Building the digital backbone of future-ready school districts
Fortuna Kadima (EN ’26) didn’t come to WashU expecting to start a company, but when his dream of becoming a Boeing 747 pilot was cut short by the plane’s retirement, a high school experience sparked a startup idea.
“I founded Connect after graduating from Ritenour High School in St. Louis,” said Kadima. “The idea came from my close friend Jacob, who struggled to access opportunities after high school, not because he lacked talent, but because there were limited opportunities in our neighborhood. Watching that made a lasting impression on me and became the foundation for Connect’s mission.”
Kadima realized he was lucky to have a mentor guide him through the college application process. He received help building his confidence and seeing possibilities beyond his community, while his friend Jacob lacked the same mentorship.
“That support made all the difference,” recalls Kadima. “I kept wondering: what if every student had that same kind of guidance?”
This simple question sparked the beginning of Connect, a LinkedIn-style student profile network that helps high schoolers showcase their achievements, explore college and career options, and connect with opportunities. But what began as a basic networking platform has grown into a robust ecosystem used by schools to fill gaps in operations, engagement, and equity.
Through customer discovery with educators, administrators, and students, Kadima realized that schools need more effective tools to operate efficiently and support students equitably. This research led to developing a suite of tools designed to help school districts operate more efficiently, offer better support to students, and stay ahead of compliance and funding changes.
Co-founder and CTO Ethan Ng (EN ’27) has led the Connect development team in building a high-quality product suite in record time. From establishing the technical roadmap to developing core features, Ethan played a key role in ensuring the platform remained reliable, scalable, and user-friendly, even as usage rapidly grew across schools. His leadership focused the team on delivering quickly without compromising quality, earning praise from partners and users alike. For Ng, like Kadima, this work is deeply personal—he remembers how tools like Naviance felt cold and inadequate during his own high school years. That experience has motivated him to build something better for the next generation: tools that genuinely support students in the ways they need most.
The Connect suite now offers two new features in addition to its flagship student profile network. Connect Insight is a real-time policy and grant tracking tool that keeps district leaders updated on new education-related laws, compliance requirements, and funding opportunities. Insight helps districts stay informed without having to sift through government websites or legal documents, saving time and resources.
Connect Guardian is a smart classroom operations system that combines SmartPass, a secure digital hall pass system that tracks student movement in real time, and Connect Face, a gamified learning tool that helps educators get to know students by time, interest, and need. Together, these tools enhance safety and strengthen student-teacher relationships, making schools more human-centered and better organized.
The startup is actively partnering with schools across St. Louis, including Jennings, Maplewood Richmond Heights, Parkway (Spark), Ritenour, and WashU to pilot these tools. The startup plans to keep expanding throughout Missouri and beyond.
Kadima’s entrepreneurial journey has been deeply influenced by his time at WashU. Through the McKelvey School of Engineering, he developed the technical skills to build the Connect platform from scratch and develop real products that address actual problems in education. The Olin Business School helped him learn how to turn his ideas into sustainable ventures and taught him to think strategically about growth, operations, and impact. The Skandalaris Center offered space and support to apply those skills outside the classroom by helping to refine his ideas, connect with mentors, and learn how to pitch effectively.
“These experiences didn’t just teach me how to build, they showed me how to build with purpose,” said Kadima.
Through the Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC), Kadima and Ng gained hands-on experience pitching their idea and handling rapid-fire questions during judging sessions. They secured Disruptor Funding in the Fall 2024 SVC cycle, and this summer, Connect is taking part in the Skandalaris Launchpad accelerator program to continue developing their platform with the help of a software development intern.
Connect has achieved remarkable success in a short time and is already making efforts to give back to the communities its products serve. The team has donated five iMacs and four all-in-one desktops to Ritenour High School students. They also contributed $1,000 to the Ritenour football team’s chocolate drive so National Honor Society students could give chocolates to teachers and staff for Appreciation Week, and they provided $1,000 in scholarship funds to Jennings High School. Kadima has also volunteered his time with the WashU College Prep Program, where he spoke to St. Louis-area high school students about his journey as a first-generation college student and entrepreneur.
When asked what advice he would give to other students thinking about starting their own venture, Kadima replied, “My biggest piece of advice is to start now, start small, and don’t be afraid to learn as you go. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Some of the most valuable lessons come from just trying, testing ideas, talking to users, and getting real feedback.” He encourages students to use the resources they have available, like professors, peers, and places such as the Skandalaris Center. “At WashU, I leaned heavily on those networks, and they made all the difference. Also, build something that actually solves a problem you care about. When your work is tied to real impact, it keeps you motivated through the challenges.”
Kadima is following his own advice as he and his team build a digital backbone for future-ready school districts with Connect. From empowering students to providing legislative insight and managing classrooms, their mission is clear: to equip students and educators with the tools they need to succeed, regardless of their zip code—and it all started with a student from Ritenour who wanted to fly—and instead chose to help others take flight.
Interested in learning more about Connect? Check out their website: connectalum.com