The advice I would give them is to really focus on the vision.

People don't judge you based on what you have now.

They do a little bit, especially if you're a customer, but if you're pitching and you're

trying to share your idea with people, you want to convey the vision.

Like, what can this be? What can this do?

How can this help people?

That's huge, because if you can convince people that what you're doing is the right thing,

they'll know that you're going to make it happen and that you're on the right path. Even if you're not there right now, what you're going to do is going to be something amazing.

I'm Alex Deeb, co-founder and CEO of Class Hope.

This is Code Story, a podcast bringing you interviews with tech visionaries who share in the critical moments of what it takes to change in industry and build and lead.

A team that has your back.

I'm your host, Noah Labhart, and today how Alex Deeb created the platform for educators to increase student engagement using popular media.

All this and more on Code Story.

Alex D. was influenced by the education space early on. He had many teachers who inspired him through his life

and his parents pushed him to do well in school in order to obtain better opportunities.

Alongside that, he's interested in equitable opportunities, which is a big driver for him in his

professional ventures. He's passionate about helping others learn about new opportunities.

He grew up in Long Island, New York, so of course, he loves pizza. He frequents the best

local pizza house, which in his opinion is Stella's. He gets two slices of regular cheese

with a Coke, which he says is the only time he drinks soda.

One day, he and his friends got together to have a business brainstorming session.

One of the questions that came up was how can you make videos searchable?

...