Cell-Ed: Skills on the Go

Cell-Ed offers a flexible solution to reach, retain, and up-skill workers on any mobile device via text, no internet necessary.

Cell-Ed closes the skills gap for low literate, low wage workers 84% faster than alternatives by delivering 3 minute micro-lessons over any mobile device - even basic flip phones. More than 100M adults in the US, and 2B worldwide, lack the literacy, language and jobs skills they need to thrive. Most don’t have access to classrooms, teachers, consistent internet or even smartphones.

Cell-Ed changes the game and delivers relevant, engaging, impactful training while removing the traditional barriers to education. In fact, while only 11% of low-literate, low-wage workers will ever see a classroom or get a training program, 97% have mobile phones, with or without access to the internet. 98% use their phones to text.

Alvan in San Francisco, a father in his 30s, gained enough communications skills to go from the night job as a security guard to a higher paying, more secure day job. Lucia, an immigrant in her 40s living in LA finally learned to read the bus signs to get to work.

 Learners simply call Cell-Ed or download a easy-to-use app that accounts for low tech literacy. They listen to a few minutes of a Cell-Ed lesson, and text back to show understanding. If they get stuck, a live or automated coach provide encouragement and support. Our learners can seamlessly move between the Cell-Ed app, web app, and SMS/call only.

 On average, our learners use Cell-Ed for at least 5 hours  - the equivalent to 50 classroom hours. Every three-minute lesson covers three concrete skills with reading, writing, listening and speaking practice built in with no time needed to commute to a classroom or wait for others to settle in.

Our customers can finally deliver on-demand training to their frontline workers with our proprietary and customized content, automated and live coaches, and our full platform to track progress and communicate with learners. Since our launch in 2014, we have more than 30 customers and closed nearly $2M in contracts last year. We have 95% renewals where customers not only grow their contracts to an average of $50K a year, but refer us to others. In fact, 36% of our sales come from referrals.

Our B2B business model enables us to scale and increase impact. By reaching out the large organizations with access to millions of adult learners (eg SEIU, State of New York, LAPL). Our model is simple employers pay us $6,000 a year to use our platform and $50 per workers with customization options including tailored content and white labeling solutions. Customers save upwards $3,500 ever low skilled employee they retain.

While most competitors target the high-skilled, professionals with college degrees (or at a minimum a 12th grade reading level), Cell-Ed serves the lowest skilled adults. Our market is both massive and untapped. With our scalable, AI powered communications and training platform designed for frontline workers, we can reach billions specifically for an often overlooked demographic.

And with the help and expertise of MIT SOLVE, we are confident we can do so.

Cell-Ed takes existing technologies such as IVR and SMS, and applies them in seemingly simple but exceedingly impactful ways to deliver a mobile-first upskilling solution. We have built a fully cross-platform, integrated solution with a SMS/call-in, web and smartphone options for learners, and full analytics, course builder, and messaging backend for partners. Cell-Ed is leveraging advanced technologies with a detailed 18-month roadmap including enhanced use of voice recognition, machine learning, and chatbots to enable a truly personalized, one-on-one, adaptive learning solution with automated real-time coaching and learner feedback. 

Technology is at the core of Cell-Ed. We have a five-member and growing tech team including a Chief Architect and a UI/UX specialist always listening to both our end-user and partner needs. We leverage rapid prototyping, Scrum methodologies and agile processes to ensure we are continually improving our platform based on real-time user feedback.

In order to scale our solution to reach millions, we must further automate our platform using advanced technologies including voice recognition and analysis that accounts for a variety of English accents and levels, machine learning for highly adaptive, personalized content and chatbots to encourage and support learners.

Cell-Ed is on target to reach 50,000 learners by the end of 2018.  By 2019, Cell-Ed expects to reach 500,000 learners in 11 countries, spanning 5 continents, and 3M by 2022. Our revenue trailing 12 month revenue is $1.4M with more than $2M in signed contracts. In addition to learner and revenue growth, Cell-Ed has an aggressive 18-month product roadmap including integrating advanced technology, increasing personalization, and developing accredited and/or credentialized vocational content.

Cell-Ed seeks to increase the proportion of working age adults with workforce-ready skills, reaching more than 3M adult learners by 2022 through networks of large partners with access to millions of learners such as large employers, labor unions, resellers, and government agencies.

Cell-Ed’s technology  is designed to be extremely scalable reaching 300 one day, and 300,000 the next. Therefore, by working through organizations connected to millions of potential learners, Cell-Ed can both scale quickly and grow sustainably. 

We partner with large, umbrella organizations and resellers with reach to millions of learners. Cell-Ed has 35 customers spanning education providers, employers and resellers. We have a 95% renewal rate, an average contract size of $50k/year, and 36% of our business is through referrals. We are investing in sales and marketing to scale quickly. We retain customers by focusing on the user experience, and excellent customer service. In fact, in a third-party live market test, Cell-Ed learners report user satisfaction of 91% - 30PP higher than brand name competition.

Cell-Ed is currently providing more than 14,000 adults an effective, flexible, responsive mobile learning solution. Adults on Cell-Ed are gaining critical skills that improve their chances of finding,  and retaining a job, and of being promoted. Our learners have entered the workforce,  received promotions, or found higher-skilled jobs after gaining new or improving existing skills.  We are also helping employers retain their workers, by providing an effective training solution that ensures employees have the tools they need to succeed.

Within 12 months, Cell-Ed aims to upskill 300,000 adults around the world and ensure they have the 21st century skills and credentials needed to thrive. Our roadmap calls for increased personalization and new content including college-level job training and credentialized courses. This not only helps learners move into living-wage jobs, but also has ripple effects to communities such as our partnerships in Africa that deliver professional development to 50,000 teachers in order to close gender gap in student outcomes, as well as vocational English courses to ensure home health care workers can provide high-quality care to at-risk populations.

Cell-Ed is led by CEO, Jessica Rothenberg Aalami, an impact entrepreneur with over 20 years designing and delivering tech to emerging markets. She is a thought leader and presented “Perspectives on Personalized Learning and the Power of Rigorous Research” at MIT JWEL: https://bit.ly/2myUdDq. Cell-Ed’s COO, Sonali Joshi, has 20 years of experience of strategic operational experience in corporations and nonprofits. Cell-Ed has invested in product and business development to help build the pipeline of future Cell-Ed projects.

Cell-Ed uses a B2B model - selling directly to businesses and organizations. Customers pay Cell-Ed up to  $6,000/year to use the Cell-Ed platform, and $50/learner with customization and white labeling options. Cell-Ed makes money on every contract with 80% gross margins. We have a 95% renewal rate and 36% referral rate. In fact, Cell-Ed is EBITDA positive YTD 2018, as well as closing a $1.5M seed funding round to invest in its content catalog, technology and sales.

Cell-Ed growth is almost limitless as we are working with an often ignored and largely untapped market of low-wage, low-skilled adults. Globally this market is estimated at 2B adults. Other solutions focus on educated learners with higher skills. ell-Ed has been uniquely designed for this unique population.

In order to scale, Cell-Ed continues to refine the technology to increase automation, engagement and effectiveness, which will increase our margin well as our impact metrics leading to both greater sustainability and reach.

Cell-Ed is applying to solve, to help us grow our network and partnerships, that will help us continue to scale. The kinds of organizations that have succeeded with Solve can help Cell-Ed imagine its technology from new perspectives and applications with new kinds of organizations. Cell-Ed is keen to work with the wide variety of Solve organizations to see if we can contribute to this dynamic community. 

The balance of scaling quickly and sustainably is tricky. Growing fast enough to reach enough learners, while also responsibly growing our internal capacity is a growth challenge. We believe Solve will be able to connect us with organizations with a similar experience who can provide valuable advice. We also believe the kind of partners who succeed in Solve, will help us discover new possibilities and perspectives regarding how our technology could be used.