WeLight: Illuminating the Path to Educational Excellence
The genesis of WeLight occurred during my first weeks at Oxford. Amidst the ancient spires and hallowed halls of an institution that had shaped education for centuries, I found myself contemplating how artificial intelligence could transform the educational landscape. The irony wasn't lost on me—using cutting-edge technology to reshape a system steeped in tradition.
The Spark of Inspiration
Before WeLight, I had been developing an AI system focused on major recommendations—helping students navigate the complex decision of what to study based on their interests, aptitudes, and career aspirations. This work had shown me the profound impact that personalized guidance could have on educational outcomes. But I envisioned something more comprehensive, a platform that could support students throughout their entire academic journey.
The excitement around AI's potential to disrupt established paradigms was palpable in Oxford's innovation ecosystem. Conversations in coffee shops and seminar rooms often turned to how machine learning could solve previously intractable problems. It was in this atmosphere of possibility that WeLight was conceived—not just as a company, but as a mission to democratize access to educational excellence.
Finding the Right Co-pilot
The transition from concept to company accelerated when I met Andy. Our first conversation stretched from afternoon into evening as we discovered a shared vision for education's future. With complementary skills and a mutual passion for leveraging technology to create meaningful change, we formed the founding team of WeLight.
Our initial focus was straightforward but ambitious: create a profile-matching system that could connect students with suitable educational programs. We built web scrapers to gather data on past successful applicants, developing algorithms that could identify patterns and provide insights to current students navigating the application process.
Evolution Through Iteration
Like many startups, WeLight's journey has been one of continuous evolution. What began as a profile-matching tool expanded as we recognized additional pain points in the educational journey:
First came essay revision and management—tools to help students craft compelling personal statements and application essays. We developed systems that could provide substantive feedback on structure, content, and style, helping students present their best selves to admissions committees.
Next, we added comprehensive program management features, creating a dashboard where students could track application deadlines, requirements, and progress across multiple institutions and programs. This holistic approach transformed WeLight from a point solution to an end-to-end platform supporting the entire application process.
The Pitch Circuit
The path of building WeLight has been punctuated by pitches—some successful, others not. I've presented our vision in venues ranging from the towering heights of The Shard in London to the historic rooms of Oxford's Saïd Business School. Each pitch, regardless of outcome, refined our ability to articulate WeLight's value proposition and shaped our understanding of the market.
The rejections, while disappointing, provided valuable feedback that strengthened our business model. The successes—acceptance into the OX1 incubator and the Microsoft Startups Hub—provided not just validation but crucial resources and mentorship that accelerated our growth.
These experiences taught me that resilience isn't just about perseverance; it's about maintaining conviction in your vision while remaining flexible enough to incorporate new insights. It's about understanding that "no" often means "not yet" or "not quite like this."
The WeLightGPT Revolution
The most significant evolution in our journey came in early 2025 with the introduction of WeLightGPT. Recognizing the transformative potential of large language models in education, we developed a specialized AI system tailored specifically for educational guidance and support.
The development process was intensive. I initially built a prototype using Streamlit to validate the concept, then transitioned to a more robust TypeScript implementation as we moved toward production. Throughout this process, our CTO Steve worked tirelessly to ensure that the system was not just technically sound but aligned with our educational philosophy.
WeLightGPT represented a quantum leap in our capabilities. Beyond simply matching profiles or providing feedback on essays, it could engage in nuanced conversations about educational goals, offer personalized learning recommendations, and provide context-aware guidance throughout the application process.
The Technology Behind the Vision
What makes WeLightGPT unique is its specialized training on educational contexts. While general-purpose AI models have broad capabilities, we recognized that education requires domain-specific understanding—knowledge of admissions processes, curriculum structures, and career pathways that generic models lack.
We developed proprietary datasets and fine-tuning methodologies that enable WeLightGPT to provide guidance that is not just technically accurate but educationally sound. The system understands the difference between a strong personal statement for an engineering program versus a humanities course, can identify gaps in a student's profile, and suggest specific actions to strengthen their applications.
This specialization has enabled us to create AI interactions that feel less like consulting a machine and more like speaking with an experienced educational counselor who has guided thousands of students through similar journeys.
Looking Forward: Education's AI-Enabled Future
As WeLight continues to grow, our vision extends beyond applications and admissions. We see potential for AI to support students throughout their educational careers—from helping high school students discover their passions to assisting university students in navigating course selections and eventually guiding graduates through early career decisions.
The future we're building toward is one where AI serves as an educational companion, providing personalized guidance at each step of a student's journey. Not replacing human mentors and teachers, but amplifying their impact and extending their reach to students who might otherwise lack access to quality guidance.
Lessons from the Journey
Building WeLight has taught me invaluable lessons about entrepreneurship, education, and technology:
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Start with a clear problem, not just a cool technology. Our success has come from focusing relentlessly on student needs rather than being enamored with AI for its own sake.
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Embrace iteration. The WeLight of today bears little resemblance to our initial concept, and that's a good thing. Each evolution has brought us closer to delivering genuine value.
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Build a team that complements your strengths. The partnership with Andy and Steve has been fundamental to our success, bringing perspectives and skills that have enriched our approach.
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Persistence matters. The path from idea to impact is rarely straight, and the ability to weather rejection while maintaining conviction in your vision is essential.
Perhaps most importantly, I've learned that technology is most powerful when it serves a human purpose. At WeLight, we're not just building AI systems; we're creating tools that help students navigate one of life's most consequential journeys—their education.
As we continue to develop and refine our platform, this human-centered approach remains our guiding light. After all, the name WeLight wasn't chosen arbitrarily—it reflects our mission to illuminate educational pathways and brighten futures through the thoughtful application of technology.
This blog post reflects my personal journey founding and building WeLight. For more information about our current offerings and capabilities, please visit the WeLight website.