In today’s hyper-competitive academic landscape, success is less about chance and more about access to the correct information, expert mentorship, and holistic strategy. For Changxiao Xie, co-founder of Empowerly and a Fulbright Canada Entrepreneurship Initiative grantee, this access should not be a privilege reserved for the few; it should be scalable, strategic, and innovative.
Empowerly began as a simple idea: to give students the kind of guidance Xie never had growing up. Having immigrated from China at the age of three and navigating the U.S. education system primarily on his own, Xie experienced firsthand the shortcomings of overburdened high school counsellors and under-resourced career offices. His answer: a platform that blends expert human mentorship with AI-powered tools to deliver customized, high-impact, end-to-end support from middle school through post-college transitions.
Today, Empowerly is one of the fastest-growing companies in the space, with over 170 advisors, $30 million in venture funding, and a track record that includes a 98% placement rate into top 100 universities. Its hybrid model combines strategic advising—offered by former admissions directors, Ivy League alumni, and industry professionals—with a robust data platform that draws on hundreds of thousands of private and public data points to optimize student outcomes.
“Mentorship at scale requires more than good intentions and high level information,” says Xie. “It requires infrastructure, data, highly experienced domain experts, and a deep understanding of what students need at every stage of their journey.”
Empowerly provides deeply personalized and adaptable guidance tailored to each student's academic path, interests, and circumstances. From middle schoolers exploring career interests to high school students preparing college applications, and even college graduates navigating internships and graduate school, Empowerly offers layered, expert-driven support. This support even extends to specific goals such as NCAA athletic recruiting, winning science fairs, learning practical AI skills, and publishing original research.
The company’s most recent expansion efforts, accelerated through Fulbright Canada, focus on building public-private partnerships with cities, libraries, and community organizations to provide accessible services to students with limited resources. A landmark contract with the Los Angeles Public Library system now supports Empowerly programs for lower-income students across the city. This social impact model, which offers enterprise-level services through civic partnerships, has become a powerful avenue for equitable growth.
Xie’s entrepreneurial journey spans multiple sectors, with previous experience in cloud software at IBM, machine learning at Meta (formerly Facebook), and trading systems on Wall Street. He holds an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degree with High Honors from Princeton University, where he was recognized as a Slavin Fellow and Sigma Xi member. His work has been featured in TechCrunch, Inc. 5000, Forbes 30 Under 30, and Business Insider.
With Empowerly’s growing national footprint and an ever-expanding set of use cases—from scholarships to career transitions—Xie is focused on building the “operating system for student success.” His mission is clear in a world where the stakes for college and career outcomes have never been higher: to ensure that no student navigates these paths alone.
Supported by the Fulbright Canada Entrepreneurship Initiative and in partnership with Alacrity Canada, a leading force in developing tech-driven startups through a demand-based innovation model, Xie is building a business and a platform with the potential to reshape how guidance is delivered at scale.
Learn more about Changxiao Xie and Empowerly:
https://empowerly.com/
Learn more about the Fulbright Canada Entrepreneurship Initiative:
https://www.fulbright.ca/programs/entrepreneurship-initiative
Discover how Alacrity Canada helps ventures grow:
https://www.alacritycanada.com
Explore Startup Science's growth acceleration:
https://www.startupscience.io