Today we’d like to introduce you to Pam Ryan-Mejia. They and their team shared their story with us below:
This was put together and will live on the Innovation Lab Website. It gives context and color:). Company Background Pam Ryan Mejia spent 30 years as an educator. The pandemic turned her into an entrepreneur. “I was on a call with Brené Brown, and she said, ‘This is your time to do something that matters to you. Do the work in a way you never thought possible,’” Pam explains.
So she did. She created Better Together Cubed, a Wellness/Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program to help schools improve the health and well-being of educators, students, families, and communities. The goal is to foster healthy relationships, regulate emotional health, and lead with compassion and empathy. It uses many of Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead concepts, focusing on empathy, resilience, courage, and connection. “The timing was perfect for getting back into the education world after several years away from it,” she says. “It felt like an aligned opportunity to create something the community desperately wanted.”
Challenges
Pam had 30 years of education experience, a Dare to Lead certification to implement her learnings, and no business plan. “I just did it. It was a passion project and just something I had to do,” she says. She wrote 320 lessons for her program and needed $58,000 to print the curriculum. She didn’t have it. Secondly, she couldn’t serve every school or district in the country alone. The model required extensive training, and she had no money to hire people to help her. “I did it because I felt in my core that this is what I should be doing,” she says.
Solutions
The silver lining to her prolonged growth was that it gave her time to make decisions and prepare. “I learned scalability through the BIG program, how to ask for money, and how to staff up,” she says. “I have an excellent team now.” Breaking into a well-defined industry with so much competition from well-known brands and finding a way to be relevant was part of the challenge. “BIG gave me confidence, awareness, and a focus on how to show up, how to create collateral, and how to present in a way where even though I’m not in the big league, I look like I’m way more prepared than other companies,” she explains. “I learned how to define myself and my company better and the discipline to stand firm on it.” Better Together Cubed website https://bettertogethercubed.com/
I currently have 4 full-time employees (I had 6 when we translated everything into Spanish). Building from just an idea has taken grit, passion, vision, and patience. I am proud of my team, which is all Dare to Lead Certified Trained. We practice what we sell: courage, connection, belonging, empathy, and resilience. All of which require leading with vulnerability and compassion.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It could have been smoother. It has been consistently an uphill journey. Breaking into the educational space comes with unique challenges. Academic leaders are always in crisis and change mode and find it difficult to come up for air to have critical conversations about Social and Emotional Learning needs. Brand awareness in an industry with big national players could be faster. Building a reputation and growing from referrals and the excellent service we provide is also slow. While I am fortunate to have an investment partner who believes in me and our mission, securing additional funding as we grow and scale has been challenging. SEL is not a “sexy” investment. It takes a person interested in making a social impact and sees the need for our product and services first. I have firsthand experience trying to be taken seriously in the business and VC worlds, where men are the majority at the table.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
It is a woman-founded and led business with a team of former educators, educational leaders, social workers, and counselors passionate about improving educators’ and students’ health and well-being. One of the things that sets us apart from many Educational training and curriculum companies is that we began during the pandemic. This matters because the needs of students and the ways that families need support have changed drastically. Educators are pivoting, adapting, and being asked to support in ways they do not have the skills and strategies for – or the emotional capacity. We have been able to listen and be responsive in our programming, training, and coaching. As former educators, we understand the needs of teachers. We have lived the structures and priorities that school systems adopt. We don’t just sell a curriculum. We support, coach, and train for a successful implementation so that school cultures, adult and student engagement, and community wellness are transformed. I am proud to support school districts with a team that demonstrates the courage, connection, compassion, and empathy we want school leaders, teachers, students, and community members to embrace. Our brand is a vibe!
What changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Well, we have pivoted and shifted regularly in 4 short years. When we launched in 2020, our entire program was printed materials packaged in beautiful boxes (not a manual). I wanted it to feel like a gift for teachers when the pandemic created such a heaviness and a sense of disconnection. However, due to virtual teaching, we needed to shift. We now have a state-of-the-art, custom digital platform where all our programs, materials, and supports live. It is like one-stop shopping at your fingertips. Other changes in our short time have been the addition of a Leadership Learning Series with coaching, and we are so proud to offer our complete program in Spanish and even the Family and Caregiver SEL Portal. I am pleased that we are not bothered by change; we embrace it. If our school partners ask, and it aligns with our mission and best practice pedagogy, we will make it happen!
Pricing:
- 599.00 per classroom -Everything included: Educator Wellness Modules, PreK-12 Core SEL Lessons, Student Assessment Tool, and Reports
- Family and Caregiver School License 4500.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bettertogethercubed.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bettertogethercubed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bettertogethercubed/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/18660403/admin/feed/posts/
