gener8tor Founder Series: Dr. Valencia Belle from SCHOOLS

From Low Scores to Big Impact: How Dr. Valencia Belle is Transforming Test Prep with SCHOOLS

In this episode of the gener8tor Founder Series Spotlight, we sit down with Dr. Valencia Belle, Founder and CEO of SCHOOLS, an edtech company on a mission to make test prep more affordable, effective, and rooted in social justice.

Headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, SCHOOLS stands for Success Can Happen Out of Low Scores. The company is the state’s first BIPOC female-led benefit corporation and is helping students improve their ACT scores by 5 to 10 points and SAT scores by 100 to 200 points in just five weeks. It delivers this at only 10% of the cost of traditional test prep providers.

Dr. Belle and her team have already helped more than 300,000 students earn over $300 million in scholarships. More importantly, they have helped students avoid an estimated $300 million in student loan debt.

After operating as a consulting firm, SCHOOLS transitioned to an LLC in 2021 and became a corporation in 2024. Since then, the company has generated $1.4 million in sales, all bootstrapped. Dr. Belle is now preparing for her first venture raise.

She credits her experience in the inaugural gBETA Gulf Coast cohort as a turning point in her entrepreneurial journey. The program helped her shift from a one-to-one consulting model to a scalable SaaS platform. It also gave her the tools to clearly communicate her value to investors, partners, and clients.

One key milestone following gBETA was a major licensing deal with Empowerly, a college admissions guidance company. Through this partnership, SCHOOLS now powers the test prep component of Empowerly’s offerings, creating a seamless pipeline for students from test prep to top-tier college applications.

Dr. Belle’s biggest takeaway? “People weren’t just buying Valencia. They were buying the product. That would never have happened without gBETA.”

Her ask for viewers is simple: “If you know just one person whose life could change from this product, please send them our way.” SCHOOLS has grown through impact and referrals, and every connection creates new opportunities for students nationwide.

Watch the Full Video Here: