Introducing Enrichly: A Startup Saving Lives by Gamifying Youth Self-Esteem

Enrichly is working to change statistics and save young lives. The self-esteem-based digital learning platform and gaming app for K-12 is on a mission to improve societal outcomes in the areas of youth violence, mental health, and academic success by boosting self-esteem. And they are doing that for a swiftly-growing network of users that includes young people and their families, as well as school districts, police departments, and healthcare systems.  

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) have reported that issues related to low self-esteem impact 75% of young people. Those impacts are ‘life-and-death' significant. Low self-esteem in youth is tied to a 58% increase in suicide rates and a rise in homicide rates (the fourth leading cause of death).    ‍

BIP Ventures Welcomes Enrichly to the Portfolio  

BIP Ventures is delighted and proud to welcome Enrichly to our portfolio. Since its launch in 2018, this groundbreaking startup has worked to help kids feel better about themselves. The ripple effects of that effort have been extraordinary. More than 20,000 students across the U.S. have been positively impacted by playing what seems like a simple, fun game. In fact, according to company data, 86% of the youth who have played the Enrichly game report healthier self-esteem.  

The company has adeptly navigated the challenge of capturing the attention of various audiences – students, their parents, school districts, and even municipal systems like police departments and healthcare organizations. Enrichly has done that by balancing a fun interface with deep technical sophistication.  

At its core is a recommendation engine that provides content based on a self-esteem assessment. As a young person works (plays) through the platform, the content they receive is personalized and tailored to build their individual self-esteem. As that happens, the game becomes sticky for users and generates useful performance data for the schools and municipal systems that are putting it to use to help their students.  

We are striving to become the ubiquitous technology platform for youth self-esteem – present everywhere to help people feel better about themselves so they can be their best selves. (Margo Jordan, Founder and CEO of Enrichly)  

As part of the BIP Ventures portfolio, Enrichly has the capital and advisory support it needs to accelerate its progress toward meeting aggressive goals. The company is striving to onboard 1M kids and up to 5,000 organizations within the next year. They see this scale as being the tipping point for impacting societal outcomes like youth violence and mental health.  ‍

Meet The Founder: Margo Jordan

The force behind Enrichly is Margo Jordan. A technology innovator, founder and leader, mother, and veteran, Margo comes across as someone with a singular focus: to improve lives. As a young person, like so many other kids, Margo suffered from low self-esteem. But it was later in life that she saw the impacts of self-esteem. In the military, she gained a strong sense of purpose and worth, and saw the positive impact of self-esteem on societal well-being. She also has seen the other side, attending friends' funerals and seeing news every day that highlights the sad reality that homicide is the fourth leading cause of death among youth.  

In the military, I saw my potential and how much I had lost. I recognized the massive social burden caused by youth violence, school shootings, and other violence. And I realized that so many of these issues were happening because kids weren’t receiving the personal development support they needed. I saw how it impacted so many and I realized I was supposed to do this. It is my mission.‍

The Path to Venture Capital

Margo understood the breadth of the problem and felt the pull to get as many people as possible to join her in the solution. To tackle it, she needed financial backing. After immersing herself in communities like The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund and membership in the Goodie Nation community, Margo connected with the right opportunities.  

Just as she was in the busy season of growing Enrichly and her family – having delivered her fourth child – Margo applied to be a Venture Atlanta Startup Showcase Live 2023 contestant. The pitch competition offered a chance at a $500K investment prize and support from a syndicate of investors, led by BIP Ventures. She submitted her application just before the deadline – one of more than 500 other founders who applied. The process of pitching, mentoring, and presenting to investors was rigorous and rewarding.  ‍

Fundraising is daunting but if you find the right partner, it can make all the difference in the world.

Margo's biggest lessons for other founders? Be prepared, practice your pitch until you can't anymore, and be prepared to fail and pivot.  

We couldn't be more excited to support Enrichly, Margo, and the whole team as they continue their work to transform the mental well-being of youth globally.