Buffalo News features Arbol’s transition from startup to scaling
Arbol was inspired by co-founders David Gonzalez and Favio Osorio’s own experiences as financially vulnerable college students.
Fast forward to now: David and Favio’s startup company is growing quickly with a business model that uses data to solve deep problems in higher ed. With Arbol, students get a first-of-its-kind financial wellness tool and colleges get an effective way to boost retention.
Abol is pleased to announce this journey was the subject of a lengthy Dec. 15 feature story in the Buffalo News, which highlighted the company’s momentum as 2024 approaches. Author Janet Gramza tied Arbol’s mission to the roots of its co-founders. But she didn’t just rely on David and Favio. Janet also talked to college executives who use Arbol and students who use it to stay on track.
Some of the lessons include:
- Arbol has built an enthusiastic customer base of six core institutions and is now actively onboarding new colleges and universities. That customer base will undergo meaningful growth in 2024.
- Arbol is growing organically with existing customers, as student adoption has increased and new cohorts of students have been introduced to Arbol.
- The company has now completed its first semester following its commercial launch in July 2023, and is transitioning away from early adopter pricing as it scales.
Arbol spent the past year building its product and then incorporating feedback from its use on college campuses. The company has a growing body of evidence – both anecdotally and in the numbers – that it is poised to make a meaningful dent in the higher ed retention problem.
“We built this company by listening to college leaders and creating products that solve their problems,” said David Gonzalez, the CEO. “The platform meets students and higher ed staff right where their problems begin, and gives them the ability to solve those problems while saving money and time.”
