We Built This for
Our Own Kids

The Moment Everything Changed

I'm Mike — a software engineer, a dad of two daughters, and someone who spent the last two years watching AI rewrite the rules of every industry I know.

Like a lot of parents in tech, I used to push my kids toward coding. I signed them up for programming camps. I bought them robotics kits. I figured: if they learn to code early, they'll be set.

They weren't interested. And honestly? After watching what AI can do now, I'm glad they didn't listen to me.

The Problem We Kept Running Into

When my daughters and I sat down to explore career options together, we hit the same wall every family hits:

• The world is enormous. There are thousands of careers out there, but kids only ever hear about a handful — the ones their parents do, the ones they see on TV, the ones their school counselor mentions.
• Existing tools are outdated. We spent weeks searching for something useful. Most career databases use data that's years behind. None of them talk about AI impact. None of them connect careers to AP course choices.
• Kids tune out boring data. Even when we found good information, it was presented in ways that made our daughters' eyes glaze over. Spreadsheets and government reports aren't exactly designed for a 15-year-old.

So We Built PathLeap

The idea started as a family dinner conversation: “What if there was an app that showed you one new career every day — something you've never heard of — with real salary data and whether AI is going to change it?”

My daughters Mia and Ava got excited. Not about coding — about the content. They started researching careers, testing features, and sharing ideas with their friends. They became co-builders, not just users.

We realized: if our family spent this much time and energy figuring this out, why not share what we've built with every family that's asking the same questions?

What Makes PathLeap Different

We built this as parents, not as a corporation. There's no school district contract behind this. No committee designed it. A family built it because we needed it, and we think you might need it too.

Here's what that means in practice:

• We include careers nobody talks about. Forensic Accountants ($90K). Digital Twin Architects ($145K). Carbon Credit Traders ($150K). These are real, well-paying careers that most kids have never heard of.
• We show you what AI is actually changing. Every career has an AI risk score based on peer-reviewed research — not fear-mongering, but honest data about which skills stay valuable.
• We connect AP choices to career outcomes. Choosing between AP Chemistry and AP Computer Science? We show you exactly which careers each one opens up.
• We designed it for teens. Not for administrators. Not for college admissions offices. For the actual humans making these decisions.

The Vision

We believe career exploration shouldn't be a single assembly in 10th grade or a stressful conversation the night before college applications are due.

It should be a habit — something a teenager does for five minutes a day, the way they scroll through TikTok or Instagram. Over months and years, those five-minute explorations add up. Curiosity turns into interest. Interest turns into direction. Direction turns into confidence.

That's what PathLeap is for. Not to tell your kid what to become — but to help them discover it themselves, one career at a time.

Why We Believe This Matters

Our family has a simple belief: the number of people you help in your lifetime defines your impact. Helping 1,000 people is meaningful. Helping 100,000 is transformative. Helping millions? That's a legacy.

That's what I teach Mia and Ava. Not someday — now. Building PathLeap together is their first real experience of creating something that reaches beyond their own classroom, their own school, their own city. They're learning that you don't have to wait until you're an adult to make a difference.

Our Pledge: 10% for Education

We're committing 10% of all PathLeap app revenue — every year, no exceptions — to education-focused nonprofits and initiatives. Because the same problem we're solving with software — kids not knowing what's possible — is even harder for families without the resources to explore.

If PathLeap helps your family, part of what you pay goes directly toward helping families who can't. That's not marketing. That's the deal.