HBCU app connecting students with mentors moved from California to McKinney

An app startup focused on connecting students to historically black colleges and universities is moving to McKinney from Carson, Calif.

HBCU Hub and its team of 12, with backgrounds in IBM, Microsoft and HBCU admissions offices, recently completed Dallas-based Impact Ventures’ 12-week accelerator program.

Founder and CEO Jonathan Swindell started HBCU Hub when he was just 21 years old and living in a dorm room at Grambling State University. Swindell wanted to fix what he saw as a lack of centralized data for recruiters on black students, as well as a lack of infrastructure to track black students’ academic progress.

“We are very excited to make the transition from California to McKinney. California has no HBCU – the closest we had was in Texas – so this move is a great time for our organization as we are now closer to our end users,” Swindell said in a statement. “We look forward to making a positive impact within McKinney as we continue sourcing local talent as we continue to build technology that closes the opportunity gap.”

The move brings the startup closer to Paul Quinn College in Dallas, which was founded in 1872 and was the first HBCU in Texas. College president Michael Sorrell recently announced that he wants Paul Quinn to be the first HBCU in California as he builds a network of urban colleges.

Students who use the HBCU Hub app can apply for scholarships and connect with coaches and recruiters at HBCUs across the US.

And the value proposition for HBCUs is simple: They can reach and enroll minority students from around the world without spending a dime on travel.

The startup generates revenue through advertising, selling its software to schools and providing data analytics services. Since 2018, the startup has already brought in about $110,000 for its data services.

“HBCU Hub is a very impressive application, but more importantly, Jonathan and his team are very influential people,” said Mike DePaola of the McKinney Economic Development Center. “Jonathan’s technical experience and infectious personality combined with the experience and business acumen of his team and advisors make McKinney a great company to add to the technology ecosystem.”

From its new home in North Texas, the company plans to visit client schools to train employees on updates to its app.

HBCU Hub is available on iOS and Android devices, and the startup plans to push the new version of its app to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store on May 10.

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