Rhode Island entrepreneur Lindsay Kuhn knows very well that discovering what you’re meant to do in life isn’t a single choice, it’s a process. As the founder of Wingspans, Kuhn knows that process continues even after you find your niche. Over the past few years, Kuhn has helped her company grow from around 10,000 users to 60,000, team up with organizations and institutions like The MET, Community College of Allegheny College, and Cape Fear Community College, and compete in (and win) competitions like Greenlight Maine competition on PBS and Rhode Island Inno’s Inno Madness.
Now, Wingspans is getting another boost. The company was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Future Finder Challenge, a $1 million challenge to reimagine career navigation for adult learners. Wingspans is one of five finalists that will receive $50,000 to support the development of their prototype and will participate in a virtual accelerator. One grand-prize winner will receive $500,000, and up to two runners-up will receive a share of at least $250,000, to be announced in fall 2023.
Kuhn said after reaching the finalist stage, she plans to reshape Wingspans to better accommodate adult learners. Kuhn said modifications include harnessing natural language processing to tailor the content for different literacy levels and make the site multilingual.
“In the past year, we hit a nerve and saw real acceleration. We launched a personality assessment based on the Holland Code last fall that ties everything together, and we recently launched a resume builder,” she said. “We learned about engagement and now integrate with career offices and college experience courses, intended for first-year students, through curriculum. We remove barriers to engagement by building in Single Sign-On.”
In addition to partnerships with higher education, Kuhn said Wingspans secured their first employer partners in the manufacturing industry through a partnership with Polaris MEP. The company is also working with MN-TEC, with the support of the National Science Foundation, to increase visibility for careers in nanotechnology.
“That’s nice because it comes full circle with my Ph.D. in materials science,” Kuhn said. “We are thrilled to have the support of the U.S. Department of Education. It's really validating, and I hope it will help us break through the noise. We have a great mission-driven and innovative team, including Alexander Chiclana, CTO, Lead Curriculum Designer Kathrina St. Flavin, and interns Vanessa Sedore and Hayden Sisemore, from Brown University, and we couldn't have done it without them.”
At the end of the Future Finder Challenge accelerator, the Wingspans team will submit their market-ready tools and accompanying proposals, and present at a live demo day in fall 2023. A judging panel will review the submissions against the Stage 2 criteria and recommend a slate of winners to the Department.
