This Student Helped Build an EdTech Company From the Inside | Kennedy Davis & Taylor Shead

What happens when a company gives students real influence over the product, not just a survey at the end, but a seat at the table from day one?

In this episode, Taylor Shead, founder and CEO of the edtech company Stimuli, talks with Kennedy Davis, a member of Stimuli's Student League and an incoming freshman at the University of Texas at Dallas. Kennedy has spent nearly two years helping shape two of Stimuli's products, Orbi Math and Founder Tycoon, through weekly co-design sessions with students from across the country.

Kennedy and Taylor walk through what that process actually looks like week to week, how student feedback shaped everything from Orbi Math's in-the-moment tutoring approach to Founder Tycoon's visual style and sound design, and why Taylor estimates students had the chance to weigh in on nearly everything the company built. Kennedy also shares how the experience pushed her to build her own AI tools, including a scholarship tracker that helped her navigate the college financial aid process.

The conversation makes a broader case for co-design in education technology: what changes for students, for companies, and for the quality of the product itself, when the people using the tool are actually part of building it.

If you work in edtech, education policy, or product design, or you're just curious what real student voice looks like in practice, this one is worth your time.

🔗 Guest Links:
https://stemuli.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorshead/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennedy-davis-z/


#EdTech #StudentVoice #K12Education #education #podcast