Just as I was sitting down to write this column before the Thanksgiving break, amidst grim reports of a rapidly spreading virus, welcome news about the work of a recent graduate crossed my desk. TIME had named Upsolve—a nonprofit co-founded by Rohan Pavuluri, Harvard College Class of 2018—one of the “best inventions of 2020.” The aim of the free service, one of three apps acknowledged in this year’s finance category, is to reduce complexity and remove barriers to filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The technology and the team behind it have made basic civil legal aid more accessible to low-income families. In the process, they have helped relieve more than $285 million in debt, giving people across the country an opportunity to reset their lives financially.
What role did the University play in making this innovation possible? The idea came to Pavuluri as a sophomore while he…
