In much of Southeast Asia, access to education is no longer the primary challenge. The real gap lies in what happens after learning begins.
For Stacie Phyo, that gap became the starting point.
Across Myanmar and Thailand, she observed a pattern that repeated itself across classrooms and learning centers. Students were motivated. Educators were committed. But the systems meant to support them were fragmented, inefficient, and unable to scale. Opportunity existed, but it often stalled before it could translate into real economic mobility.
“Education is everywhere,” Phyo says. “But without the right systems behind it, it struggles to move people forward in a meaningful way.”
Today, she is building those systems.
Phyo has emerged as a key figure in Southeast Asia’s evolving education landscape—not by focusing solely on content or curriculum, but by rethinking the infrastructure that underpins how learning is delivered, managed, and connected to work. Her approach sits at the intersection of education, operations, and economic access.
Her latest move, expanding into the Philippines, signals a broader regional ambition taking shape. It is less about entering a new market and more about extending a long-term effort to unify fragmented education ecosystems into something more scalable and outcome-driven.
Her path into this space was anything but conventional. She began in the sciences, studying Biotechnology at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where precision and experimentation were foundational. She later pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration at Rushford Business School, adding a layer of strategic and operational thinking.
That combination would later define her work: systems built with both analytical rigor and practical scalability.
When Phyo entered the education sector, she quickly recognized that the challenge was not a lack of demand, but a lack of structure. Many learning centers relied on manual processes. Scheduling was handled through spreadsheets. Payments were tracked inconsistently. Communication was spread across disconnected platforms.
These were not isolated inefficiencies; they were systemic barriers to growth. Rather than work around them, she began building solutions to replace them.
That effort led to the creation of Pace Forward, where she now serves as Managing Director. What began as a localized education initiative has grown into a regional ecosystem supporting more than 50,000 learners across Myanmar and Thailand. Its impact, however, goes beyond scale.
Through its “Study + Work” model, Pace Forward integrates education with income-generating opportunities. More than 500 tutors have been trained and placed into structured roles, while over 100 team members support operations across multiple markets. The model reframes education not as a standalone outcome, but as a direct pathway to livelihood.
“Learning should not end in theory,” Phyo says. “It should lead somewhere tangible.”
The model has drawn regional attention, including a nomination for Startup of the Year at the Global Startup Awards, along with support from international organizations such as the Myanmar-Japan Center within the ASEAN-Japan Centre network. Yet for Phyo, recognition remains secondary to execution.
As Pace Forward scaled, a deeper issue surfaced. The institutions delivering education were still constrained by outdated operational systems. Demand continued to grow, but the infrastructure required to support that growth lagged behind.
That realization led to her next venture.
Through Tutearn, Phyo is developing what she describes as an operating system for learning centers—a platform designed to unify scheduling, tutor payroll, payments, and student engagement into a single, cohesive system. The goal is straightforward: remove operational friction so educators can focus on teaching and expansion rather than administration.
Now incorporated in the Philippines, Tutearn enters a market uniquely positioned for this kind of transformation. With a strong base of English-speaking educators, a growing culture of upskilling, and an expanding network of learning providers, the country offers both scale and complexity.
For Phyo, it represents a critical piece of a larger regional vision.
“The Philippines has all the ingredients,” she says. “What’s needed is infrastructure that allows those strengths to connect and grow.”
Beyond her ventures, Phyo remains active in shaping the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. As Director of Cove C in Bangkok, she has helped build a collaborative space for founders and creators, reinforcing the role of community in driving innovation.
She also serves as a Global Mentor for the Techstars Remote Accelerator and works with Startupbootcamp Australia, advising early-stage founders on building scalable, sustainable companies.
In 2025, she holds the position of Local President of JCI Samut Prakan, extending her work into leadership development and civic engagement.
Across these roles, a consistent theme emerges: education, in her view, is only as powerful as the systems that support it. Without structure, access remains uneven. With it, opportunity becomes scalable.
Her work continues to reflect that principle, linking education more directly to employment and aligning learning outcomes with real-world economic pathways. As her ventures expand into new markets, including the Philippines, the broader architecture she is building becomes clearer. It is not a single company or platform, but an interconnected system designed to make education more accessible, more efficient, and more impactful.
At its core is a simple idea, one that continues to guide her work across borders: when education is supported by the right systems, potential does not just exist—it moves.
