It’s Been A Big Year: Matterlab’s 2021 Year in Review

by | December 22, 2021

Each week at The Matterlab Group, we all get together to participate in something called the “Week in Review.” This is our show-and-tell time. It’s our moment to talk about the biggest impact we had or saw during the week. It’s a time to champion the work of everyone on our team and look forward to another week of impact ahead.

The special thing about the “Week in Review” is that it allows us a moment to reflect and recognize our efforts. Especially during the weeks where it’s been busy, demanding, or when we’ve gotten through hurdles, it’s crucial to have the time to acknowledge just how far we’ve come over the course of just five days. We have such a hardworking and innovative team who do so much for the sector, and it’s such a privilege to get to honor their work.

As we approach the end of the year, we are looking forward to our “Year in Review,” another moment to reflect on how we’ve grown as an organization. Here are just a few highlights of our past year and the incredible heights we’ve reached as an organization:

The Launch of Matterlab Ventures

We’re still Matterlab! But our official name is The Matterlab Group, and within The Matterlab Group, this year we launched Matterlab Ventures — a venture studio model through which we support the creation of new companies to solve market failures in the education sector. This year, the incredible venture we are supporting is ALEE, a tech-enabled, but teacher-first, instructional tool that provides curated instructional engagements for high-quality literary works in their full form from education’s finest experts: teachers. 

Growth

This year alone we’ve grown our team tremendously. We’ve welcomed seven new talented team members. They’ve brought immense talent, excitement, and expertise to our team. They’ve led strategic visioning and direction for our partners and have helped us expand our impact across The Matterlab Group as a whole. 

Gathering

We held our first annual Matterlab Retreat, where team members gathered from around the country to connect in our homebase of Austin, Texas. During the retreat, we learned about The Matterlab Group’s new strategic plan, how we’re expanding our work, and where we’re heading for years to come. (Hint: It’s all about impact! And there may be a book involved!)

Impact

When we say it’s been a big year, we mean BIG! And we have our incredible team and partners to thank for it. We’ve worked with more than 70 partners doing incredible work to increase opportunities and improve outcomes for young people.

Our Enrollment team successfully partnered with 92 schools to increase student enrollment, generating over $25 million in revenue for schools. 

Our Studio team worked directly with education leaders from superintendents to nonprofit founders and more, supporting visioning, strategic communications, art direction, content development, branding, and capacity-building. 

…and we’re just getting started. 2022 will be a year of even more positive impact on the lives of young people across the country. 

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