Navigate the Maze to Achievement

What Navigate the Maze to Achievement does

Navigate the Maze to Achievement, Inc. ("Navigate") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2016 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The organization runs a four-stage longitudinal educational pathway — High School Access, High School Success, College Access, and College Success — designed to help Black and Latino middle school students in New York City gain admission to and graduate from the city's most selective public high schools and colleges. Its target population is high-academic-performing middle schoolers (state assessment scores of 3s and 4s, 85+ averages in core subjects), with 85% of its students coming from households earning below MIT's Living Wage Calculator threshold and 30% being first-generation college-bound children.

Navigate delivers services at no cost to students and is staffed by 8 employees. There is no proprietary technology platform, mobile app, or AI/ML capability disclosed; the value proposition rests entirely on human-delivered mentorship, academic preparation, and family/community engagement. The organization reports placement outcomes at named selective high schools including Brooklyn Technical High School, Townsend Harris, Bard High School Early College, and Midwood High School, and references a documented partnership with M.S 935 Brooklyn (Principal Jermaine Lewis) as a primary referral source.

Navigate's business model is donations- and grants-based, with revenue derived from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants. It has no fees, tuition, or fee-for-service revenue. The organization has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent entity, no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and operates exclusively within New York City. Marketing and student acquisition rely on community outreach, word-of-mouth referrals, and direct school partnerships rather than paid digital or outbound channels.

Name

Navigate the Maze to Achievement

Legal name

Navigate the Maze to Achievement, Inc.

Website

https://ntmanyc.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Navigate the Maze to Achievement is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a four-stage academic pathway preparing Black and Latino middle school students in New York City for admission to and graduation from selective high schools and colleges, supported by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDANAKAE

Academic Acceleration & Grade-Skipping Support

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/Enrichment & Advanced/Accelerated Tutoring (Gifted/AP/IB)

SECONDARYEDANAHAL

Gifted, Advanced & Acceleration Centers (Honors/AP/IB Enrichment)

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/Small-Group Tutoring & Learning Centers

Keywords

• Educational equity programs
• High school admissions coaching
• College access services
• Student mentorship programs
• Youth academic support

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Navigate primarily operates through donations from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Navigate the Maze to Achievement provides free, sequenced educational support services to Black and Latino middle and high school students in New York City. Its four programs combine academic preparation, mentorship, and holistic guidance to help students gain admission to NYC's most selective high schools, succeed once enrolled, navigate the college admissions process, and complete college degrees.

Product overview

Navigate the Maze to Achievement operates as a unified non-profit educational support program with four interconnected programs spanning the academic journey from high school admission through college completion. The High School Access program provides intensive academic preparation to help students gain admission to selective NYC high schools; High School Success offers ongoing mentorship and support once students are enrolled; College Access guides students through the college application process; and College Success provides continued support through graduation and career preparation. Together, these programs form a pathway to lifelong success, delivering holistic support including academic preparation, mentorship, and guidance to Black and Latino students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Students admitted to prestigious specialized high schools including Brooklyn Technical High School, Townsend Harris, Bard, and Midwood.

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MIT Living Wage CalculatorminorOthersNavigate references MIT's Living Wage Calculator as a benchmark for defining 'living wage' when identifying student eligibility. This is used to determine that 85% of their students come from households earning below a living wage.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• A Better Chance: National nonprofit that places high-achieving students of color into leading independent and public schools. Comparable to Navigate in its selective-school access mission, though it operates nationally and serves a broader set of schools rather than specializing in NYC's specialized high school test.
• Prep for Prep: New York City-based nonprofit that prepares high-achieving Black, Latino, and other underrepresented students for placement at independent and selective public schools. Highly comparable to Navigate in mission, target demographic, and NYC focus, with a longer-running program and larger alumni base.
• iMentor: NYC-based nonprofit that pairs students from low-income communities with college-educated mentors for college access and success. Comparable to Navigate in its NYC focus, mentorship-driven model, and college-completion mission, though it operates in schools rather than via a selective-admissions pipeline.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit that provides first-generation college students with intensive advising to access and graduate from college. Comparable to Navigate's College Access and College Success programs, with a similar demographic focus but a national footprint across multiple cities.
• Breakthrough Collaborative: National network of pre-college programs that prepare underrepresented students for selective colleges. Comparable to Navigate in its mission of academic acceleration for high-achieving underrepresented students, though it operates summer and after-school models across multiple cities.

Emerging players

• College Advising Corps: National nonprofit placing recent college graduates as full-time college advisers in underserved high schools. Comparable to Navigate's College Access and Success programs in its mission, though it delivers advising through partner schools rather than its own program cohort.
• Matriculate: Nonprofit that connects high-achieving high school students from low-income backgrounds with virtual college advising. Highly comparable to Navigate's College Access offering, with a tech-enabled delivery model and similar demographic.

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Foundation: Large national charter school network serving predominantly Black and Latino students from low-income communities. While KIPP operates its own schools rather than preparing students for selective external schools, it targets the same demographic and advances educational equity in NYC.
• NYC Department of Education Office of Student Pathways: Public entity within NYC DOE that supports high school and college access programming for NYC students. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that influences the same admissions and access environment Navigate operates in, though it is a public sector entity rather than a peer nonprofit.

Regional players

• Eastside Preparatory School (Place Bridge / Beacon programs): Examples of selective destination schools (not direct competitors) where Navigate students land. Listed as a representative destination to illustrate the school-pipeline relationship rather than as a competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/navigate-the-maze-to-achievement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Navigate the Maze to Achievement