Title:Alumni Spotlight: Adam Shlomi (SFS’20), Founder of SoFlo Tutors

Meet Adam Shlomi (SFS’20), a social impact entrepreneur focused on using business to strengthen communities! Adam is originally from South Florida and is currently an MBA candidate at NYU Stern. While on medical leave from Georgetown after a severe ankle injury—doctors told him he might never walk again—Adam launched SoFlo Tutors. He grew SoFlo from one student to one hundred tutors and eventually sold the company. That experience shaped how he thinks about building businesses that last and about helping others grow. Keep reading for more about Adam’s entrepreneurial journey!

Was there any specific aspect of your time at Georgetown that influenced you to pursue entrepreneurship?

A few moments stand out. Meeting Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril, was pivotal. He was young—wearing a Hawaiian shirt—and yet building something that mattered. It broke my assumption that influence required hierarchy or suits and showed me what entrepreneurship could achieve.

I arrived at Georgetown wanting to create positive change in my community and in society. Initially I thought government would be the path, but I saw quickly that it was slow and gridlocked, especially for young people trying to make things happen. I wanted to build solutions directly, so entrepreneurship became my way to act.

Georgetown also brought in remarkable speakers and built a strong entrepreneurial network. Jeff Reid and Georgetown Entrepreneurship were central to that ecosystem, and their work made entrepreneurship feel accessible on campus. They really encouraged people to think about building the future. At that time I had no interest in a corporate track. I wanted independence and to build something of my own.

What inspired you to create SoFlo SAT Tutoring?

I simply wanted to start a business. At first I tried three ventures: importing headphones from China, building an algorithm to price concert tickets, and what became SoFlo Tutors. As a young founder, there is this real challenge of getting people to believe in you. You have to get your customers, first employees, and investors to believe in you. You have to be really capable and driven to get that buy-in early on. 

SoFlo grew the fastest because I knew the tutoring world. In high school I worked for three years at a company called College Experts, and later tutored independently. That experience gave me the knowledge to innovate in the space and the credibility to scale quickly once I launched SoFlo.

What have you learned from being an exited founder?

A mentor of mine, John Rood, wrote Beyond the Exit after interviewing one hundred founders who sold their companies for life changing sums. Many felt unfulfilled afterward. They lost their community and sense of purpose and often said they felt like just another wealthy person everyone wanted things from.

The lesson is that purpose has to come first. You cannot postpone meaning, thinking that selling the company will make life perfect. It usually brings a new set of problems. You need to enjoy the journey, not just the destination, and build something you are proud to keep working on.

I have taken that to heart. I now approach new ventures deliberately, asking whether I would want to devote decades to them. That long-term lens has slowed me down but also pushed me to choose ideas I care about.

What does a day in your life look like?

I start my mornings with yoga, mobility work, meditation, and a gratitude practice. Then I focus on my own projects. Right now that means advancing ideas in AI-driven professional services and exploring ways to transition local businesses to employee ownership.

Later I walk to NYU Stern for one or two classes, catch up with classmates, and have lunch on campus. Depending on the day, I might attend an evening lecture. Kevin Ryan, the founder of MongoDB and former CEO of DoubleClick, spoke recently and that was excellent.

Sometimes I meet collaborators instead of going to a lecture. For example, I have been working with someone building automation for gig work on Upwork, starting with Power BI dashboards. The goal is to streamline the entire process from client request to completed dashboard, essentially creating an Upwork agent. I often spend evenings working on projects like that, then head home, cook dinner, and wrap up the day by pushing those ideas forward.

You recently started an MBA program. What pushed you to go back to school?

After selling SoFlo, I took an intentional pause. I taught yoga and spent two years traveling in a sprinter van. I wanted to do things that were personally meaningful before returning to entrepreneurship. Because of my ankle injury, I knew I could not count on an active retirement later in life.

When I was ready to build again, I wanted to be surrounded by ambitious peers with access to resources and networks. At Georgetown, my coursework was broad and introductory through the global business program, so I wanted advanced courses in areas like scaling, financing, and capital allocation. I wanted to learn how to make better things from experienced practitioners.

I received a full scholarship to Stern and chose it because I wanted to be in New York, at the center of business and creativity. I also valued that Stern’s culture felt forward-looking rather than conservative, and I wanted a program that would let me grow my network while having the time and space to launch my next venture.

What is the most fulfilling part of being an entrepreneur

The most fulfilling part is building a team and seeing people discover more in themselves than they thought possible. At SoFlo, many of our tutors realized they loved education. Some went on to Teach For America or pursued education policy roles, and their first exposure to the field came through tutoring for extra income. Helping them find a calling was deeply rewarding.

I also love creating something from an idea and putting it into the world. There is something extraordinary about turning an abstract thought into reality. It feels like shaping a small part of the world yourself.

Is there anything you wish more people knew about entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is often romanticized, but most of the clichés about it being hard, risky, and occasionally rewarding are true. It is demanding work that requires passion and resilience.

What I wish people understood is that entrepreneurship is not a single path or reserved for venture-backed startups. It is a mindset that applies equally to building a local tutoring company or launching a global tech firm. The common thread is that it is about solving problems and shaping your own future, and it only works if you care deeply about the work.

How does Georgetown continue to support you as an alumnus?

I stay involved with Georgetown because I think giving back matters. Jeff Reid and Georgetown Entrepreneurship have been tremendous advocates for founders on campus.

I am part of the Georgetown Angel Investor Network, which lets me collaborate with other alumni investing in alumni-founded businesses. I also participate in the GEA Experts on Call program to help current students who have questions, because I remember how hard it was to get good advice as a student. It can be really tempting to give mentorship to the people who are really driven and know where they are going right away, but people with a lot of talent and uncertainty need mentorship too.

Finally, what is one piece of advice you would give to any Georgetown student who might be interested in entrepreneurship?

The best advice I can give is to just start building something. The sooner you start, the sooner you learn your interests, and the further along you will get. Starting early also gives you proof of concept, which makes others more likely to invest in you because they see traction.

You will also figure out what you actually care about as you build. I think a lot of Georgetown students already have that entrepreneurial mindset. They are not waiting for permission. They are out there figuring out how to gain expertise.

See all GEA Alumni Spotlights