The Work That Followed The Win

When REACH Pathways won the Summerfest Tech 2024 pitch competition, it could have been just another headline for an early-stage EdTech startup riding momentum from winning the Future of Work category at SXSW the year before. For co-founders Jeffery Beckham and Brooke McKean, however, earning the $20,000 prize meant something more.

“What those dollars and the win helped do for us was get the tech right,” says Jeffery, who’s also CEO of the 30-year-old organization that birthed the startup.

REACH Pathways emerged from Chicago Scholars, a legacy nonprofit that has helped thousands of first-generation and under-resourced students access and thrive through college and into the workforce. For years, the Chicago Scholars model was intentionally high touch. It relied on mentors, in-person programming, and deep relationships. It worked well to produce meaningful outcomes. It just couldn’t scale.

“There was a lot of inbound interest at Chicago Scholars from people asking, ‘How can we replicate this in Miami? How can we replicate this in DC?’” says Mari Nazary, who recently joined REACH as co-CEO. “And so they thought, ‘Okay, well how do we digitize this in a way?’”

REACH Pathways became the answer to that question. Structured as an L3C (low-profit limited liability company), REACH was founded to operate as a mission-driven, for-profit entity connected directly to the non-profit.

The earliest version of the platform leaned heavily into a game-based experience that translated Chicago Scholars’ curriculum into an interactive digital world. But ongoing product iteration was slow and development costs were high. When the team interviewed students, clarity began to surface. Some loved the immersive game concept. Others simply wanted access to the information and guidance that could help them choose a path, apply to school, and get a job.

REACH listened to the students and started exploring a more efficient and scalable version of the product. By the time Jeffery stepped onto the Summerfest stage in June 2024, the team could feel that a pivot was coming. REACH took home the prize money, and instead of starting a victory lap, they rolled up their sleeves and got right back to work.

“Almost immediately after Summerfest Tech, we made the full pivot to rebuild the current platform that we have now,” reflects Jeffery. “I think taking the simpler approach that cost less to get to market and actually get students what they needed was the right business decision.”

Rather than centering the experience on gamification, the rebuilt version of REACH focuses on coaching delivered through a custom AI layer trained on decades of Chicago Scholars curriculum and outcomes.

“We built out our own sort of custom LLM around coaching,” Mari says, “tying it to the curriculum that has 30 years of outcomes.”

Around that coaching layer is a refined incentive system that maintains some of the gamified features. Students complete “quests” that build both durable skills and technical competencies. They earn in-platform rewards for completing work and validating learning with mentors or peers.

Recognition followed the rebuild. In November 2024, REACH was named a Chicago Innovation Awards winner and was featured in Forbes soon after. By March 2025, the company had closed a $1.99 million investment round. Those milestones signaled traction, but internally, the focus stayed on product and scalability.

When co-founder Brooke McKean shifted from her role as co-CEO, Jeffery and team knew they needed a successor with the expertise and experience to take REACH to a new level. After a national search, Mari Nazary joined as co-CEO in January 2026. Having created and scaled educational platforms at companies like Rosetta Stone and DataCamp, Mari brings precisely the leadership background the company needed. As a first-generation college graduate, her lived experience also aligns closely with the mission.

Today, REACH serves more than 43,000 learners nationwide and has begun expanding its customer base. But for Jeffery and Mari, scale is no longer measured by headlines or user counts alone. It’s measured by revenue sustainability and mission-aligned execution.

To do that, REACH is refining its ideal profile for employer customers and getting in front of organizations responsible for preparing large groups of young people for what comes next. That includes corporations building emerging talent pipelines, universities seeking stronger workforce alignment, and large nonprofit organizations working with critical masses of young people.

“We would love to talk to employers who are looking to build out an emerging talent pipeline,” Mari says. “We have 40,000-plus and growing users who are high-performing, under-resourced. REACH can be an excellent addition to their talent strategy portfolio.”

“We’re looking for companies that need to support onboarding and getting their early talent ready to go,” Jeffery adds. “We can power your early career work the day before they walk into the office.”

The company is also investing deeply in product refinement. Mari is leading development of what the team calls a “Generative Skills Tree.” which is a personalized pathway engine that maps a learner’s goals to both durable skills and concrete next steps. Inside the platform, students build communication, accountability, and confidence using competencies aligned with National Association of Colleges and Employers standards. There is also an AI fluency track focused on ethical and practical AI use, preparing students not only to work in an AI-powered economy, but to navigate it responsibly.

For companies struggling to prepare interns before day one, REACH sees an opportunity. For universities and nonprofits guiding students toward careers, the platform offers structure. And for founders considering the Summerfest Tech pitch stage, REACH’s story carries a quiet reminder: the pitch may open a door, but traction comes from what you build afterward.

For Jeffery, the throughline hasn’t changed since before pitching at Summerfest Tech. “We’re built to help people find their futures.”

For even more, visit the company's news & updates page, check out REACH content on Instagram, and follow along on LinkedIn