Alex Southmayd is the Founder and CEO of Bloomy (YC S26), an AI-powered mastery learning platform for K-12 students delivering personalized instruction in ELA, Math, and Writing.

Alex holds a BA from Amherst College, an M.Ed. from Boston University, and an MBA from Stanford GSB, and began his career as a 7th grade teacher with Teach For America.

Alex's rare combination of classroom teaching, test prep instruction at Manhattan Prep, and corporate strategy at McKinsey gives him a uniquely grounded perspective on the gaps in American education.

Prior to Bloomy, Alex served as Head of Driver Acquisition for Lyft New England, where he built a national acquisition playbook, and as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey covering strategy, VC/PE diligence, and sales acceleration.

Bloomy's pilot schools have seen nearly 1 in 5 students voluntarily use the platform after hours, generating 28+ hours of incremental learning, with students using it regularly outpacing peers by up to 9 months of reading growth in a single semester.