# Scott Lee

> Scott Lee is the founder and CEO of Gooroo, a New York based education technology company building an AI-driven platform that matches students with the right tutor and bundles online courses, clubs and progress tracking under one roof. Born in Seoul and arriving in the US at 16 without speaking English, he leaned on tutors and mentors to find his footing, studied engineering at Columbia, paused to serve as a sergeant in the South Korean army, and worked as an analyst in JP Morgan's Chief Investment Office before going all in on education. He has raised more than $8 million and serves thousands of students worldwide, with a stated mission to make quality, personalized learning accessible to everyone.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Gooroo
- **Organizations:** Gooroo, JP Morgan Chase, PeerTutor, Mud Cafe, Readfeed
- **From:** Seoul, South Korea
- **Nationality:** South Korean / American
- **Education:** B.S., Operations Research: Engineering Management Systems, Columbia University, School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)
- **Known for:** Founded and scaled Gooroo, raising more than $8 million in funding, Built an AI student-tutor matching algorithm aimed at pairing learners with the tutor who best fits their needs, Grew a network of 1,000+ vetted tutors in NYC and facilitated thousands of tutoring sessions

## Career timeline

- **High school** — Founded PeerTutor, a nonprofit connecting underserved children with volunteer English tutors; grew to roughly 6,000 students and tutors
- **During college** — Paused studies at Columbia to serve two years in the South Korean army as a sergeant and squad leader
- **2014** — Graduated from Columbia University SEAS
- **Post-Columbia** — Worked as a Senior Analyst in JP Morgan Chase's Chief Investment Office (treasury)
- **2015** — Founded Gooroo, beginning as an on-demand tutor-booking app (an 'Uber for tutors')
- **2017** — Built a network of 1,000+ NYC tutors, facilitated 3,500+ sessions, secured seed funding, targeted Boston and San Francisco
- **2020** — Launched an online instructional platform during pandemic lockdowns; raised a $5M seed round
- **Recent** — Evolved Gooroo into an AI-driven learning platform with courses, clubs, tutor matching and progress tracking; raised $8M+ total

## Achievements

- Founded and scaled Gooroo, raising more than $8 million in funding
- Built an AI student-tutor matching algorithm aimed at pairing learners with the tutor who best fits their needs
- Grew a network of 1,000+ vetted tutors in NYC and facilitated thousands of tutoring sessions
- As a teenager, founded the PeerTutor nonprofit that connected roughly 6,000 students and tutors
- Partnered with the NYC Department of Education for middle school instruction in the Bronx
- Served as a sergeant and squad leader in the South Korean army

## Latest updates

- **2020-11** — Gooroo launched an online instructional platform during pandemic lockdowns and closed a $5M seed round.
- **2024-01** — Gooroo positioned as a next-generation AI platform disrupting tutoring, serving thousands of students globally.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gooroo.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottyongboklee
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gooroo_official
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD4Gr9yZfxY
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialgooroo/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/scott-lee
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21