CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--spotivity, a Chicago-based tech startup has fully launched the industry’s first research-informed decision engine to help teens find meaningful afterschool engagement while also supporting program providers to lower liability, improve participant engagement, and drive recruitment. spotivity supports teens through its’ “Pocket Genie” the research-informed machine learning recommendation created in partnership with Utah State University under the guidance of Montana Butsch and Dr. Travis Dorsch.
Completed Pocket Genie – launched
The Genie is a patent-protected algorithm that utilizes key insights from the user to help identify meaningful non-prescriptive pathways for the user to pursue. In short – spotivity makes the unkowns known and peels back the curtain on pathway routes a teen can take. Specific information on the approach can be found in a recently published blog by Dr. Dorsch https://www.spotivity.com/blog/spotivity-a-research-approach-to-access/. As he clearly underscores, “Many children learn that some dream jobs are out of reach while others lack the functional knowledge to even know that some careers exist. In many cases, children don’t have knowledge of or access to the right preparation pathways to even start planning appropriately. The root problem seems to be that the process of finding a career is largely uninformed by evidence-based principles.”
Launched in 2018 - spotivity’s goal is simple: more teens in more programs more of the time. Users gain insight on afterschool programs, college majors, and careers that align with their personality and other factors all the while gaining points to redeem at leading local retailers.
About Montana
Montana is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, read Education Research at Oxford University, is an Executive Scholar at Northwestern University, and, most recently, an Executive MBA Graduate from Brown University. Upon concluding work at Oxford, he focused on pursuing social ventures in Chicago, which led to the founding of the Chicago Training Center ‘CTC’ in 2006.
About spotivity
spotivity was informed by Butsch’s experience as the founder of CTC. Recent media coverage has centered on the #micdropchallenge www.micdropchallenge.com spotivity is an 1871 member, portfolio company of the Founder Institute, and graduate of the UVI Accelerate Accelerator. Current pilots are running in Chicago and St. Croix. Historical media attention can be found on the media page https://www.spotivity.com/media-and-press/. Montana’s TedX talk can be found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwi2eAEERD4.
