Outliers ACT Prep: A Public Benefit Corporation

As a Public Benefit Corporation, we operate as a for-profit company with a clearly defined social mission. Our public benefit purpose, outlined in our certificate of incorporation, guides us to deliver lasting, positive impact—not just profits.

Our Vision

We are a group of very different people with diverse worldviews, united by one mission: We help students transform the trajectory of their lives by fostering belief, building character, and training them in skill sets to achieve their goals in life. Our ACT prep company is the cornerstone, but it is only the beginning of our vision. Our plan is that one day we will be a conglomeration of human-development-based organizations that span communities worldwide. 

Our ACT prep program is exceptional. We train for the ACT like an elite athlete trains for an event.  More than 74% of students who put in the recommended 1.5-2 hours per day, six days per week for the 13-week duration of the program achieve at least a five-point composite increase or hit at least a 32 superscore. More importantly, the ACT is actually just a proving ground for us to teach students how to achieve hard goals. Students can take the tools, success principles, character, and find-a-way mentality they learn in the program and apply it to tackle many challenging future undertakings.

Our Leadership and Life Development Program. For most students, their journey with us ends after they graduate from the program. However, our aim is to hire more and more of our top alumni to work with us at Outliers ACT Prep. For the alumni we hire, this is just a continuation of the leadership and life development program they started as an Outliers’ student. Whether alumni join our coaching staff, admin team, marketing team, or tech team, every element of our company is designed to cultivate leadership, professional growth, and the ability to overcome tough challenges. We are preparing them with all of the skills necessary to start or run other organizations or divisions. 

Becoming a conglomeration of human-development-based organizations. Our plan is that our college student alumni love working with us so much that many of them decide to continue working with us full-time after they graduate from college. That might look like planting a branch of Outliers in a new city (for which they will receive a residual income for the rest of their life), starting a new company via our business incubator, building their personal brand and becoming an achievement coach via our agency, working at or helping run one of our not-for-profits, or joining the crew at one of our sister companies.

Our Purpose

To help students transform their lives by building belief, character, and high-impact skill sets.

Our Guiding Belief

We treat people right.

Core Values

• We treat people right.
• We do what we say—or make it right.
• We are open to being wrong. We believe changing your mind when presented with better information is a sign of strength, not weakness. We encourage respectful, open critique at every level of the organization.
• We foster a culture of forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is the sincere effort to make things right.
• We are family-friendly. We strive to create an environment that supports raising families and living balanced lives.
• We have thick skin. We joke, debate, and speak freely while maintaining mutual respect. Authenticity is welcomed here.

Our Practices

• Freedom-first culture: We believe people do their best work when they have freedom over their lives and schedules.
  • Schedule freedom: Employees choose their hours, projects, and time off—as long as responsibilities are met.
  • Remote-first: Most positions are fully remote.
  • Path to financial freedom: Long-term team members have opportunities to create residual income and build wealth.
• For-purpose over for-profit: We avoid outside shareholders who are not aligned with our mission to maintain long-term focus.
• We find a way. We’re solution-oriented and relentless when pursuing our goals.
• Extreme Ownership: We own problems, even when they aren’t directly our fault—and fix them anyway.
• We hire from within. We prioritize alumni who have lived our culture and values.
• No gossip. If there’s a problem, we talk to the person directly.
• Accountability: We back our services with a money-back guarantee wherever possible.
• We only launch what we can dominate: Any new venture must aim to be the best, cheapest, or fastest in its category.

2024 Annual Benefit Report

Academic Impact

• Perfect Scores: 25 students achieved a perfect 36 on at least one ACT section.
• Significant Score Gains:
  • 17 students improved by 9+ points (up from 9 last year)
  • 25 improved by 8+ points (up from 17)
  • 40 improved by 7+ points (up from 28)
  • 64 improved by 6+ points (up from 41)
• English Section Growth: 66 students improved their English score by 8+ points (down from 78)

Community Support

• Contributed $9,238 to 33 high school clubs and sports teams to support extracurricular excellence.

Educational Outreach

• Mock ACT Events: 1,644 students participated in our mock ACT experiences (up from 296 in 2023). We also donated $1,410 to schools through these events.