ACCOLADES

“Congratulations on the sale of Unbound Concepts. Your hard work and talent as an entrepreneur and CEO is commendable. From product development to marketing and sales, from business development to investor relations, I have learned a great deal about determination, grace under pressure, tenacity and innovative. It is rewarding to see another woman entrepreneur made-good for the Baltimore start-up ecosystem. I am sure everyone is very proud of you! The educators and students that will now have access to Artifacts is endless. The ability for this tools to help children go beneath the surface of text and get at the heart of a story is powerful learning. Thank you for all you have done (and will continue to do) for Baltimore, teachers and kids and other startups who need to see how to do it right!”

“Katie ‘gets it.’ In an industry that changes so rapidly, Katie has the ability to stay focused on her end goals while leveraging the changing market dynamics to her advantage. She understands that all the talk in the world - while crucial to success - must lead to action, and that taking action requires decisive leadership. As a leader and an innovator, Katie excels and thrives under pressure.”

“Pleased to recommend Katie - I'm honored to have invested in such a high-energy, motivated leader with deep domain expertise. During her time as an educator, she recognized a problem, and instead of simply complaining about it, she launched Unbound Concepts. She fought hard to create a successful company for her investors, and even more importantly, she continues to put all of her energy into impacting the lives of teachers and students everywhere. Excited to see where Katie takes Unbound next and to see what else she accomplishes in her career.”

“Katie didn't just have a vision to create something impactful through her company, she's actually DOING IT. What she and her team have created fills such an important need. Now that it will be available to even MORE teachers across the country, it has the potential to help millions of students as well. She's an incredible example of the focus, persistence, and drive that entrepreneurs need.”

“Katie is a world-class entrepreneur and CEO, and a major talent. Any organization that gets to benefit from her unusual blend of smarts and grit is fortunate indeed. A pleasure and privilege to know her!”

“From the moment I was introduced to Katie, I knew I wanted to work with her. Specifically, her passion and future forward focus on education using technology and data was right up my alley. Six year ago, it was Katie's unique idea to use technology to bring educator-source tagging and metadata to K-12 books to solve teachers' needs. Since then with the founding of Unbound, she built a product using tech for scale, working with the top major publishers across the board It has been a privilege to work with her as she managed the extremes that a disruptive, women-led start-up can bring. Katie is a visionary, no-nonsense leader who sees what's coming before most of us and we are better off for it.”

“Katie is not simply a passionate leader and product design visionary - she knows how to motivate, connect, and strategically partner with key people within the complicated and often times complacent EdTech ecosystem. I have watched her personally manage complex business relationships as well as nurture a collaborative team environment across multiple portfolio companies in Socratic Labs, that created stronger relationships and value, not just for Unbound Concept, but for everyone involved. She is a leader that rewards success and celebrates both achievements and failures with everyone involved. Katie understands not just how to lead a team, but also she can get right down into the details of execution when an expert pair of hands, and eyes, are required to get the job done. I cannot even count the number of times I've watched her take charge to lead a sometimes intransigent team member to do the right thing, with positive results. In no uncertain terms, I respect and admire Katie and her vision, ideas, passion, and ability to articulate them, which is why I invited her to speak at this year's Lean User Experience conference and have, with her help and guidance, been curating an EdTech track at next year's #LeanUXNYC conference. Without a doubt, few startup founders have her combination of rock-star talent, open and friendly demeanor, and solid management skills required of any company that wants to kick ass in this turbulent, hyper-competitive marketplace that is EdTech.”