Nick Standlea is the founder and President of Test Prep Gurus. He is a former Research Associate at the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont Graduate University - a think tank that studies Positive Psychology, with an emphasis on education, learning, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and flow. He holds a BA from Pitzer College and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Nick regularly speaks at schools and community organizations, including UC Berkeley, Pomona College, Pitzer College, Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University, Golden West College, Loyola Marymount University, the Western Association of College Counseling (WACAC), WACAC Inland Empire, WACAC Los Angeles, NACAC high school fairs, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Connelly School for Girls, The Webb Schools, Sage Hill School, A Better Chance foundation, The Orange County Private School Association, and many others.

Nick has earned a perfect score on the SAT, but is much more proud of his students' and tutors' many successes. His current ambition is to turn the standard model of test prep on its head, shifting the focus away from "anxiety, fear, and boot camps" to "goal-setting, personal improvement, and celebrating success however the student defines it"