How two first-generation college grads are helping students conquer the admissions process

Calolo is not just another productivity app. That’s because it’s not really an app: it runs on SMS.

“Sometimes students don’t want to download a new app,” explained CEO Tina Tran Neville. “The goal here is to re-imagine the way we use text messages.”
The 1776-based app works as a “collaborative checklist,” said Neville. Every day, it sends you checklist reminders via text. You can cross off an item by sending another text.
It can be used by groups, too. For instance, students working on their college applications can involve parents, counselors or friends in their to-do lists.

Making task management as easy as sending a text.

Calolo is currently running in beta in several D.C. area schools, including the Washington Latin Public Charter School and a college prep school called Transcend Academy. It allows teachers or administrators to keep track of how far along students are in their college application process.
In August, it will launch for the public to help users deal with the college admissions process, as well as other big tasks like wedding planning or moving.
Calolo closed a $21,000 funding round last week after raising $100,000 in an earlier friends-and-family round.
It has also brought on three members to its board of advisors: Craig Dixon, the head of business development at The Chronicle of Higher Education; Jay Alter, VP of Blackboard; and Andy Fiedler, a technical consultant for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Neville cofounded the company in 2013 with her longtime friend, CTO Kien Pham. Both first-generation college students from families of Vietnamese refugees, they met while studying the University of Tulsa.
Neville’s mother grew a liking for Pham after inviting him regularly over for phở dinners.
“She tried to marry him off … to one of my sisters,” said Neville. That didn’t quite work out, she said. “There’s this thing in America called love.”
Still, Neville and Pham remained close friends.
After founding Transcend Academy, Neville reached out to Pham and together they launched Calolo, then known as CollegeAppz, in 2013.
Calolo is based out of 1776, with a full-time team of four and a technology team in Los Angeles.