We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Geoffrey Hoyles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My professional focus is the culmination of my entire life’s experience, blending my deep background in finance with a passion for leveling the playing field through technology.
My journey started in a low-income family. We often went without, but my mother always stressed that education was the path forward. I wasn’t a great student in high school, but I found my stride in university when I could finally choose my own subjects, concentrating on economics and finance. I dove headfirst into learning about business and investing.
That passion led to my 10-year career in finance, but I was also fortunate to have entrepreneurs in my family who mentored me in real estate and stock market investing. Those experiences gave me the confidence to make my own investments, including buying a four-unit apartment building on the Southside of Chicago and, most significantly, taking money from my 401k to invest in the stock market when it bottomed out during the pandemic. Those moments were crucial; they built my tolerance for risk and taught me to see opportunity in volatility.
After my recent layoff, I used my recovery time to learn about AI, and I realized I could use it to solve a problem I’m passionate about. I founded PGadmit, which acts as an AI-powered international admissions consultant.
What I feel is most exciting about PGadmit is that we’re using technology to solve what is, at its core, a finance problem. Traditional admissions consultants often partner with specific universities. This creates a potential bias, as students might be steered toward a partner school rather than the “best-fit” school for them.
I learned that AI is brilliant at providing customization at scale. We are applying that power to the university application process, removing the bias and financial conflict of interest. PGadmit is designed to ensure that students, regardless of their background, get unbiased, high-quality guidance to find the university that truly serves them best. We’re just launching, and I’m incredibly excited to use this blend of finance and technology to make a real difference.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, three areas have been consistently impactful on my journey.
1. Curiosity
The first and perhaps most important quality is a deep curiosity about why things are the way they are. Growing up, I constantly questioned why some people had so much and others, like my family, had so little. That curiosity wasn’t just idle wondering; it drove me to learn about economics, finance, and investing as a way to understand the systems that build wealth.
2. Resilience
My journey has been defined by setbacks—from financial challenges early on to navigating multiple layoffs and a severe health crisis more recently. Resilience is the quality that ensured none of those events were the end of the story. It’s the commitment to keep pushing forward, to find a new path, and to see a challenge as a temporary state, not a permanent one.
3. A Knowledge of History
The most impactful area of knowledge for me has been history, specifically the history of investing and business. By reading countless books on these subjects, I was able to recognize that economies, markets, and industries move in cycles. This perspective is what helped me build my risk tolerance for investing. It also showed me that new technologies always lead to new business opportunities—a key insight that directly led me to found PGadmit after I began learning about AI.
Advice for Those Early in Their Journey
My advice for anyone who is early in their journey and wants to develop these traits is simple: If you are not happy with your current situation, you must spend as much time as you can learning.
Take a diverse approach to your education. Don’t limit yourself to one source. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch YouTube tutorials, and pursue traditional education or certifications. Each format offers a different perspective.
Focus on learning new skills and new ideas. This is how you build both resilience and curiosity. The new skills give you the practical tools to change your situation, and the new ideas give you the vision to see opportunities others might miss.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The number one challenge I’m currently facing while building PGadmit is finding developers who possess the specialized knowledge required to build effective AI tools.
I’ve used freelance platforms to hire people, and there have been multiple instances where I’ve wasted money on someone who claimed to have the necessary skills but, in reality, did not. Through that process, I learned a crucial lesson: just because someone is a developer, it doesn’t mean they understand the nuances of AI development.
To overcome this, I’ve made it a priority to continue my own deep learning in AI. By staying on top of the technology myself, I’m better equipped during the hiring process. I can now ask highly specific questions and look for concrete examples in a candidate’s history that demonstrate they are not just familiar with AI, but are continually learning new things about this rapidly evolving field. This helps me vet candidates more effectively and ensure I’m building a team that can actually deliver.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pgadmit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pgadmit/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-hoyles/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PGadmit
