The Social Institute
The Social Institute sells #WinAtSocial, a gamified peer-to-peer learning platform, to K-12 schools and districts across North America. The web-based curriculum equips students, educators, and families with modern life skills spanning social media, AI literacy, and digital well-being.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersDurham, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What The Social Institute does
The Social Institute (TSI) is a Durham, North Carolina-based education technology company that has operated since 2016, selling its #WinAtSocial gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform to K-12 schools and districts across the United States and Canada. The platform delivers a turnkey, web-based curriculum covering modern life skills, social media navigation, AI literacy, cyberbullying prevention, and digital well-being, organized by grade band (including a recent K-2 offline module) and supplemented by monthly Trending Lessons that address current events and platform-specific developments. #WinAtSocial Insights provides real-time analytics on student responses and school culture, fed by a dataset of more than one million student responses across 53,000+ students and developed with input from a Student Ambassador Program spanning middle school through college and a Research Advisory Committee of educators and clinicians.
The business operates a B2B2C subscription licensing model in which schools and districts are the paying customers and families receive complementary resources such as the Family Toolkit, Family Huddles, and Platform Playbooks. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, and technology directors, supplemented by content marketing (blog, webinars, white papers, case studies, and the Huddle newsletter) and earned media in major outlets. The company is founder-led by CEO Laura Tierney (2026 Inc. Female Founders 500 honoree) and COO Shayna Heinrich, with a lean headcount of 1-10 employees, one disclosed funding round from Avalanche VC in October 2020, and no public revenue figures. Notable district customers include Greece Central School District (Rochester, NY, 11,000 students), Issaquah School District (Washington, 5,000 middle school students), Berkeley School District 87, Northview Public Schools, Woodward Academy, Havergal College (Toronto), and Glenlyon Norfolk School (Victoria, BC).
The Social Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Social Institute
- Legal name
- The Social Institute
- Website
- https://thesocialinstitute.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Social Institute sells #WinAtSocial, a gamified peer-to-peer learning platform, to K-12 schools and districts across North America. The web-based curriculum equips students, educators, and families with modern life skills spanning social media, AI literacy, and digital well-being.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Social Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Social-Emotional Learning Software
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Behavioral Health & MTSS/RTI Tiered SEL Supports (EDAKAMAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Communication & Family Engagement Platforms (Messaging, Portals, Translation) (EDAJAMAI)
Keywords
Where The Social Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Durham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Social Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- School/District Licensing: Schools and districts license the #WinAtSocial platform and curriculum. The Family Toolkit is offered complimentary when a child's school partners with The Social Institute. Pricing is likely subscription-based for annual school licenses.
- Professional Development Services: Self-paced professional development courses for educators on AI literacy, technology integration, and student engagement strategies.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Social Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Social Institute operates #WinAtSocial, a gamified, web-based peer-to-peer learning platform that equips K-12 students, educators, and families with modern life skills to navigate social media, AI, devices, and social situations in healthy, high-character ways. The platform delivers turnkey interactive lessons, monthly trending lessons, and a real-time analytics dashboard that captures student insights for educators. Schools and districts license the platform; family and educator resources are bundled to create a unified language across the school community.
Product overview
The Social Institute offers #WinAtSocial, a gamified, web-based peer-to-peer learning platform that serves as the core product. The platform integrates multiple components: #WinAtSocial Lessons (comprehensive K-12 curriculum), #WinAtSocial Trending Lessons (monthly updated current events content), #WinAtSocial Insights (real-time analytics dashboard), Family Toolkit with Family Huddles and Platform Playbooks (family engagement resources), Faculty Professional Development (educator training), K-2 Offline Lessons (screen-free early childhood content), Cyberback Toolkit (cyberbullying prevention), Student Ambassador Program (student leadership), and #WinAtSocial Presentations (custom workshops). The platform is designed for in-person or remote learning, is co-created with students, and emphasizes a positive approach that empowers rather than restricts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- #WinAtSocial: The company's gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform that equips students, educators, and families with modern life skills to navigate social media, technology, and social situations in healthy, high-character ways.
- #WinAtSocial Lessons
- #WinAtSocial Insights
- #WinAtSocial Trending Lessons
- Family Toolkit
- Family Huddles
- Student Ambassador Program
- Cyberback Toolkit
- The Huddle Newsletter
Products and services
- #WinAtSocial Platform Gamified, web-based peer-to-peer learning platform that equips students, educators, and families with modern life skills to navigate social media, technology, and social situations in healthy, high-character ways. Sold to K-12 schools and districts.
- #WinAtSocial Lessons Comprehensive, turnkey scope and sequence of K-12 lessons teaching modern-day life skills and inspiring positive decision-making. Co-created with students and updated in real-time.
- #WinAtSocial Trending Lessons Monthly released lessons addressing current events, tech and social media trends, and news stories impacting students, designed to help schools address the most relevant, pressing topics of the day.
- #WinAtSocial Insights Real-time data capture and analysis tool providing insights into school culture and student experiences through easy-to-use dashboards, enabling data-driven decisions to support student well-being and inform school policy.
- Family Toolkit Comprehensive resource for families providing expert breakdowns of apps and devices, real-world examples of positive social media use, and the latest trends sent straight to families' inboxes. Offered complimentary when schools partner with The Social Institute.
- Family Huddles Scripted, relatable conversation starters helping families discuss relevant social scenarios and reinforce skills students learn in school, designed to build trust and prepare students for real-time decision-making.
- Platform Playbooks Expert summaries and breakdowns of the most popular apps students navigate, providing families with guidance on various social media platforms and their implications.
- Student Ambassador Program Program developing student-led ideas and input, ranging from middle school to college students, providing leadership skills, collaboration opportunities, and community service hours while amplifying student voice nationwide.
- Faculty Professional Development Resources for educators including facilitation tips, webinars with thought leaders, research on student experiences, and professional development courses on AI literacy and innovative teaching strategies.
- #WinAtSocial K-2 Offline Lessons Screen-free lessons designed for Kindergarten through 2nd grade students, building foundational skills for treating others with kindness, making good choices, and handling situations respectfully through unplugged, developmentally appropriate activities.
- Cyberback Toolkit Free toolkit for K-12 educators with insights and strategies to tackle cyberbullying, from group chat drama to AI deepfakes, empowering students to stand up for one another online.
- #WinAtSocial Presentations Custom presentations for families, educators, and students on common social media and tech topics, delivered online or in-person, equipping role models with best practices and tools to support student decision-making.
Quantifiable outcome
- Created with over 50,000 students
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Social Institute
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
The Social Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
The Social Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Research Advisory Committee MemberscoreAdvisory committee including Dr. Jessica Anderson (Licensed School and Clinical Psychologist), Lynn Girolamo (Digital Learning and Innovation Coach at Greece Central School District), Daniel Humphrey (Director of IT at St. Edward High School), Lindsay Kobolt LPC (School Counselor), Sophia Hand MSW, Valerie Merriweather (Founder of Fitwell Solutions), Kurt Merriweather (Co-founder of The Diversity Movement), Katelyn Donnelly (Founder of Avalanche VC), and Gregory A. Dale Ph.D. (Duke University). Committee members inform The Social Institute's approach with deep experience in education, student well-being, and related fields.
- Berkeley School District 87coreDiverse community of students, staff, and families with two primary schools, two intermediate schools, and two middle schools serving approximately 2,200 students. Through their partnership, educators are staying ahead of the curve on student trends and preventing social media and tech-related issues in the classroom before they happen.
- Issaquah School DistrictcoreDistrict educating innovators, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders of tomorrow. Students score within top five percent on state and national standardized tests. District-wide implementation of #WinAtSocial Lessons across 6th-8th grades to empower 5,000 middle school students with positive character education related to technology and social media.
- Greece Central School DistrictcoreServing 1,000 teachers and 11,000 students in Rochester, NY. Lynn Girolamo, Digital Learning and Innovation Coach, has led creation and implementation of comprehensive program addressing AI implementation and healthy relationship with screens and media use.
- Northview Public SchoolscoreAward-winning district in Grand Rapids, MI acknowledged for high caliber of graduates, high quality of staff, and excellence of academic and co-curricular programs. Teaching modern life skills to promote student well-being and high-character decision-making through proactive approach.
- Havergal CollegeminorIndependent day and boarding school for junior kindergarten through 12th-grade girls in Toronto, ON. Mission to prepare young women to make a difference with confidence, resilience, and global-mindedness. Focus on 'thriving today and leading tomorrow' approach.
- Woodward AcademycoreK-12 independent school referenced as one of the schools partnering with The Social Institute. Praised for comprehensive and structured program approach.
- Fellowship Christian SchoolminorPrivate, covenant Christian school in Roswell, GA. TSI's peer-to-peer learning platform integrates into Fellowship Christian's 'Programming with Purpose' framework, enabling students to align their use of social media and technology with Christian beliefs.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Social Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rethink Ed: Rethink Ed provides K-12 SEL, behavior, and mental health resources for general and special education, competing for the same student well-being and character development budget TSI targets.
- Committee for Children: Committee for Children produces the widely-adopted Second Step SEL curriculum for K-8, addressing social-emotional skills and well-being. It competes for the same SEL/well-being curriculum dollars TSI pursues in district procurement.
- Panorama Education: Panorama provides K-12 SEL surveys, student well-being dashboards, and college/career readiness tools; its Insights product competes directly with #WinAtSocial Insights for district-level visibility into student experience.
- Nearpod: Nearpod delivers interactive K-12 lesson delivery and student engagement software with built-in SEL and digital citizenship content, competing for the same classroom engagement budget as #WinAtSocial Lessons.
- Common Sense Education: Common Sense Education is the dominant K-12 digital citizenship and SEL curriculum provider, directly competing with #WinAtSocial for school and district contracts around social media, screen time, and online safety instruction.
- EVERFI: EVERFI delivers K-12 life skills and character education curriculum (social-emotional learning, financial literacy, digital wellness) to schools and districts, overlapping with TSI's modern life skills focus and B2B district sales motion.
Broad incumbents
- Newsela: Newsela delivers K-12 instructional content with a strong current-events and digital literacy layer, overlapping with TSI's Trending Lessons approach to keeping classroom material timely and relevant.
- ClassDojo: ClassDojo is a widely-adopted K-12 classroom communication and SEL platform used by teachers and families. Its family engagement and SEL focus compete indirectly with TSI's Family Toolkit and broader character-development curriculum.
- GoGuardian: GoGuardian offers a broader K-12 student safety, classroom management, and mental health suite, overlapping with TSI's school leader and technology director personas on device and online safety policy.
Emerging players
- Bark Technologies: Bark provides parental and school monitoring for social media, screen time, and online safety. It intersects with TSI's Family Toolkit and cyberbullying prevention use cases but focuses on monitoring rather than curriculum.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Social Institute social profiles
Digital presenceThe Social Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Social Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
The Social Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Social Institute 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 The Social Institute
What does The Social Institute do?
The Social Institute operates #WinAtSocial, a gamified, web-based peer-to-peer learning platform that equips K-12 students, educators, and families with modern life skills to navigate social media, AI, devices, and social situations in healthy, high-character ways. The platform delivers turnkey interactive lessons, monthly trending lessons, and a real-time analytics dashboard that captures student insights for educators. Schools and districts license the platform; family and educator resources are bundled to create a unified language across the school community.
Is The Social Institute a public or private company?
The Social Institute is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Social Institute founded?
The Social Institute was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Social Institute based?
The Social Institute is headquartered in Durham, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Social Institute make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. School/District Licensing is the primary driver. The others are professional Development Services.
Who are The Social Institute's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rethink Ed, Committee for Children, Panorama Education, Nearpod, Common Sense Education and EVERFI. Broad incumbents are Newsela, ClassDojo and GoGuardian. Bark Technologies is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Social Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Social Institute.
What industry is The Social Institute in?
The Social Institute's product category is K-12 Social-Emotional Learning Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAKAMAE, Behavioral Health & MTSS/RTI Tiered SEL Supports, with a secondary code of EDAJAMAI, Communication & Family Engagement Platforms (Messaging, Portals, Translation). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.