ELM
Elm was founded as a digital destination to teach people everything school didn’t.
Our mission: to make it cool to care about your mental health and emotional intelligence (EQ).
In our redesign of self-development for the digital age, we created courses with influential experts to unpack topics like
money, career, and stress and used a blend of entertainment and education to make it all stick.
We built the technology. We produced the content. We designed the brand.
Digital School For Life
Elm was founded as a digital destination to teach people everything school didn’t.
Our mission: to make it cool to care about your mental health and emotional intelligence (EQ).
In our redesign of self-development for the digital age, we created courses with influential experts to unpack topics like
money, career, and stress and used a blend of entertainment and education to make it all stick.
We built the technology. We produced the content. We designed the brand.
Digital School For Life
ELM
Wellness wasn’t accessible. Digital learning lacked appeal.
The Problem:
In the early aughts—before wellness was mainstream—the the internet only offered three flavors for self development: TED-style aspiration, Buzzfeed-style listicles, and Chicken Soup for the Soul-style sincerity.
And the most innovative digital learning experiences were to watch a video then download a pdf.
WHAT IF there was a digital space where people could explore mental and emotional wellness topics, apply them to their lives, and wrestle with them alongside others in community?
WHAT IF that space replaced passive consumption with interaction, personalization, and support for different learning styles?
WHAT IF we could design an experience that didn’t just inform—but transformed?
A Digital Destination for Exploring
What It Means to Be Human
Product Vision:
Founders’ Vision and Model Mapping
INTRODUCING ELM
A New Kind of Life Learning Experience
A School for Life, ELM offers expert-led, interactive courses designed for real life—
where people don’t just consume ideas, they apply them.
We built the technology →
Proprietary Learner Experience Platform (LXP):
A fully custom, mobile-first platform designed to adapt in real time, support interactive learning, and track progress across every course.
Custom Architecture — Built with JavaScript, JSON, and NoSQL for personalized, modular learning
Responsive UX/UI — Designed for video, audio, and text-based learners
Built-In Interactive Tools — Reflections, progress tracking, and cohort-based commenting
We produced the content →
Real-Life Curriculum Taught By Real-Life Experts
Content designed for the real world, created around the questions people were actually asking—and built to spark meaningful growth.
Search-Inspired Course Topics — Dating, career, burnout, biohacking, and more
End-to-End Course Production — Strategy, scripting, visuals, and video, all done in-house
Thought Leader Partnerships — Collaborated with experts to ensure value, clarity, and authenticity
We designed a brand rooted in youth culture →
To make mental and emotional wellness feel cool, not clinical
Elm had a bold identity built to cut through the noise with irreverence, relevance, and a strong point of view.
Editorial Voice — 80s MTV aesthetic meets Vice-style tone
End-to-End Brand System — Visual identity, tone of voice, content, and learner journeys
Campaigns That Hit — Email and social campaigns like “F*ck New Year’s Resolutions”
→ Grew organically by building traction through word of mouth and social buzz, not ad spend
→ Turned insight into income with course sales that funded future content
→ Reached thousands with emotionally resonant content that sparked real change
→ Caught the attention of icons, from Tegan & Sara to Gloria Steinem
→ Featured by major outlets:
Results
A Digital Debut That Made Waves
“A lot educational content feels
like a chore. At ELM, we wrap powerful ideas in experiences that feel like entertainment— so the insights stick and translate into real life.”
Mia Pokriefka and Elissa O’Dell,
Co-Founders of ELM
Breakout Content
Becoming a Superhero
with Max Lugavere
Science Journalist & NYT Best-Selling Author
“Max made optimizing my life feel so accessible—one step closer to becoming a superhero.” - Mike
Dating in the 21st Century
with Match.com’s Premium
Matchmaking Services
“I love how actionable the dating advice and feedback from TDR was. After a year of avoiding dating, I’m proud to say I’ve already been on a few dates!” - Henry
Finding a Job with Meaning
with Ben Keesey,
Former CEO of Invisible Children
“I now understand I have the power to change my own situation. ELM armed me with the tools to leave Nike and find a job that fits my goals.” - Cassidy
→ Developed our own proprietary software
Designed to make content interactive, personal, and emotionally resonant.
→ Identified high-impact topics
Mental health, money, relationships—areas where online content was falling short.
→ Partnered with the right experts
Collaborated with authors, influencers, and thought leaders to co-create bite-sized high-impact digital courses.
→ Created all course content in-house
Strategy, scripting, visuals, and voice. Crafted to resonate and deliver real value.
→ Designed for interaction, not just consumption
Growth doesn’t come from watching. It comes from doing.
→ Built new revenue for our partners
Influencers deepened engagement and monetized their wisdom through high-retention digital courses.
→ Edutainment-First
Make it entertaining enough to pull you in and meaningful enough to change how you move through the world.
Strategy
Rethinking What Learning Could Feel Like
→ Developed our own proprietary software
Designed to make content interactive, personal, and emotionally resonant.
→ Identified high-impact topics
Mental health, money, relationships—areas where online content was falling short.
→ Partnered with the right experts
Collaborated with authors, influencers, and thought leaders to co-create bite-sized high-impact digital courses.
→ Created all course content in-house
Strategy, scripting, visuals, and voice. Crafted to resonate and deliver real value.
→ Designed for interaction, not just consumption
Growth doesn’t come from watching. It comes from doing.
→ Built new revenue for our partners
Influencers deepened engagement and monetized their wisdom through high-retention digital courses.
→ Edutainment-First
Make it entertaining enough to pull you in and meaningful enough to change how you move through the world.
Strategy
Rethinking What Learning Could Feel Like
Conceived, crafted, and led by founders Mia Pokriefka and Elissa O’Dell, ELM came to life through deep collaboration between a nimble team of engineers, creatives, and course partners.
Cross-Team Collaboration
WHAT IT TOOK
Tech Team: Front-End + Back-End Engineers, QA Testers
Production Team: Director of Photography, Videographer, Video Editor
Creative Contributors: Graphic Designer, Motion Designer, Blog Editor
Course Partners: Partner stakeholders + their teams
FOUNDER-LED
Product Vision and Strategy
UX Strategy & Experience Design
Branding and Creative Direction
Course Production and Partner Collaboration
Product Marketing, Sales, and Community
Go-To-Market Strategy & Launch Planning
Elm proved that when learning is designed as edutainment, people show up.
And when it’s interactive, they do something with it.
We saw the power of participation and set out to make behavior change more accessible and integrated into everyday life—so we took it further:
We began experimenting with delivering interactive content where people already spend time. That led us to build Huxly.
And ultimately, it led us to develop the OneOnOne™ Conversational Design Framework—our method for designing interactive experiences that connect, convert, and create real impact.