAJAKAE), Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG), Assessment, Testing & Analytics Platforms (Formative/Summative) (EDAJAMAC)
Keywords
Where Sown To Grow is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sown To Grow business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Licensing: Annual subscription-based licensing model for district/school access to the platform. Access is purchased for 1-year terms with renewal subject to additional purchase orders or contracts. Evaluation periods available free of charge or at discounted rates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise district licensing with per-student or site-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Sown To Grow product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sown To Grow provides a web-based student check-in, goal-setting, and reflection platform for K-12 schools that combines weekly emoji-and-text emotional and academic check-ins with a CASEL/ASCA-aligned SEL curriculum, screener, and AI-assisted reflection analysis. The platform is sold as an annual subscription license to districts and schools and delivers role-specific dashboards, concerning-reflection alerts, feedback suggestions for teachers, and tier-based MTSS/PBIS intervention signals.
Product overview
Sown To Grow is an integrated Student Check-in, Goal-Setting, and Reflection Platform designed for K-12 education. The platform consists of four core modules: Emotional Check-In, Academic Check-In, SEL Curriculum & Screener, and Simplified Check-In (for K-2), which work together within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. AI-powered features including Concerning Reflection Alerts, Feedback Suggestions, and Reflection Quality Assessment support educators. Role-specific dashboards and portals serve District Leaders, School Leaders, Counselors & Social Workers, and Teachers, enabling real-time well-being insights and proactive student support across Tiers 1, 2, and 3.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Emotional Check-In
Quantifiable outcome
- 22% increase in students sharing thoughts, feelings, and emotions with teachers
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Sown To Grow
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sown To Grow technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability4 records
Feature9 records
Sown To Grow partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Digital PromisecoreNonprofit partner supporting the platform's research and development. Digital Promise collaborated on redesigning the secondary check-in experience for high schoolers.
- SEL Providers AssociationminorIndustry association for SEL solution providers, indicating participation in the broader SEL ecosystem and professional community.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sown To Grow competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- RethinkEd: RethinkEd provides K-12 SEL, behavior, and mental-health professional development and curriculum. It overlaps with Sown To Grow on the SEL + wellbeing + behavior support stack sold to districts.
- Panorama Education: Panorama is a leading K-12 SEL, MTSS, and student-success platform serving thousands of districts with surveys, interventions, and dashboards. It is the closest direct competitor to Sown To Grow's check-in + SEL screener + MTSS positioning for district buyers.
- Branching Minds: Branching Minds provides an MTSS platform for K-12, combining academic and SEL screening with intervention tracking. It targets the same district MTSS buyers and overlaps with Sown To Grow on Tier 1-3 intervention workflows.
- Kickboard: Kickboard (acquired by SchoolMint) offers a K-12 behavior tracking and PBIS platform with student check-ins and SEL data. It competes head-to-head with Sown To Grow on behavior/SEL data capture and educator workflows.
- CharacterStrong: CharacterStrong delivers K-12 SEL curriculum and character education resources, often paired with PBIS implementation. It is a comparable competitor on the SEL curriculum + advisory side of Sown To Grow's offering.
- Second Step (Committee for Children): Committee for Children's Second Step is a widely adopted classroom-based SEL curriculum for K-8. It competes with Sown To Grow's SEL Curriculum & Screener module for district curriculum dollars.
- ClassDojo: ClassDojo is a widely adopted K-12 classroom communication and SEL/portfolios platform used by millions of teachers. It overlaps with Sown To Grow on student voice, classroom community, and SEL skill building at the classroom layer.
- Nearpod: Nearpod is a K-12 instructional and SEL/engagement platform with interactive lessons and formative assessment. Its SEL content and real-time engagement tools partially overlap with Sown To Grow's check-in and curriculum modules.
Broad incumbents
- Illuminate Education: Illuminate is a larger K-12 assessment, MTSS, and analytics suite serving districts and states. It competes more broadly than Sown To Grow but overlaps on assessment, screener, and intervention analytics for the same district buyers.
- PowerSchool: PowerSchool is the dominant K-12 SIS and broader edtech suite (Unified Classroom, Schoology, etc.). While not a direct SEL competitor, it sits in the same district procurement environment and could bundle or partner around SEL/MTSS workflows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sown To Grow social profiles
Digital presenceSown To Grow compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
Sown To Grow financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sown To Grow leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Sown To Grow funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sown To Grow 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 Sown To Grow
What does Sown To Grow do?
Sown To Grow provides a web-based student check-in, goal-setting, and reflection platform for K-12 schools that combines weekly emoji-and-text emotional and academic check-ins with a CASEL/ASCA-aligned SEL curriculum, screener, and AI-assisted reflection analysis. The platform is sold as an annual subscription license to districts and schools and delivers role-specific dashboards, concerning-reflection alerts, feedback suggestions for teachers, and tier-based MTSS/PBIS intervention signals.
Is Sown To Grow a public or private company?
Sown To Grow is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sown To Grow founded?
Sown To Grow was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sown To Grow based?
Sown To Grow is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sown To Grow make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Licensing.
Who are Sown To Grow's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are RethinkEd, Panorama Education, Branching Minds, Kickboard, CharacterStrong, Second Step (Committee for Children), ClassDojo and Nearpod. Broad incumbents are Illuminate Education and PowerSchool.
Does Sown To Grow have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sown To Grow.
What industry is Sown To Grow in?
Sown To Grow's product category is K-12 SEL and Student Well-Being Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAMAJ, Student Safety, Wellbeing & SEL Technology (Monitoring, Reporting), with a secondary code of EDAJAGAL, Behavioral Intervention & PBIS Supports (Tiered, Gen Ed). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.