Footsteps2Brilliance

What Footsteps2Brilliance does

Footsteps2Brilliance Inc. is a privately held educational technology company headquartered in Washington, DC, founded in 2011-2012 by Ilene Rosenthal and Eugene Narciso. The company provides a bilingual (English/Spanish), Science of Reading-aligned digital literacy platform for U.S. school districts and early childhood programs serving children from birth through third grade. Its core product is a cloud-based platform (myf2b.com) and unified MyF2B mobile application that combines a content library of thousands of trans-adapted interactive eBooks, songs, and games with an AI Writing Coach, real-time data dashboards, MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) integration, and family engagement tooling. Adjacent offerings include the Financial Literacy Career Readiness curriculum for grades 4-8, Summer Climb summer school programming, the Clever Kids University and Little Bees early childhood curricula, the Brilliant Minds educator recognition program, the Model Innovation City community-wide licensing program, and the Emmy-nominated 'Learn With Me' television program distributed via PBS in partnership with the San Bernardino County Office of Education.

Name

Footsteps2Brilliance

Legal name

Footsteps2Brilliance Inc.

Website

https://footsteps2brilliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Footsteps2Brilliance provides a bilingual (English/Spanish) Science of Reading-aligned digital literacy platform for U.S. school districts and early childhood programs serving children birth through third grade. The cloud platform delivers eBooks, AI writing support, real-time dashboards, MTSS integration, and family engagement tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Digital Literacy Platform

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy Foundations (Phonics, Reading Fluency, Comprehension) Platforms (EDAFAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Parent-Facing Home Learning & Family Engagement Apps (EDACANAK), Online Learning Content & Course Publishing Platforms (BPAMAJAL), Enterprise/School-District Virtual Tutoring Providers (B2B2C) (EDANAGAF)

Keywords

• Bilingual literacy platform
• Early childhood education
• Science of reading
• K-12 literacy curriculum
• Professional development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. District/School SaaS Licensing: Footsteps2Brilliance generates revenue through annual or multi-year licensing agreements with school districts, early childhood centers, Head Start programs, and individual schools. Pricing is based on district or school size, student enrollment, and program tier. Implementation is supported by Client Success Managers and professional development services included in or supplemental to the license.
2. Professional Development Services: Additional revenue is generated through professional learning services including workshops, coaching, consulting, and modeling delivered virtually, on-site, or on-demand. These services support district implementation and capacity building.
3. In-Kind Grants (Model Innovation City): The company offers Model Innovation City in-kind grants to communities as a mechanism to provide bilingual resources and customized learning plans at no cost, serving as a customer acquisition and expansion tool for districts.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Footsteps2Brilliance sells a cloud-based bilingual (English/Spanish) digital literacy platform delivered via web (myf2b.com) and mobile apps to K-12 school districts, early childhood programs, and Head Start providers. Its core offering includes a Science of Reading-aligned curriculum spanning Birth-to-3 through grade 8, an AI Writing Coach, real-time data dashboards, family engagement tools, and supplemental professional development services. The platform is licensed on a district/school basis and is distributed both directly and through state approvals, educational service centers, and community-wide Model Innovation City grants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Little Bees: Birth to 3 early learning curriculum for Head Start programs, school districts, and early childhood centers, turning everyday moments into powerful learning experiences.
• Summer Climb
• Brilliant Minds
• Model Innovation City
• Financial Literacy Career Readiness
• Clever Kids University (CKU)
• Learn With Me
• F2B Client Success Management
• F2B Educator University
• F2B Parent University

Products and services

• MyF2B Bilingual Digital Literacy Platform Cloud-based bilingual (English/Spanish) digital literacy platform delivering interactive eBooks, songs, games, AI-powered writing feedback, and real-time data dashboards to districts, schools, and families; serves children from birth through 8th grade and is grounded in the Science of Reading.
• Little Bees (Birth to 3 Years Curriculum) Bilingual birth-to-3 early learning curriculum for Head Start programs, school districts, and early childhood centers focused on oral language, phonological awareness, and foundational literacy before kindergarten entry.
• Kindergarten Readiness Curriculum Bilingual PreK/Kindergarten Readiness curriculum preparing at-risk learners for school entry through oral language, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and family engagement aligned with Science of Reading.
• Literacy Foundations Curriculum (K-2) Bilingual K-2 literacy curriculum with a teacher's guide that integrates with core ELA programs and covers all five Science of Reading domains (phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension).
• Financial Literacy Career Readiness Curriculum Cross-curricular bilingual program for grades 4-8 that builds career-ready skills (career exploration, money choices, budgeting, problem-solving) while strengthening reading, writing, math, and critical thinking through interactive graphic-novel adventures and AI writing support.
• Summer Climb (Summer School Program) Bilingual summer school program for PreK through 3rd grade that prevents learning loss and accelerates literacy growth with game-based bilingual content.
• Professional Learning Services Workshops, coaching, consulting, modeling, and walk-throughs delivered by professional development faculty and Client Success Managers — including the F2B Educator University — to support district implementation and capacity building for the platform.
• Model Innovation City / Community Partnership Program Citywide/community licensing and partnership program that provides in-kind equity grants and customized learning plans, uniting schools, families, libraries, and community organizations into a coordinated bilingual literacy network.
• Learn With Me (Transmedia TV Program) Emmy-nominated bilingual children's TV program co-created with PBS and San Bernardino County Office of Education that turns passive TV watching into active bilingual literacy experiences using Footsteps2Brilliance content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students who use Footsteps2Brilliance for 45 minutes/week achieve 3X literacy growth in 10 weeks vs. non-users (2023-24 Growth Score Report)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve (ESCWR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026ESCWR selected Footsteps2Brilliance as a strategic partner for Ready to Read North East Ohio, a $549,475 state grant initiative serving over 500 learners across 10 early learning sites in Lake and Geauga Counties. The partnership provides bilingual digital literacy with professional development, literacy coaching, family engagement, and data-driven instructional practices.
• San Bernardino County Office of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with San Bernardino County Office of Education to co-create 'Learn With Me,' the first-ever transmedia educational program resulting in an Emmy nomination, based on Footsteps2Brilliance's books, songs, and games. Extends Footsteps2Brilliance content to broadcast TV audiences.
• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with PBS to broadcast the 'Learn With Me' Emmy-nominated children's television program, making Footsteps2Brilliance's bilingual literacy content available through public broadcasting — extending reach to families beyond school-based licenses.
• San Bernardino County Sheriff's DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Bernardino County Sheriff's Department partnered with San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools to bring the Love for Literacy project to justice-involved families through Footsteps2Brilliance literacy coaches, digital books, and games — fostering intergenerational literacy.
• Adams 14 School DistrictminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdams 14 Superintendent Dr. Carla Loria leverages the Footsteps2Brilliance Model Innovation City program to empower students and engage families in building strong literacy foundations with collaboration between schools and families.
• Texas Education Agency / State of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootsteps2Brilliance has produced a Texas Statewide Early Literacy Report documenting district outcomes across Texas, with the platform aligned to Texas STAAR Reading standards and widely adopted across Texas districts (Raymondville ISD, Rio Grande City Grulla ISD, PSJA ISD).
• San Mateo-Foster City School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Mateo-Foster City SD implemented a collective impact model using Footsteps2Brilliance to create early literacy partnerships with families, completely reinventing family communication and collaboration to ensure kindergarten readiness for all students. Kindergarten reading at grade level grew from 48% to 86% in two years.
• Coachella Valley Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoachella Valley USD partnered with Footsteps2Brilliance as part of its Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative. Students recorded 53,826 hours of reading, 154,472 books read, and 136.7 million words read. The district operates a large rural area with a predominantly Latino and English Learner population.
• KVCR/PBScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with KVCR/PBS (a PBS affiliate) in conjunction with San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools to produce and distribute 'Learn With Me,' the first-ever Emmy-nominated transmedia educational program from Footsteps2Brilliance content.
• Colusa County Office of EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperintendent Michael West of Colusa County Office of Education implemented the Model Innovation City program and endorsed Footsteps2Brilliance as the vehicle enabling parents to become more directly involved in their children's educational journey.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Imagine Learning: Imagine Learning's Suite (formerly Imagine Language & Literacy) directly competes in K-12 supplemental literacy with bilingual English/Spanish content. Both companies target similar district buyers and emphasize equity for ELL learners.
• Lexia Learning (Cambium Learning Group): Lexia Core5 and Lexia PowerUp are direct competitors in K-12 literacy intervention with strong evidence-based positioning and similar Science of Reading alignment. Both sell to districts via enterprise licenses with usage data dashboards.
• Heggerty: Heggerty provides phonemic awareness curriculum that overlaps with Footsteps2Brilliance's foundational literacy instruction. Both align to the Science of Reading and are commonly procured together by districts.
• Reading Eggs / Blake eLearning: Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress deliver K-6 adaptive literacy instruction with engaging digital content, directly comparable to Footsteps2Brilliance's grade-level literacy foundations offering.
• Waterford.org: Waterford Early Learning and Waterford Reading Academy provide adaptive K-3 literacy instruction with a similar birth-through-elementary continuum. Both target Title I and early childhood funding streams with parent-facing home components.
• Really Great Reading: Really Great Reading offers explicit, systematic phonics and decoding instruction aligned to the Science of Reading, directly overlapping with Footsteps2Brilliance's literacy foundations and intervention offerings in K-3.
• Newsela: Newsela provides differentiated instructional content with reading level adaptation for grades 2-12, competing for the same supplemental literacy budgets in K-12 districts with an emphasis on data-driven differentiation.
• Achieve3000: Achieve3000 (now part of McGraw Hill) provides differentiated literacy instruction with data dashboards, similar to Footsteps2Brilliance's MTSS-aligned offering. Footsteps2Brilliance's CEO previously led strategic initiatives at Achieve3000.

Broad incumbents

• Curriculum Associates (i-Ready): i-Ready Diagnostic and Instruction is a broad incumbent in K-12 literacy and math assessment/intervention. While not focused solely on early childhood, it competes for the same supplemental literacy budget dollars in district RFPs.
• Renaissance Learning: Renaissance's myON and Freckle literacy products compete in K-12 digital reading, with broad distribution across U.S. districts and a large institutional sales footprint Footsteps2Brilliance must compete against in enterprise deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MyF2B
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/footsteps2brilliance
• Facebookfacebook.com/231977650194734
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/footsteps2brilliance
• Instagraminstagram.com/footsteps2brilliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Footsteps2Brilliance