Small For-Profit CEO of the Year – Juli Bennett, Back to Basics Learning Dynamics Executive Director

Juli Bennett never expected to own a business. She did not go to college, so becoming a successful businessperson seemed completely out of her reach.

Executive Director Juli Bennett | PHOTO BY LUIGI CIUFFETELLI

“I never set out to become a CEO,” Bennett said. “When you don’t have a college degree, you constantly feel less than.”

Though she did not initially intend to do so, Bennett has thrived running businesses. She has been a successful business owner since she was 24 years old and is currently the executive director of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, a tutoring and education resource organization.

Owning and operating a business has been a challenging, yet extremely rewarding experience, Bennett said.

“As an entrepreneur or somebody running a business, you’re just taking a bite out of a mountain every single day, because to do it any other way is too overwhelming. When you actually come up for air, you look and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m doing it,’” Bennett said.

Bennett has led B2B since she and her husband purchased the company in 2018. 

B2B provides one-on-one tutoring services to students in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Texas, and has done so for over 30 years. As a mother of four, Bennett was drawn to the company’s mission: providing personalized instruction and academic support to students to ensure their success. 

“Every student should be able to cross the finish line,” Bennett said.

Under Bennett’s leadership, the company has grown rapidly — from under 100 employees to over 300 — in part due to Bennett’s interest in national expansion. During the pandemic, B2B began offering tutoring virtually, allowing students outside of Delaware to access its services.

Bennett also took on a contract with the Delaware Department of Education, under which B2B tutored 2,500 students for over 5,000 hours a week for a summer. B2B typically manages between 70 and 80 tutoring contracts a year.

“That was such a monumental leap,” Bennett said. 

In the future, B2B will continue expanding its reach and developing its services in the hopes of providing for more students in need, according to Bennett.

By Emma Reilly

Delaware Business Times