Spotlight on Jo Thomas and Yvette Quinby, founders of Enrola
How these powerhouse founders came together to help students navigate a critical decision in their lives
Enrola is an online education comparison platform eliminating decision paralysis for prospective students. AfterWork are delighted to lead their pre-seed round and join them on the journey to help budding students find the right high-quality course, with outcomes that match their personal goals, on a timeline that works for them.
Founders Jo and Yvette met on the YC founder matching platform, while Jo was still the CEO at the Australian Institute of Business. Jo was planning to take the concept of Enrola through the Antler program and discussed this with Yvette. She endorsed the idea enthusiastically, having completed the Antler program a few years prior in Amsterdam. 4 weeks later, Jo convinced Yvette to join her for a week in Sydney as part of the program. From that week on, the partnership was cemented and Enrola was born. To learn more about our investment thesis and Enrola’s journey, you can read our detailed notes here.
1. How did you get the idea for your business?
Jo: I like to joke that Enrola is just me “smushing” together the two halves of my career - firstly in comparison and then in tertiary education and in a lot of ways that’s true. I saw firsthand how students were getting lost in the weeds trying to figure out the right course, while education providers were burning money on marketing that didn’t really hit the mark. It just clicked one day that there had to be a better way— and that a comparison platform was actually the answer.
2. Talk us through your journey…How did it go from an idea to a living, breathing thing?
Jo: Once I’d latched on to the idea that there was a better way to get students into life changing education, it became a bit of a stone in my shoe. I did a new venture program through Flinders, then applied for Antler - really just to see if I was obsessing over something insane. I started to look for a co-founder… quit my job..found a co-founder.. Spoke to hundreds of students and providers and suddenly it was an actual thing, with customers and a website and a brand and a team.
Yvette: I was looking for someone with an interesting problem to solve, and I wanted to team up with someone who could use my tech skills. When I met Jo, her idea made a lot of sense, and we got along well. I’d had a good experience with Antler before, so everything seemed to line up. We started working together, testing things out, and moving quickly from there.
3. What was the biggest barrier to getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome it?
Jo: The biggest barrier was convincing people that this massive, fragmented market could be disrupted—that vocational education didn’t have to be this chaotic, confusing landscape. But we pushed through by showing results. We went live early, got market validation quickly, and demonstrated that our model works. We’re both pretty stubborn and pragmatic!
4. What inspired you to make Enrola work?
Jo: For me, it was from talking to prospective students - hearing their stories, feeling their frustration and being really humbled by how grateful they were to have someone “in their corner” to find the right course. Perhaps weirdly - it was the same when onboarding providers, they were SO supportive, even when we weren’t getting things quite right, that I felt (and still feel) this obligation to get it right.
Beyond that, Yvette and I talk about this phase, a few months in, when it went from feeling like a project, to a real live business that we were 100% committed to making work.
Yvette: Hearing directly from students and getting their feedback really confirmed that there was a genuine problem we could solve. It made us realise that we were on the right track. Talking to dedicated education providers also reinforced how important it was to help students find the right fit. Those conversations made it clear that we had something valuable to offer.
5. Outside of your company, what are you into right now?
Jo: I’m fascinated by the US election, in the process of moving to Queensland and have a horse…
Yvette: I moved to Australia from Europe a couple of years ago, and I’m really enjoying the lifestyle change—the weather is great, and I love being able to swim in the sea every day. I’ve also gotten into Ultimate Frisbee. There’s a local community game in the park near my place, and it’s a fun way to stay active and meet people.
6. Who or what inspires you and keeps you focused on your north star?
Jo: Seeing the difference we’re making for students is a huge motivator. Knowing that we’re helping people find their path and make confident decisions about their future is incredibly rewarding. And, of course, we’re now building a team - and so that keeps us laser focused on making this a success.
7. Talk us through a standard day in your life as a founder…
Jo: I’d love to say that I get up early, meditate, exercise and then plan my day but… the reality right now is that I get up early, pick up horse poo, sit down to do “2 quick things” before having a shower, get lost in the 157 things that a startup founder needs to get done, check in with the team, apologise for my appearance then finally shower at 6pm! Being a founder means wearing a lot of hats - and so I might reach out to prospective providers, talk to students, do the payroll, setup a new marketing campaign, write a blog post, hire a new team member - it’s really varied, which makes it really interesting!
Yvette: I try to get out of the house first thing in the morning and go for a walk, maybe a swim and get some coffee. Then it’s down to work: starting with a quick team catch-up and checking out what our users have been up to on the platform. I usually get a good chunk of the day to focus on designing, building and testing our product.
8. What unusual or childhood experiences prepared you for what you do today?
Jo: When I was 17, I went to live in Argentina for a year. I knew about 20 words of Spanish, and Google Translate was definitely not a thing back then. I’d spent my whole life in the same house, going to the same school, so it was a massive culture shock. I had to figure things out on my own, adapt to a completely different culture, and make it through my final year of high school in a language I barely spoke (though I like to talk, so I learned fast!). I think that year taught me a lot about resilience and independence - which is useful today!
Yvette: My mum taught me how to write HTML when I was 12 or 13. I guess that might have sparked some kind of entrepreneurial tech spirit in me, even if I didn’t realise it at the time!
9. What is your golden rule that you try to live and work by?
Jo: Don’t be a d*ck. And it’s hard to be anyone other than yourself - so be the best version of yourself (unless you’re a dick, then be someone else).
Yvette: My golden rule is probably to just keep things in perspective and not take myself too seriously. Life’s too short for that. And always be curious—there’s always something new to learn or figure out.
10. What advice would you have for anyone looking to take the plunge?
Jo: If you have the runway to give it a jolly good crack, then go for it. For me, it had been a “one day” thing for so long that eventually I had to say “it’s now… or probably never” and never was NOT an option. Oh, and find a co-founder. It makes it so much better.
Yvette: You need a bit of luck for all the stars to align: the right co-founder, the right problem and the right solution all coming together at the right time. You might need to try a few times before you land on the right combo. When you do, that’s the time to go for it!