What is the name of your solution?
Vinco
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Vinco makes it easy for companies in LatAm to invest in the education of their operational base and in turn improve employee retention and productivit
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Monterrey, N.L., MéxicoIn what country is your solution team headquartered?
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Vinco helps employers looking to upskill and retain their workforce, working adults who want to earn credentials and cannot access education because of economic barriers (cost), and academic institutions looking to grow online enrollment, increasing access to education to underserved populations.
With Vinco:
1) Employees obtain tuition benefits and coaching to aid program completion
2) Companies run education benefits at scale and align benefits & trainings to strategy
3) Universities gain access to ongoing pool of students
What is your solution?
Vinco helps companies in Latin America offer education as an employee benefit (focusing on the operational/frontline base). Vinco does all the administration, reporting and tracking, at no additional cost to the company. It has a broad educational offering of over 5 thousand educational partner programs.
Vinco’s business model:
1) We partner with companies to manage their education programs at scale and give them visibility on ROI
2) We connect their employees with personalized program recommendations (subsidized and approved by their employer) via our platform, and assign them a mentor to help them apply and navigate work and study (Vincoach)
3) We charge educational partners a commission which is a percentage of program costs of every active student (revenue comes from academic institutions rather than companies, aligning incentives so companies direct their budget towards helping more employees access education)
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Latin America is the region with the greatest skills gap - our main purpose is to reduce it, by helping frontline workers increase their access to education (limited mainly by economic constraints) while companies benefit from effects like increased retention.
Our core market is the 185 million employees in Latin America who today do not have a high school diploma. By making it easier for the company and employees to connect to more and better educational opportunities, we reduce the skills gap and provide them with better economic mobility opportunities.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Three female co-founders, born and raised in Monterrey, MX. We all know each other since elementary school and have always felt grateful for the academic opportunities we’ve had (Yale, MIT, UT and Georgetown alumni). Throughout our professional experience we have worked with a large range of companies and universities in Latin America, and at some point we have all taken on a teaching job, part-time or full-time. Additionally, through prior roles as consultants (BCG, Accenture) the team obtained firsthand experience and understanding of the need of Vinco’s stakeholders.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Generate new economic opportunities and buffer against economic shocks for workers, including good job creation, workforce development, and inclusive and attainable asset ownership.Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
GrowthWhy are you applying to Solve?
We're applying to Solve because it aligns perfectly with Vinco's mission to address inequality and the skills gap in Latin America. We hope Solve can connect us with partners who can offer expertise in areas like technology, education, legal guidance, and cultural understanding to overcome barriers and accelerate our impact. Our goal isn't just funding, but strategic partnerships to empower frontline workers and foster lifelong learning opportunities for millions.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Lissy María Giacomán Colyer
What makes your solution innovative?
Companies are looking to invest more in training and education for their employees, but they need a way to manage programs at scale and measure ROI. Every company wants this, but no company will actually invest in developing the technology themselves; it also makes more sense as a standalone platform that can bring together multiple stakeholders from all sides. That's exactly why Vinco is an innovative solution that not only supports employees but also positively affects companies and universities. We are the “platform of platforms” that curates content for each company according to their needs and priorities.
Describe in simple terms how and why you expect your solution to have an impact on the problem.
Vinco’s mission is to reduce the high inequality and skills gap that exists in Latin America through a model that impacts frontline workers (a historically underserved population) while companies and educational institutions win as well. By providing a more equal access to educational opportunities, Vinco is helping millions of employees also form part of the lifelong learning journey and prepare for the jobs of the future, but more importantly, be able to have greater professional and life opportunities for generations to come. In a nutshell, Vinco tackles multiple challenges and creates economic mobility as a result.
What are your impact goals for your solution and how are you measuring your progress towards them?
We measure the number of companies supported, number of users, number of applications, number of students, progress in courses and graduation rates. We also track retention rates and employee turnover for companies that are willing to share that information with us.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
NodeJS / NextJS / PostgreSQL for main platform to partner - React / Golang / Python for internal and Data services / tools
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
https://www.vincoed.com/
In which countries do you currently operate?
Which, if any, additional countries will you be operating in within the next year?
How many people work on your solution team?
5 Part-time
32 Full-time
How long have you been working on your solution?
3 years
Tell us about how you ensure that your team is diverse, minimizes barriers to opportunity for staff, and provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members.
- Embrace Diversity in Hiring:
- Actively seek out candidates from diverse backgrounds.
- Use inclusive language in job postings and encourage referrals from all team members.
2. Support Growth and Development:
- Provide mentorship and training programs tailored to individual needs.
- Offer flexible work arrangements to accommodate different schedules and responsibilities.
3. Create Inclusive Policies:
- Establish policies that respect cultural and personal differences.
- Foster an environment where everyone feels safe to speak up and be themselves.
4. Lead by Example:
- Show commitment to diversity and inclusion from the top down.
- Listen to team members' concerns and take action to address them.
5. Engage with Communities:
- Build relationships with diverse communities through outreach and partnerships.
- Encourage team members to participate in diversity events and initiatives.
Regularly Evaluate and Improve:
- Measure the impact of diversity efforts and adjust strategies as needed.
- Celebrate successes and learn from challenges to continuously improve.
What is your business model?
One hundred percent of companies' resources go towards employees' education, as our model works through a revenue share with our educational partners.
In greater detail, through our platform, Vinco connects three stakeholders:
1- Employees gain access to a wide range of online education programs, subsidized by their employer
2- Companies gain ROI visibility and program management support to execute educational benefits at scale
3- Universities/educational institutions gain access to large student bases for a fee (percentage of program cost)
We have numerous ways to reach our customers, but the most successful include connecting with former clients from BCG and Accenture, business organizations and chambers, current client referrals, industry hubs, beyond the traditional sales tactics and outreach. We primarily connect with HR teams or SDG focused areas.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Organizations (B2B)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable, and what evidence can you provide that this plan has been successful so far?
Revenue is generated primarily from support fee (percentage of tuition) paid by universities per enrolled student
275 USD avg. revenue per student per year
* 36 million employees in Mexico without higher education (initial serviceable market)
= ~$10B USD per year in Mexico
We are expanding throughout LatAm where there’s an additional 150 million employees without higher education, leading to an additional TAM of ~$40B USD per year.
Plan to become financially sustainable includes increasing current sales 10x to breakeven by the end of the year. We have grown 7x from our first year of operation to our second, and then 8x from our second to third year. In the last 18 months, our overall expenses have remained stable.
Solution Team
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CV
Carolina Villalobos Frescas Vincoed
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Our Organization
Vinco