Full STEAM Ahead

What Full STEAM Ahead does

Full STEAM Ahead is a US-based, founder-led initiative launched in 2019 by Alyssa Ho that operates a mobile application designed to connect students, mentors, and team administrators with local Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) teams, with a stated emphasis on girls and underrepresented minorities. The app provides a scrollable matching feed that compares student profiles (location, time availability, interests) against team data, alongside team-management tooling such as in-app chat, calendar scheduling, and announcements, plus a notification system for invites and team updates. The underlying technology stack evolved from MIT App Inventor and Figma prototypes through a Thunkable build with Firebase Realtime Database integration to a current Xamarin/XML MVP developed in Visual Studios, distributed via the Google Play Store with an Apple App Store submission in progress.

The company runs a community-led go-to-market combining annual hackathons, STEAM expos, and FLL/FTC workshops with a global ambassador program of approximately 17 volunteers across 14+ countries (USA, Sweden, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Philippines, India, Kenya, Jordan, Nigeria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco). Strategic alliances with Stanford AI4ALL, Girl Scouts Greater Los Angeles, NCWIT Aspire IT, Engineer Girl (National Academy of Engineering), Technovation Girls, and Pasadena Public Library provide channel access and credibility within the STEAM-promotion ecosystem. Primary customer segments are students seeking teams, experienced STEAM mentors, team administrators, and STEAM teams themselves (robotics, Science Olympiad, coding clubs).

The business model is non-commercial: the app is distributed free, no pricing is disclosed, and the organization solicits sponsors and volunteers rather than charging users. No funding rounds, revenue, patents, or corporate structural changes are recorded; the core team consists of approximately five members (founder Alyssa Ho, graphic designer Brennan Ho, UI/UX designer Isabelle Li, developers Shirley Lidman and Shannon Wang) operating alongside the volunteer ambassador network. The operating model is therefore best characterized as a community-impact initiative rather than a venture-scale commercial enterprise.

Name

Full STEAM Ahead

Legal name

Full STEAM Ahead

Website

https://fullsteamaheadapp.weebly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Full STEAM Ahead is a US-based community initiative that operates a free mobile app connecting students, mentors, and team administrators with local STEAM teams, with emphasis on girls and underrepresented minorities. Distribution is via Google Play Store alongside ambassador-led outreach in 14+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. App Distribution: The app is distributed free on Google Play Store and Apple Store. No explicit revenue model was identified in the source material; the organization appears to operate as a non-profit initiative focused on community impact rather than commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Full STEAM Ahead develops and distributes a free mobile application that connects students interested in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) with nearby STEAM teams, mentors, and team administrators. The app includes a team-member matching system, search and filtering, in-app chat, calendar scheduling, announcement pages, and notifications for invites and updates. The organization also hosts hackathons, STEAM expos, and FLL/FTC workshops to promote STEAM team participation, particularly for girls and underrepresented groups.

Product overview

Full STEAM Ahead is a single mobile application focused on connecting students to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) teams in their communities. The product serves three user types: team members, team mentors, and team administrators. Key features include a search function for finding nearby STEAM teams or recruiting members/mentors, team management capabilities with built-in chat, calendar, and announcement pages, and notification systems for invites and team updates. The app is available on Google Play Store with plans to add to the Apple Store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full STEAM Ahead App A free mobile application for Android (Google Play Store) that connects students interested in STEAM fields with nearby STEAM teams, mentors, and team administrators. It offers team-member matching by location, schedule, and interests; advanced search and filtering; in-app chat, calendar, and announcement tools; and a notification system for invites and updates. Three user types are served: members, mentors, and team administrators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 new FLL and FLL Jr. robotics teams created as a result of the STEAM Expo outreach
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AI4-All (Stanford AI4-All)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Alyssa Ho attended Stanford AI4-All 2019 summer program where she met fellow participants who later formed the core FSA team (Isabelle, Shirley, and Shannon). The program exposed her to artificial intelligence and connected her with like-minded peers.
• Pasadena Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a sponsor and partner supporting Full STEAM Ahead's mission and outreach activities.
• NCWIT Aspire ITminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting FSA's initiatives to promote women and underrepresented groups in technology.
• Girl Scouts Greater Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner for outreach activities. FSA hosted STEAM Expo for Girl Scouts and helped create 16 new robotics teams within the Girl Scout community.
• Engineer Girl (National Academy of Engineering)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram of the National Academy of Engineering that supports FSA's mission to promote engineering and STEAM opportunities to girls.
• Technovation GirlscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit program where the Full STEAM Ahead idea was originally pitched at the Regional Pitch Event in Irvine on May 18, 2019. Provided mentorship and business development support through mentor Dorothy Chung.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Outschool: Outschool is a marketplace connecting learners to small-group classes and clubs across many subjects including STEAM. It is comparable as a multi-sided education marketplace that helps parents/students discover enrichment programs and clubs.
• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): FIRST is the parent organization of FLL, FTC, and FRC — the very robotics programs FSA connects students to. It is the dominant incumbent in the student STEAM-team ecosystem and is referenced as an ecosystem anchor throughout FSA's outreach.
• iD Tech: iD Tech operates STEM summer camps and online programs for kids and teens — listed on FSA's own STEAM Teams page as a sample program. It is a commercial incumbent in adjacent enrichment programming.
• Code.org: Code.org is a leading STEAM-education nonprofit promoting computer science access in K-12 schools. Like FSA, it pursues a mission of broadening participation, but at much larger scale and with established school-district integrations.

Emerging players

• Tynker: Tynker is a consumer coding-education platform for kids that, like FSA's matching app, sits in the K-12 STEAM discovery and learning stack. It overlaps on the coding-club/team discovery use case but focuses on self-serve learning content rather than team matching.
• Citizen Schools: Citizen Schools runs after-school STEM apprenticeship and career-exploration programs for middle-school students, addressing a similar audience and equity-focused mission. Comparable as a mission-driven STEAM enrichment organization serving underrepresented students.

Direct peers

• Science Olympiad: Science Olympiad is one of the STEAM team examples referenced on FSA's website and represents the type of academic competition team students discover via the FSA platform. It operates team-based STEAM competitions at the K-12 level nationally.
• Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code runs club programs and summer immersion tracks targeting the same underrepresented-in-STEAM girls demographic as FSA. It is even listed on FSA's own "STEAM Teams" page as an example program students might join.
• Technovation: Technovation is a direct partner of FSA (where founder Alyssa Ho originally pitched the idea in 2019) and serves the same mission: empowering girls to solve community problems through technology and entrepreneurship. It is a direct peer and program-pipeline partner.

Others

• NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology): NCWIT runs the AspireIT program, which is a direct partner of FSA. NCWIT operates as an ecosystem organization promoting women in computing through programs, awards, and research — comparable as a mission-aligned ecosystem enabler.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/fullsteamahead_app
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/full-steam-ahead-app

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Full STEAM Ahead