Alejandra Zertuche of Enflux
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Alejandra Zertuche, the founder and CEO of Enflux, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Enflux – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
In 2012, I spotted a business need, found that a solution didn’t exist, and decided to create the solution.
The need? Working as a senior analyst for a university, I saw, first-hand, how accreditation agencies were requiring universities to provide dynamic data-driven evidence to demonstrate compliance. However, universities didn’t know how to comply. They were drowning in data with no way to reliably convert it into actionable insights.
The solution? Over the next 5 years, I developed a powerful way to automatically integrate and analyze data from all assessment systems within a university, helping students achieve educational success and track their progress along the way. For the first time, intuitive dashboards provided schools the insights needed for programmatic assessment and accreditation compliance. Finally, schools had a predictive data-science tool that anticipated specific actions to continuously improve their programs’ quality.
And today after starting Enflux 3 years ago? I lead a world-class team of professionals partnering with educators to ensure student success through unparalleled data-driven decision-making.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
Pivoting the business model of Enflux. Enflux was founded by a group of local entrepreneurs before I joined them as their Senior Business Intelligence Analyst. Three months in, I told one of the founders about my work for assessment and accreditation and he saw the opportunity to commercialize it. Three months later, I became the VP of Enflux and had a small team that started helping me build the Enflux solution we have today. Exactly a year after I joined Enflux, the founders decided to pivot the business to my solution and I became the CEO.
This was the biggest hurdle I have encountered – going where no one has gone before. We are the first ones to build a solution that integrates data from disparate ed-tech solutions and converts it into actionable insights. We help educators accomplish data-driven actions that support student success more effectively and efficiently. Enflux helps educators plan, manage, and execute their initiatives towards academic excellence by providing them with actionable insights.
What does the future hold for Enflux?
We are building an ecosystem of ed-tech solutions so that educators can use multiple tools to assess and collect data about their students and their program, but just one to drive better outcomes! Our vision is to become the platform that empowers educators to ensure student success. Everything we do is at the heart of student success!
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in San Antonio?
I love the local tech startup scene in San Antonio because it is authentic and supportive. Startup people genuinely want to help and support other startups because they want to succeed. I frequently get referred to local successful entrepreneurs who are eager to help. Also, I get emails from upcoming startups that are trying to learn best practices and obtain advice and it feels awesome to support them.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Ideas are just ideas until execution. It’s all about starting, solidifying the plan, and never giving up. Yes, “solidifying the plan” is not the first step, but is a crucial step. Also, I live by these two quotes: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail” and “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today” by Benjamin Franklin. Ask yourself every day before ending your work day: “What else can I do in the next 30 minutes?”. You might find yourself working for more time than expected and completing things that were going to take more than half of tomorrow’s day.