Mytonomy, the video storytelling platform for college & career advising, announced that it has secured investment from Kapor Capital and NewSchools Venture Fund. This funding builds upon earlier investments from leading angels. Mytonomy aims to address the disparity in high school guidance counseling services through a video-based social network, with a special focus on First Generation college students and students studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields.

"We are pleased to partner with tech icon and philanthropist, Mitch Kapor, to deliver much-needed college knowledge, and to expose students to the careers of the future, especially those communities that are under-represented in the tech industry," said Vinay Bhargava, Mytonomy CEO & Co-Founder.

With an average caseload of 470:1 (and 1000:1 in CA) college guidance counselors are stretched beyond optimal capacity. Clearly, additional counselor capacity is needed, but Mytonomy can help deliver complementary "video support" at scale and at low cost. Mytonomy's video library already contains more than 2600 testimonials, in both English and Spanish.

High school & college students can watch videos from near-peers, getting advice on topics related to succeeding in high school, the college application process, and specific colleges, majors, and careers, all with their always-free student accounts. Mytonomy does not sell ads, or users' personal information and data. School districts can upgrade to a paid premium version, Mytonomy Plus, to deliver video playlists to their student bodies in a private (logged-in) environment, with reporting on "which student watched what video" launching shortly. A curriculum is also in the works.

Early adopters of Mytonomy Plus include KIPP DC, The Lab School of Washington, and Yongsan International School of Seoul (Korea). The platform is an online complement to higher-touch counseling programs, and can be used by college access groups, PTAs, and school districts directly. Students interested in STEM can benefit from veterans of the FIRST Robotics competition, or past finalists of the Intel STS competition.

"Mytonomy will be a foundational building block of our college counseling program", said Tevera Stith, Director of KIPP to College, KIPP DC. "The platform allows us to deliver messages from our counselors, while harnessing the power of our alumni & parents to inspire our current students, that they too, can succeed in college." KIPP DC intern Dominique Merriweather shares his wisdom on the high school to college transition, in this video. To date, KIPP DC's alums have contributed 33 videos to their school's alumni archive on Mytonomy.

"We were drawn to Mytonomy because we consider it to be innovative, and with great potential and possibility for our school. As a community of learners, our teachers are constantly challenging themselves and their students to think creatively, and Mytonomy is just that. Setting up our Mytonomy Plus account was easy. At a recent alumni event, I used my iPad to conduct interviews with alumni who attended. Once you get the account setup, it is easy to upload videos and manage," said Tiffany Parry, Director of Alumni Relations and Events, The Lab School of Washington.

"From the moment I discovered the Mytonomy website, I knew this was the piece missing from my school's college counseling program. There is nothing and no one who motivates and encourages high school students more than their peers. With Mytonomy, they not only receive the much-needed information, but it has become all the more meaningful when they receive this information from students who were in their shoes not so long ago," said Gerry Oxx, school counselor at Godinez Fundamental High School.

Mytonomy is a near-peer mentoring platform for college and career. College students and professionals contribute video tutorials giving insights and advice on topics ranging from college admissions to career success, with a special focus on first-generation college going students and the STEM fields.