Devi Sahny, Founder and CEO, Ascend Now

My journey began when I made a deliberate decision to leave a career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and launch my own company at 23. It wasn’t a casual pivot — it was a clear, calculated step toward building something of my own. Leaving a stable job was undoubtedly a risk, but I didn’t hesitate. I knew with certainty that I was meant to lead, to build, and to create lasting impact.

What made that leap not only possible but necessary was my deep conviction about education. I’ve spent years immersed in pedagogy and instructional design, driven by the belief that learning should be expansive, empowering, and deeply personal. That belief pushed me to found my first education venture — a peer-to-peer tutoring platform — while still at Georgetown University. Watching students thrive, gain confidence, and unlock their potential confirmed I was on the right path.

At Ascend Now, everything begins and ends with our students. They are the reason we exist. They come to us not just to improve their grades, but to pursue purpose — whether that’s launching a business, gaining admission to top universities, or redefining how they learn. Our mission is to transform their relationship with education — not by limiting it, but by elevating it.

Seeing students like Ruhi publish a bestselling book on self-love, or others launch ventures that matter, is a constant reminder of what’s possible with the right guidance and belief. I’m proud of the platform we’ve built and the lives we’ve helped shape.

Legacy, for me, is not measured by accolades — it’s measured by the future we help others create.

The core opportunity was clear: personalized, mentor-driven learning was missing from mainstream education. I saw too many students feeling disengaged, constrained by one-size-fits-all systems that failed to empower them. I set out to change that — not with theory, but with real-world application through entrepreneurship.

We’re living in a unique era where anyone — even a student — can launch a business from their own home. That wasn’t possible a generation ago. I saw this shift as an opening to reimagine how we teach initiative, problem-solving, and self-belief. So we built a program that introduces entrepreneurship early — not to push every student toward business, but to instill the entrepreneurial mindset: ownership, resilience, and creativity.

That mindset shift has been transformative. We’ve seen real, measurable changes in how students approach learning and life. It’s not about creating future CEOs — it’s about helping them lead in whatever path they choose.

Maya Angelou captured it well: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” But for me, success goes even further — it’s about purpose-driven growth that creates real impact, both personally and collectively.

Success means helping young people unlock their full potential. It’s guiding them to discover who they are, what they stand for, and how they want to contribute to the world — not according to someone else’s standards, but their own. I don’t define success by external benchmarks. I define it by alignment — when values, actions, and purpose are in sync.

For me, success is:

• Clarity of self — knowing my values and making decisions that reflect them.
• Growth with intention — expanding knowledge and skills in meaningful, not performative, ways.
• Enabling others — especially students — to lead with purpose, authenticity, and creativity.
• Challenging outdated definitions — moving beyond superficial metrics to pursue deeper, lasting impact.

At its core, success is about leading with empathy, curiosity, and conviction — and empowering the next generation to do the same. I’m not building a legacy for myself. I’m building one through the lives we help shape.

Ascend Now’s growth is driven by a clear, uncompromising vision: education must be student-centered, mentorship-led, and rooted in real-world relevance. We don’t follow outdated models — we challenge them.

At the core of our success is our commitment to entrepreneurial learning. We’re not just teaching students how to launch businesses — we’re helping them think like entrepreneurs: with creativity, ownership, and resilience. In an era where anyone can build something from their laptop, we’re empowering students to act on their ideas early — and with confidence.

Our entrepreneurship course, now one of our fastest-growing programs, serves students aged 7 to 18 and is fully accredited. Co-developed with industry leaders, it’s more than a curriculum — it’s a mindset accelerator. Students emerge not only with business acumen but with sharper problem-solving skills and stronger self-belief.

Another key to our growth is how we address both ends of the education experience — students and their parents. Parents want structure and results. Students want autonomy and relevance. We deliver both through a flexible yet rigorous model that allows students to pursue their interests while meeting academic milestones.

We’ve built a learning ecosystem that adapts to students rather than forcing them to adapt to the system. By giving learners the freedom to choose what they study, how they study, and why it matters, we’re seeing higher engagement, stronger outcomes, and lasting impact.

Ultimately, Ascend Now succeeds because we refuse to treat education as static. We see learning as dynamic, personalized, and driven by purpose — and that’s exactly what today’s students need.

At Ascend Now, our core focus lies in delivering personalized, mentorship-driven learning that integrates academic excellence with real-world skill development. We don’t separate academics from soft skills — we treat both as essential pillars in preparing students to lead with confidence.

While many assume the CEO role means stepping back, I remain deeply involved in day-to-day operations. I personally meet every student at least once a year. That direct engagement keeps our programs aligned with student needs and allows us to continuously refine our offerings.

We tailor our support across three key areas:

1. Academic Tutoring – Customized, outcome-driven tutoring aligned with each student’s learning style, interests, and academic goals.
2. Mentorship – Ongoing guidance that extends beyond schoolwork, focusing on mindset, motivation, and long-term direction.
3. Skills-Based Programs – Most notably, The Edge, our new soft-skills platform for students aged 12–17. Built from extensive research and student interviews, it combines interactive video content, gamified challenges, and progress tracking. It targets critical skills like communication, self-efficacy, and adaptability — all of which are non-negotiable in today’s rapidly evolving world.

Ultimately, our mission is not just to help students succeed in school — it’s to equip them with the mindset and tools to thrive in life. Every course, every session, and every interaction is built around that principle.

The edtech landscape is saturated with platforms focused on scale — standardized content, automated systems, and transactional learning. Ascend Now was built to defy that model. We’re not here to offer generic solutions. We’re here to deliver deeply personalized, globally relevant education that meets each student where they are.

Our market expansion, particularly across Asia and other emerging regions, is driven by growing demand for high-quality, individualized learning experiences. These markets are rapidly evolving, with families seeking more than academic instruction — they want mentorship, relevance, and future-readiness. That’s exactly what we deliver.

What differentiates Ascend Now is our international mentorship model. Every student is paired with a mentor — not just a subject tutor — who is selected based on alignment with the student’s learning style, goals, and passions. These mentors come from diverse global backgrounds, allowing us to deliver culturally sensitive, meaningful learning experiences that resonate across borders.

Today, we serve students in over 45 countries and collaborate with more than 170 schools worldwide. Our platform is built to adapt to any cultural context and support a wide range of learners — from high-achievers seeking enrichment to students looking for a more engaging path forward.

Our focus in Asia and emerging regions is intentional. These markets are full of untapped potential — families ready to invest in progressive, personalized education. And we’re not just entering these markets — we’re building meaningful, long-term relationships that position Ascend Now as a category leader in mentorship-driven learning globally.

Our growth has been driven by results and word-of-mouth. When families see meaningful progress, they share it — and that organic trust fuels our expansion.

We pair that with a rigorous mentor onboarding process. Every educator is trained not just in content, but in personalized instruction, emotional intelligence, and mentorship.

We also collaborate with schools and institutional partners to align our programs with their goals, ensuring consistency, relevance, and long-term impact. Everything we do is built on strong relationships and a commitment to quality.

I work closely with students, educators, and mentors to reimagine how learning happens. We design and deliver programs that blend real-world skills—like entrepreneurship, design thinking, and character development—with personalized mentorship.

My focus is on helping young people develop the mindset and tools to navigate an unpredictable world. I’m especially passionate about making entrepreneurship accessible early, not to build future CEOs, but to instill traits like resilience, adaptability, and creative problem-solving. In the process, I learn just as much from my students as they do from us.

For me, success is measured by the growth and transformation of our students. I left a secure investment banking role at Goldman Sachs at 23 because I knew I was meant to build something that aligned with my values — something that could genuinely change lives through education.

At Ascend Now, we don’t just teach — we empower. I’ve seen firsthand how a student’s mindset can shift when they’re trusted, mentored, and challenged. From a teenager building a platform for 7,000+ learners in India to a young author selling over 100,000 copies of her book on self-love — these are the moments that define success.

It’s never been about scale for the sake of growth. It’s about depth — helping each student unlock their potential and reshape their relationship with learning. If my work contributes to building a generation that is confident, curious, and capable of leading with empathy, then that is the legacy I want to leave.

People often assume that running a 6-year-old education company means I’ve stepped back from day-to-day work — the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m deeply involved across operations, personally meet every student at least once a year, and regularly engage with our 40+ partner schools to gather feedback and refine our programs.

Another misconception is that our work is limited to academics. In truth, we’ve built a much broader model. Beyond our personalized academic and college prep courses, we recently launched The Edge — a soft-skill platform we call the Life Readiness Playbook. It’s based on interviews with over 1,000 students, parents, and hiring managers, and aligned with global frameworks like CASEL and SkillsFuture.

Our goal is to prepare students not just for exams, but for life — by equipping them with skills like communication, resilience, and leadership. As technology evolves, these human skills are becoming the true differentiators. What’s misunderstood is that behind every course, platform, or session, there’s a relentless drive to help students not just perform, but thrive — with self-awareness, purpose, and confidence.

Because education, in its current form, is failing to meet the moment. Too much of it remains rigid, outdated, and disconnected from what students actually need. We’re preparing young people for a future we don’t fully understand — yet we rarely include their voices in shaping how they learn.

At Ascend Now, we’ve made it our mission to change that. We build research-backed, student-approved programs that emphasize relevance, autonomy, and personal growth. Our students sign contracts to confirm they want to take the course — not their parents. When we created The Edge, our soft skills platform, we involved a student board to vet every piece of content for authenticity and engagement.

The work is important because we’re not just teaching academics — we’re equipping students to navigate real life. We help them develop a mindset that embraces failure, practices self-reflection, and takes ownership of learning. In a world defined by uncertainty, those qualities matter more than any test score.

We’re not just rethinking education. We’re giving students the tools — and the voice — to lead their own learning journeys. That’s where real transformation begins.

Our vision came from working with thousands of students over the past six years. We saw firsthand that traditional education often overlooks mindset and personal growth. Some students thrived with the right support; others, despite their talent, struggled under pressure.

We set out to change that by focusing on the whole student. Personalization means more than tailored academics — it’s about building confidence, agency, and resilience. One key outcome is helping students develop a positive relationship with failure. We teach them to see setbacks as stepping stones, not roadblocks.

That shift in mindset has been transformative — it’s what truly sets our students apart.

Growing up playing competitive basketball, I saw firsthand the lifelong impact a great coach can have — not just on performance, but on mindset, discipline, and character. That experience shaped how we built Ascend Now.

We brought the coaching model into education through our Performance Coaches. Every student, regardless of the subject they’re studying, is paired with one. This person acts as a motivator, mentor, and anchor — checking in weekly, offering support, and ensuring the student stays engaged and accountable.

It’s not just about academic progress. It’s about building confidence, consistency, and resilience — the same qualities great coaches instill on the court or field. In an era where personalization is often reduced to algorithms, we’ve made it deeply human — and the results speak for themselves.

At Ascend Now, privacy isn’t optional — it’s foundational. We’ve implemented strict data protection protocols to ensure that students control how their information and work are shared. Whether it’s a project, business, or academic progress, visibility is always student-led.

We also developed our own safeguarding course in collaboration with leading experts, and every educator undergoes a rigorous 6-month training before becoming Ascend Now certified. Our systems are designed to comply with global data protection standards, and we continually update our practices to stay ahead of evolving regulations.

The future of education demands more than academic instruction — it requires adaptability, creativity, and real-world readiness. At Ascend Now, we’ve built our programs to reflect that shift.

One key trend is the rise of soft skills and project-based learning, alongside AI-enhanced, personalized education. Schools are increasingly valuing enrichment areas like entrepreneurship, coding, and inquiry-based learning — areas we’ve long prioritized.

To meet this demand, we created The Edge, our life readiness platform, by collecting insights from over 600 students, parents, and educators, and aligning them with hiring trends and global skills frameworks like SkillsFuture, CASEL, and OECD. The result is a future-focused curriculum that connects students with internships, events, and real-world challenges.

Our model equips students with critical human skills — communication, resilience, problem-solving — while supporting schools with ready-to-use content, templates, and teacher training. We’re not just reacting to trends — we’re helping define them.

1. Stronger trust between stakeholders — When parents, educators, students, policymakers, communities, corporations, and media align around a shared vision for education, real progress accelerates.
2. Deeper integration of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into academic curricula — SEL shouldn’t be an add-on; it should be embedded into how and what we teach. True learning happens when emotional and cognitive development go hand in hand.
3. Better time management — On a personal level, balancing strategic vision with operational execution is demanding. Sharpening how I manage my time would help scale impact more efficiently.

The next generation gives me hope — not because they have all the answers, but because they’re asking better questions. They’re sharper, more curious, and more values-driven than we often recognize. With the right tools, mentorship, and freedom to lead, they’re capable of extraordinary things.

My mother also inspires that hope. When I was 10, she encouraged me to start a summer business selling handmade jewelry. I made €300 and donated it to a juvenile center — a small act that shaped my lifelong commitment to giving back. She taught me that generosity isn’t a reward for success; it’s a way of living. That mindset, instilled early, is exactly what I see in so many young people today — and it’s what gives me confidence in the future.