The Founder's Return: SchoolMint's Jinal Jhaveri Reclaims Helm Amidst K-12's AI and Choice Revolution

LAFAYETTE, La. – January 12, 2026 – SchoolMint, a leading provider of K-12 Strategic Enrollment Management solutions, today announced a significant leadership transition that brings the company full circle. Co-founder Jinal Jhaveri has returned to the role of Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Bryan MacDonald, who led the company through a period of substantial growth over the past six years. MacDonald will continue to serve as an advisor and investor.

Jhaveri's return is not merely a change in the C-suite; it signals a strategic recalibration as the education technology firm confronts a K-12 landscape being fundamentally reshaped by expanding school choice, intense competition for students, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.

A Strategic Handover and a Legacy of Growth

Bryan MacDonald’s tenure as CEO, which began in 2019, was marked by significant transformation and expansion. He steered the company through the unprecedented disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that accelerated the need for robust digital tools in education. Under his leadership, SchoolMint grew to serve over 11 million students and 16,000 schools nationwide.

This growth was fueled by a series of strategic acquisitions that broadened the company's portfolio. In 2019, the acquisition of Smart Choice Technologies, a student registration and lottery software provider, led SchoolMint to relocate its headquarters from San Francisco to Lafayette, Louisiana. Subsequent acquisitions included Schoolrunner in 2021, a data and communication platform, and Enrollhand in 2022, which added school marketing and branding expertise to the company's offerings.

The 2022 purchase of Whetstone Education, a teacher observation and instructional coaching platform, further expanded SchoolMint's capabilities. However, in a move to sharpen its strategic direction, the company divested this platform, rebranded as SchoolMint Grow, in April 2025, signaling a deliberate return to its core mission of enrollment management.

“Leading SchoolMint over the past six years has been an incredible privilege,” said MacDonald in a statement. “We’ve built a best-in-class enrollment platform and strengthened our leadership position during some of the most challenging years in education. With a strong foundation in place, this is the right moment for Jinal to step back in and lead the company forward.”

The Founder's Vision Revisited

Jinal Jhaveri founded SchoolMint in 2013 with his wife, Forum Desai, after their own challenging and paper-intensive experience enrolling their child in school. His founding vision was to create a solution that was both “delightful and insightful,” making the process seamless for families and providing schools with powerful data. From its inception, the platform was mobile-first and multilingual, designed to ensure equitable access for all families, particularly those in low-income communities.

After stepping down as CEO in 2019 and serving as Chairman, Jhaveri remained a prolific force in the technology sector. He co-founded and led Enable Us, a buyer enablement platform that was acquired by MindTickle in 2023, and has been an active investor in over 100 technology companies. This experience outside of SchoolMint has given him a fresh perspective on the evolving demands of the software industry.

His return is fueled by a desire to tackle the next wave of challenges in education. “As I return to the CEO role, I’m energized by what lies ahead,” Jhaveri stated. “School choice is expanding, expectations around technology are rising, and advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping what schools need from their partners.”

Navigating a New K-12 Enrollment Landscape

The environment Jhaveri returns to is vastly different from the one he left in 2019. School districts across the United States are grappling with a complex set of pressures. A declining national birth rate has led to shrinking student populations in many areas, directly impacting school funding, which is largely tied to enrollment numbers. This demographic reality is compounded by the rapid expansion of school choice programs, including vouchers and charter schools, which intensifies competition for every student.

In this climate, Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) has transformed from a back-office administrative function into a critical, high-stakes priority for school survival and success. Schools can no longer assume a steady stream of students; they must actively attract, enroll, and retain them. This requires sophisticated marketing, seamless digital application processes, and data-driven analytics to understand family preferences and enrollment trends.

Overlaying these challenges is the rise of artificial intelligence. AI presents both an opportunity and a demand for innovation. For companies like SchoolMint, AI can power more sophisticated predictive analytics for enrollment forecasting and create more personalized communication workflows for engaging prospective families. For schools, AI is changing classroom dynamics and creating new expectations for the technology partners they work with.

The Path Forward for SchoolMint

The leadership change, backed by majority investor BV Investment Partners, is a clear strategic move to leverage a founder's unique strengths in this new era. “Jinal’s founder perspective and deep expertise make him the ideal leader for SchoolMint’s next phase of growth,” commented Justin Garrison, Partner at BV Investment Partners.

The history of the technology industry is filled with examples of founders returning to reinvigorate their companies, from Steve Jobs at Apple to Howard Schultz at Starbucks. These leaders often bring an unparalleled understanding of the company’s core mission and the passion to drive necessary innovation. Jhaveri's return signals a sharpened focus on SchoolMint's foundational purpose: solving the core challenges of student recruitment and enrollment.

By combining the strong operational foundation built under MacDonald with Jhaveri’s entrepreneurial drive and original vision, the company aims to innovate ahead of the market's needs. With its original architect back at the drawing board, SchoolMint is poised to redefine its role in helping schools navigate the intricate challenges and opportunities of modern K-12 education.