MIT, Wharton are using Yellowdig: like ‘Reddit for the classroom’

Nearly 300 students at MIT and Wharton used Yellowdig this spring — a tool that aims to be like Reddit for the classroom, said South Jersey-based founder Shaunak Roy. Three MBA classes at Wharton and one engineering class at MIT piloted the tool.

Yellowdig allows students to share relevant links, photos or notes with their classmates, and classmates can up-vote or down-vote links. Users can build their “influence” score by getting up-votes, posting on the platform and gaining followers.

Wharton and MIT are running free pilots of the product, Roy said. He’s in talks with other universities who are interested in Yellowdig, he said. The company plans to use a freemium model, where it’ll aim to sell a license to the university and offer integration services once it sees traction. Roy believes that model will help the product scale faster.

Roy, 35, used to be the director of corporate strategy and development at chemical company FMC Corporation. He and his cofounder Ravindra Jaju work with a few contractors and interns out of Center City coworking space Seed Philly.

Watch Wharton professor and entrepreneur Kartik Hosanagar talk about Yellowdig below.