# Zack Perkins

> Zack Perkins is the co-founder and CEO of CollegeVine, the Boston-based platform now deploying AI agents across more than 100 universities to handle recruiting, advising, and alumni outreach. He left Harvard as a sophomore in 2015 to build the company full time, growing it from a peer-advising side project called Admissions Hero into a service with millions of student members. His through-line is stubborn: the kid from a big public high school who never had an admissions officer show up for him now wants to hand that access to everyone.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at CollegeVine
- **Organizations:** CollegeVine
- **From:** New Jersey, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Economics and Computer Science (left after three semesters), Harvard University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads CollegeVine, used by 100+ universities for AI-driven recruiting, advising, and alumni engagement., Grew the platform to roughly 2.3 million student members., Raised approximately $31M in total funding, including a $24M Series B.

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Co-founds CollegeVine (originally Admissions Hero) with Johan Zhang and Vinay Bhaskara as a Harvard freshman, all friends from New Jersey.
- **2015** — Leaves Harvard as a sophomore to run CollegeVine full time.
- **2017** — CollegeVine grows from 8 to 30 employees at its Cambridge headquarters; pilots free counseling for high-achieving, low-income students in Louisiana.
- **2019** — Raises a $24M Series B (total funding reported around $31M).
- **2024** — Launches the AI Recruiter ('Sarah') and expands the platform with an AI Advisor and AI Ambassador across the student lifecycle.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads CollegeVine, used by 100+ universities for AI-driven recruiting, advising, and alumni engagement.
- Grew the platform to roughly 2.3 million student members.
- Raised approximately $31M in total funding, including a $24M Series B.
- Shipped an AI Recruiter that has facilitated 500,000+ conversations with prospective students.
- Pioneered free college-counseling pilots for low-income, high-achieving students.

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — CollegeVine rolls out its AI Recruiter, which texts, emails, and calls prospective students.
- **2024-10** — Expands the AI agent platform with an AI Advisor for enrolled students and an AI Ambassador for alumni; AI Recruiter deployed by 95+ institutions.

## Links

- Website: https://collegevine.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-perkins-671a897a

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/zack-perkins
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-04