29 febrero, 2024 by Elissa Casas 0 Comments

A Scientific Approach to Life: Meet Andrea Remes, Co-Founder & CEO of Erandi Aprende Inc.

Andrea, Erandi Aprende's CEO & Co-founder

Profile: Andrea De Remes

Andrea De Remes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Erandi Aprende Inc., an EdTech (Education Technology) company dedicated to one purpose: bridging the gender gap in STEM workforce by encouraging young girls to engage in STEM through a STEAM platform.

It’s a lofty goal, one I respect myself despite my wholly non-STEM career choice. To my surprise, I found that Andrea could relate.

Andrea, unlike her Co-Founder and CTO, Miroslava Rodriguez, does not have a STEM background. While like most kids she enjoyed goofy science shows like Beakman’s World and Dexter, she never had a cinematic-kismet moment that would define her passion to be for STEM like one would expect for an EdTech co-founder.

She tells me, laughing, about one of her first forays into hard science. During a period where she was toying with the idea of becoming a biologist, a school assignment firmly shut that door. She was meant to dissect a bovine eye. Everything was going well, she was confident that perhaps this was something she could do, and then they reached the cornea. She cut into the eye, already queasy at the sounds and sensations, and then a spurt of eye-liquid sprayed. Yuck. For 13 year-old Andrea, it became clear that a future in biology wasn’t one she wanted to pursue.

But that wasn’t her only attempt into STEM, or what most people associate with STEM. When she was 16 years-old, Andrea failed her first year of high-school because of Math. She recounts how difficult her social and economics teacher had been, sighing at the memory. In her school, they used a French system, which required students to choose a specialty during their highschool years. After failing her first year due to an unyielding math teacher and her brief foray into biology, she was encouraged to go into a literature and philosophy specialty.

“It was my own decision,” she makes sure to clarify “but my parents were actually really glad.”

Like most kids, Andrea had played with bugs and science kits, imagining herself as a scientist of some sort. Additionally, her family is quite academic. Her father is a quantitative scientist, which means he works largely with statistics and mathematics to create solutions for different spheres of science; and her younger brother is a rocket scientist. “Which is a little cooler than being a CEO,” she  freely admits. 

But only barely, I made sure to assure her.

So why were her parents glad? Because Andrea had a plan and was determined to make something of herself. She tested herself in hard sciences, the ones available to her in highschool, and concluded that it wasn’t for her. That didn’t mean she was going to give up. Now it was time to change her variables, try something new and just as valuable: Art and soft sciences. 

Something that both founders agree on, is that there is more to STEM than the stereotypical sciences. Which is why STEAM is so important to them. STEAM takes a holistic approach to education and makes soft science more accessible.

“When we think of science, we often think about lab coats and test tubes, but there are different sciences that are just as valuable,” Andrea tells me.

After highschool, Andrea went on to get her bachelors in South and SouthEast Asian Studies with a concentration in Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science.

I will admit I was a bit baffled by the jump. How did she go from Literature and Philosophy to studying Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science? What’s the connection?

“People,”

“People,” she tells me emphatically, grinning. She describes herself as a people person, although not in the way most people imagine. People fascinate her and she takes an almost scientific approach to building relationships.

First, she takes stock of what she knows. She observes her settings, the other characters around her, and the inherent expectations of her setting. Then she formulates a hypothesis. From then, she observes them, looking for what disproves her hypothesis and what confirms it. Andrea, like any good scientist, takes her time. She takes her time to get to know people, careful in her observations. Then she reviews her data and formulates an analysis. And finally, the application. Andrea uses her analysis to be the best friend, mentor, peer, and boss she can be.

Her use of the scientific method for building relationships has led to an almost 85% success rate.

But this method isn’t just applied to building relationships. For Andrea, it’s her method for life. It’s how she decided what career path she was going to take. It’s how she’s arrived here: the CEO of a top three EdTech company in Mexico City, on the precipice of releasing Erandi Aprende’s latest product, an Ai-Amiga that helps girls develop their own interest in STEM and create fun STEAM projects.

Like all scientists, Andrea isn’t afraid of risk. In fact, she was the one who approached her co-founder about an opportunity to create something that would have a real impact.

The UNICEF Youth Challenges 2.0, now called ImaGen Ventures, challenged young individuals all around the world to create a company that would solve a social problem. Andrea and Miroslava, two young women more similar than either of them thought, entered the competition and landed on the gender gap in STEM.

That was her kismet moment.

They created a company that would heal the future by starting now, by encouraging young girls now to have an intrinsic love for STEM that would translate into a future in the STEM workforce– however that looked, be it in soft sciences like Anthropology and Political science or in hard sciences like computer engineering and biology.

And they won.

If Andrea hadn’t tested herself with something different, a different kind of science and a different kind of dream, she would have never met Miroslava and Erandi Aprende Inc. wouldn’t exist.

The wonderful thing about kismet, or being a non-STEM folk who believes in kismet, is that everything seems like it has led to this point. It certainly did to me as I listened to Andrea recount her life.

Remember when she mentioned she loves to play with bugs? Well, 8 year-old Andrea was actually observing them and making notes as she played. She was intrigued by her behavior. True to form, rather than become a bug scientist, she turned her observational skills towards helping people and creating solutions. 

And then, when she was 10 years-old she wanted to be a power ranger. “I loved the idea of being able to save the world, and contribute towards having a better place to live in,” she tells me. She had even worked out the steps to becoming a power ranger. Very seriously, she tells me that a power ranger has to “…first, learn how to fight. Second, be kind to others. Third, be in crowded spaces where you can get noticed to be recruited.”

I might argue that Andrea could already be a power ranger. She learned how to fight, becoming a black belt in karate. Her scientific method for relationships assured that she was always kind to others. And her prominence in the EdTech world meant that she was in crowded spaces where she could be recruited.

I asked if her experiment worked, if her steps really were what made a power ranger but she only smiled mysteriously. I suppose we’ll never know. But imagine that, CEO by day, crime fighter by night. It’s the stuff of comic books.

At 15 years-old, like all other angsty teens, Andrea struggled with deciding her future. But that period of uncertainty was important and necessary. It was the beginning of her experiment, the moment where the conclusion was being painted but all the steps to get there seemed invisible.

Because what she understands now, is that life doesn’t stop at 15– it doesn’t stop because of uncertainty.

As I listen to her describe her friends and family, about the people she’s met during her life, and the experiences she’s had, it’s clear that it’s always been about people.

It’s always been about treating everyone with respect and kindness, about giving them opportunities and being the gateway, about being observant, about being an effective communicator. That plays a big role at Erandi Aprende, especially for their upcoming product.

Erandi (the product avatar) , like Andrea, only wants to help the Learners by answering questions, prompting Learners to dig deeper, and giving them opportunities to create their own projects and experiments.

I call kismet– though Andrea or any other scientific-minded person would just call it a synergism. Either way, both I and Andrea understand that it’s all been connected, that every experience and decision has influenced the next and led her to here.

STEM Ally

“Do you consider yourself a STEM person?”

She hummed, taking her time to consider the question.

While Anthropology and Political Science are technically soft sciences, and Economics is a genre of math, her application of those subjects are a little outside the stereotypical applications of STEM and perhaps the source of her hesitation.

“My approach,” she says at last, “is STEM based.”

It’s clear that she views the world carefully, finding connections, and pulling on strings. She appreciates rationality, for communication and actions to be straightforward and accessible. More than anything, she likes to observe. All of this would make her, at the very least, a clinical person or synonymous to a STEM person considering her previous fields of study. But she disagrees. 

“…but no [not a STEM person], more of a STEM Ally.”

I asked her what that meant.

“My brother is a rocket scientist. I am not a rocket scientist. But I like talking with my brother and hearing about his work…I don’t understand it all but I’ve begun reading and watching videos about the subject…we have a good relationship.”

For Andrea, STEM connects her to her friends and family. And her STEM “powers” or characteristics are what help her be the best version of herself.  

Her forays into STEM don’t stop at Erandi or her brother, either. She truly enjoys STEM, though as an observer and not as an active participant.

She enjoys watching videos from CuriosaMente, animated videos about a broad range of topics from Ancient History to Astronomy. One of her favorite novels is a French novel involving a mysterious parcel of mathematical books, a murdered friend, and the universal language of math and fraternity.

So while her role here in Erandi Aprende Inc. is non-STEM, she still has a deep appreciation for what Erandi Aprende is working to achieve.

“I find that it’s a shame that women tend to be a minority in many spaces such as STEM, politics, finance or business. I believe that in the 21st century this is mainly due to perpetual gender roles and being able to create spaces like Erandi Aprende where we can empower girls from an early stage to feel safe and build their confidence is what will make the difference in the long run.”

“If you had the Erandi Aprende app when you were a kid, do you think things would have been different?” I ask her.

“I believe I would have been much more open to explore different avenues in my life regarding science. Who knows, maybe I would have become an engineer like my brother.”

In any case, whether as one part of a rocket science sibling duo or CEO of a EdTech company, I know that there would be some constants in Andrea; like her character. 

Everything has its place. STEM is a part of Andrea; perhaps not in a typical way, but it has shaped her and helped her be the person she is:

Someone who is kind. Someone who is determined and adaptable. Someone who is observant and respectful. Someone who isn’t afraid of trying new things even after failure. Someone who is curious. Someone who is bold.

Someone who could very well possibly be a secret power ranger of the yellow variety (Andrea’s favorite power ranger). 

It was a pleasure to get to know this “someone”, and I wish both her and co-founder, Miroslava, good luck on their upcoming launch. I can’t wait to see how they change the world.  

Erandi Aprende Inc. is launching a new app for girls on Mar. 8th. More information on their website at beta.erandiaprende.com 

22 febrero, 2024 by Elissa Casas 0 Comments

Meet Miroslava: CTO, Co-Founder & Risk Taker

Miroslava at her dad's office, 1997 Miroslava, Erandi Aprende’s CTO & Co-founder. 1997

 
EdTech. Startups. Entrepreneurship.

These are really daunting words with equally daunting definitions. Simplifying them doesn’t help, only makes them more vague. But that’s not the goal of Erandi Aprence Inc. and its founders.

Erandi Aprende Inc. is an EdTech (educational technology) company with an honest and admirable goal, it is a startup that’s excited to make a real impact, and its founders are entrepreneurs in the purest sense. 

Entrepreneur, in it’s most straightforward definition, is a person who organizes and operates a business, taking on greater than normal risks in order to do so. 

But I find so much dissonance between the definition and the word. And not just for Entrepreneur, but also for EdTech and Startups. 

Although, there is one thing that resonates with me in that definition- one that I think applies to all three words. 

Risk. 

Risk is scary. Risk can hinder us. Risk can make us hide who we are. Risk can make us quiet our dreams.

But risk, I found as I conducted my interview, is nothing in the face of willpower and ingenuity- nothing in the face of passion and care. 

So, take a risk. Read this interview. Learn about a true entrepreneur. 

Meet Miroslava Rodriguez, or Miros to her friends and family: Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Erandi Aprende Inc. 

Erandi Aprende Inc, in Miroslava’s own words, is a company dedicated to unleashing girls’ spark of curiosity in STEAM by encouraging them to explore the link between their interests and science and technology, embark on personal projects, and to trust in their abilities to make a meaningful impact in these fields.

Erandi Aprende Inc. wants it’s Learners to love learning as much they do and in the pursuit of that, close the gender gap in STEM fields. An admirable and necessary goal. Current analysis show that woman only make us 28% of the STEM workforce and Hispanic women, 2%. Another study showed that 9 out of 10 girls (ages 6-8) believe science and technology to be masculine skills. For Erandi Aprende Inc., who makes their products for young girls, this is especially relevant.

Let’s get to know one of the minds working on creating solutions to this problem. 

Finding purpose

I asked Miroslava to give me some thoughts before our interview and I got a pretty detailed document in turn. When I finally logged on for our zoom, I couldn’t help but make fun a little.

“You’re doing my job for me,” I scold. 

Miroslava laughed but couldn’t bring herself to apologize. “I live for writing down my thoughts,” she admits, because it helps her express herself better and achieve mental clarity. She also tells me that when she was 10 years old, she actually wanted to be a writer and that a career in STEM was not really something she considered.

It might seem strange, given that Erandi Aprende was created with a STEM mission in mind, that the co-founder wanted a creative career rather than something in STEM. But Erandi Aprende, Miroslava explained, is about the “middleground that I really struggled to find when I was younger” between STEM and Art. This was proven during years of encouraging girls to engage with science and technology. Miroslava and her team had their hypothesis proven: Art is important for learning. That’s why Erandi Aprende makes sure to differentiate itself from other Educational apps by promoting STEAM instead of STEM.

The ‘A’ in STEAM: Art belongs in STEM and so does Miroslava

When Miroslava was 15 she wanted to be a musician. She wanted to express herself like one of her favorite musicians at the time, Soko. She liked how free the artist seemed, how she expressed herself in her lyrics. It felt attainable, according to her. 

Unlike a career in STEM. 

As a child, Miroslava watched all the popular kids science shows from her time. Her favorites were ‘Beakman’s World’ a show where a silly scientist explained science to kids and ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ a cartoon show about a child genius creating fantastical world-saving inventions who faces normal kid problems. For Miroslava being a scientist or anything science-adjacent, felt as fantastical as Dexter’s inventions. It did not feel “ obtainable for me” she says, “…I used to get excited about the idea of being an inventor and creating things but at the same time I didn’t know how that was possible for a child.” 

Despite her parents background in STEM, both of them engineers, she didn’t feel like she “fit”. She describes herself as “not the best student in STEM subjects” and that she “felt a barrier between [her] and all of that [STEM]…Most of the time it was just another subject in school.” 

When I asked her what her favorite subject was, if not a STEM subject, she laughed. With a wide smile, she starts to tell me about her 6th grade Writing Club. It felt like she “had a place there”. I was completely charmed when she told she’d written a short story about a group of kids recruited from around the world to a “secret continent” where they used their talents to save the world. As she told me about their zany journey, I imagined the group of kids, all of them full of potential, finally given an opportunity to change the world. It’s a wonderful story and one Miroslava believes to be possible, sans the “secret continent” of course. 

As someone who believes in balance and the value of experiencing life, she tells me that while her career now as a tech startup founder is very STEM based, she still finds the lessons she learned in that writing club to be integral to how she invents things today. She made sure to emphasize that “the ability to put the thoughts in my head and ideas into words…into products comes from there.”  

Like most 15 year olds, the idea of being a famous musician seemed great. And for Miroslava, who played the guitar and loved to write, a viable choice for the future. It seems a given then, that when it came time to choose her focus in college, that she would choose to continue her education in music, but that wasn’t the case for Miroslava. 

“I went to a technical highschool so it was very focused on STEM. Things like humanities  were looked down upon by students and teachers,” says Miroslava. That, coupled with her parents’ worry about her future, pushed her to study a technical degree in programming alongside her degree in music. Because while studying programming would essentially secure her future, music was still so integral to her: Miroslava. 

Which is why it was so heartbreaking to hear her admit to dropping her degree in music. “In the beginning, I tried to live both lives,” she tells me earnestly. As I listened to her describe the struggle of balancing both aptitudes in a world that seemed very black and white, I see the way even years later, that struggle influenced her. Eventually, doing such seemingly separate disciplines was too much for her. She made a decision. “It was really hard for me because I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind. I had a problem with accepting myself fully in STEM. I didn’t identify as a STEM person” 

I asked if she saw herself now as a STEM person and she grinned. “What I really enjoyed about [arts, music, writing]…was creating experiences for people or creating things that people could enjoy…I do that now.” Which is to say that she absolutely is a STEM person, now that she’s redefined it for herself. She realized that by allowing her ‘artistic’ side to flourish and be part of her STEM work she can still create experiences that enrich lives and be fulfilled by her work.

Despite how flagrantly opposite to STEM I am, I find myself admiring Miroslava and relating to her journey. From a young girl who only want to write to a 15 year old musician to a 22 year old deciding that STEM was her focus, to finally, a tech start up founder. If I’m honest, it almost sounds like a different person at each point but every step along her journey made into who she is: an amalgamation of ideas and dreams. And none of them are impossible for a woman like Miroslava. 

So what is the tie? How does artsy Miroslava relate to resolute tech-y Miroslava? 

The decision to pursue STEM wasn’t one made lightly. As mentioned, she had wanted to become a musician but double majoring is difficult, especially when they seem worlds apart. But she doesn’t regret her decisions. In fact, she’s felt confirmed in her choice and has since 2014. 

2014 was a year Miroslava describes as “conflicting”. She was on the cusp of a decision and was searching for something that would give her the final push. Like magic, or perhaps divine intervention, an opportunity to be pushed arrived. 

TagCDMX. An interdisciplinary (art + tech) event that brought together a diverse array of artists of all genres and engineers, offering masterclasses and workshops led by leading individuals in the field of art and engineering. 

Without hesitation, Miroslava signed up for every available workshop, one of which was led by Moritz Waldemeyer– a renowned British/German engineer known for his fusion of technology, art, fashion, and design. 

He tasked them with creating a design + engineering project, a challenge Miroslava was eager to meet. It was then, during his workshop when Waldenmeyer provided feedback to Miroslava, that everything clicked for her. 

“Witnessing the blending of arts and engineering, realizing the potential to create remarkable things, and discovering I could have a place in this realm,” Miroslava explains, “…it was everything.” 

It was that experience, and many more, that helped her define key elements for Erandi Aprende Inc. Like Waldemeyer did for her, she wants Erandi Aprende Learners to be just as inspired, to see the value of art, and experiment with their skills.

Method

I define Miroslava as successful, not only because she has established a tech start up, but because of how she views her life. Every experience is valuable. Every experience has taught her something. From 6th grade Writing Club to a workshop with Moritz Waldemeyer, all of it has given her a method to living well. Here are just a few that helped her with Erandi Aprende Inc.

“Write everything”

She advises me (and she really means everything).

“Have multiple sources for ideas”

In this day-and-age of blind conformity and a preference for instant rewards, we need more critical thinkers and life-long learners. Having multiple sources for ideas, like books, articles, papers, videos, and real life interactions is what keeps Miroslava creative and on-top of her game. In fact, the Erandi Aprende app was inspired by one of her favorite Sci-Fi novels, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.

In the book an interactive intelligent book invented for a princess lands in the hands of a pauper with a mean family, the invention ends up being a light to the young girl and changes her life for the better. “It’s like the dream of anyone building educational technology,” Miroslava says about the book, “…I think right now we’re really close to doing that [changing lives for the better with technology]”

“I like this. I want to create this,”

“I love that!” I tell her. She laughs abashedly and tells me that it came from reading Harry Potter as a kid. She was 10 years old when she decided she wanted to write kids books and she’s not counting that dream out yet either. It was the first time she took the approach of: “I like this. I want to create this” and by ‘this’ she means an impactful experience. 

“The best way to learn is by doing”, as stated by many gurus and Miroslava. “It’s about confidence.” She struggled with moving Erandi Aprende from being an “undefined product” into what it is now. When she would go to product development workshops she would ask the same question: ‘How do real product designers approach design and decisions’. 

The key word being ‘real’. 

Because Miroslava didn’t consider herself a real product designer or a real inventor. Like a lot of people she struggles with ‘Imposter Syndrome’ or feeling like she’s trying to go ‘above her paygrade’. But it was her work with Erandi Aprende Inc. that built her confidence in her skills. It brought opportunities like the Adyen Accelerator and the Halcyon Incubator, where she had to create and present solutions and designs. 

Now Miroslava is getting ready to launch Erandi Aprende Inc.’s latest product, an interactive “AI-Amiga” that talks with Learners about their STEM interest and helps them develop fun STEAM projects. 

Remember when she said that STEM once seemed fantastical? Well, she says the goal of the app is “nurture curiosity” and “foster confidence” by blending the rigor of STEM and the sincerity of Art, essentially she’s helping young girls make the fantastical real. “The Erandi Aprende app is what I wished I had as a child.” Now she gets to create an impactful experience for young girls; she’s reached her ‘this’. 

‘This’, was a risk. It took a lot of effort and meant that she had to dedicate herself completely to Erandi Aprende Inc. It meant that she had to challenge herself everyday. It meant that she had to take all of the difficult experiences and lessons, the good and the bad, and focus them into a solution.

 “I’m glad I chose this path,” she tells me sincerely, her eyes bright with true joy. She is at ease, even with all the risk, because she knows that it was- is- worth it. 

I congratulate Miroslava for achieving the once fantastical and wish her good luck for all her future endeavors. I especially can’t wait to read the kids’ book she’ll write once she takes a break from breaking barriers for women in STEM. Maybe we’ll get a sequel to her short story, who knows. 

I hope you enjoyed taking a risk on Miroslava and I hope you take a risk on Erandi Aprende Inc.

Thank you,

Elissa Casas

Elissa Casas is a Strategic Communications student at UH Valenti and the founder of Casa Pa’ La Raza, a platform for educating and encouraging Latino Americans. She also volunteers her time with Erandi Aprende in their Marketing and Operations department.