impact-startup
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The Startup That Texts College Dropouts Before They Drop Out
Melvin Hines was one of 68 kids in his high school class to graduate. He built Upswing so the other students - the adult learners, the first-gen, the ones nobody texts back - get a fair shot at the finish line.
Wheel the World
Wheel the World is a travel platform that makes booking accessible trips reliable for people with disabilities and seniors. Founded in 2017 by Chilean childhood friends Alvaro Silberstein and Camilo Navarro, it treats accessibility as an information problem: trained mappers collect 200+ verified data points per hotel room, activity, and destination, so a wheelchair user can check the exact door width, bed height, and shower type before they book. The company now covers 8,000+ travel services across 200+ destinations and guarantees accessibility on rooms booked through its site.