5 Tips On How Edtech Startups Can Partner With Schools, And Drive Revenue
Written by Giuseppe Iademarco
Education as a sector has traditionally been a laggard when it comes to digital innovation. This presents an enormous opportunity, estimated by Citi at $2.7trn, based on the gap between time and money spent online. While 50% of the time spent on education is digital, only 5% of education spending is devoted to the digital space.
The size of this opportunity is great news for edtech entrepreneurs and existing edtech startups; how to go about capturing it remains the challenge. And while the product is important, how effectively you distribute it remains key.
The global shutdown caused by the pandemic has forced schools to adopt edtech solutions at a pace never seen before. However, turning schools into a major revenue or distribution channel requires careful planning, and lots of testing. For startups looking to partner with schools, below is a list of the top five things to keep in mind.
While the size of the opportunity is great news for edtech entrepreneurs and existing edtech startups, how to go about capturing it remains the challenge. And while the product is important, how effectively you distribute it remains key.
1) Schools “say” they don’t have funds
Educators’ default response to a new or alternative edtech solution is very often, “we don’t have the budget for it”. The reality is, if the offering solves an actual problem, the funds will be made available.
Although this may sound obvious, the takeaway is that instead of focusing on budget and financial constraints, as an edtech entrepreneur your time is better spent engaging users and understanding their problems. Once your product or service has been proven, at that point the pricing conversation will be much different. Sources of funding at that point can be the most varied, from the Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (in the US) to parent contributions.
Turn your most loyal customers into your advocates, and they will carry the torch of your startup far and wide.
3) Understand their stakeholders
As is true with every B2B sale, you want to understand how your customers define success (saving cost, increasing revenue, etc.) in order to show them how your product allows them to achieve their KPIs.
For educators, most KPIs revolve around being able to impress their stakeholders. Think of the different constituents that your target customers (e.g. teachers, school administrators, college counsellors, etc.) need validation from (e.g. school management, school board, parents, etc.). Once you have mapped that out, arm your target customers with specific bullets and quotes that will help them sell your solution to their stakeholders. Empower them to fight your battles and you’ll be impressed by the results.
4) Understand your customers’ workflow and save them time
Again, this is true across the board, but it is worth pointing out especially for educators: your customers won’t have time to add additional steps to their day to day to make room for your service. All schools, from the least to the most endowed, struggle with the same chronic lack of time. Most school staffs seem on the edge of burnout, feeling behind and in need of catching up all the time.
Analyze the existing workflow of your customers, and integrate your solution in a seamless way. Show that it will only require them to take a few additional clicks to reap the benefits you promise, and that you are not adding work to their plate!
5) Offer a free tool that solves a real problem
Most people respond well to free products, and schools’ staff are no exception. Without investing a lot of time or money, create a simple, free tool related to your core business. For example, a tool to help choose IB subjects or to discover the most relevant extracurricular activities for a student. Make sure you can collect information on usage and promote it directly to the schools.
At Millie, an organization that augments school guidance departments with a global network of mentors, we tested this by building an SAT Diagnostic Test portal. We distributed it to schools' counselors, who in turn shared it with students. This became an important tactic to “get a foot in the door,” and then engage schools further.
As one counsellor from an international school in Turkey put it, our ability to, “solve an issue that is high priority - but not core to her activities - in such an effective (and generous) way” made her more comfortable to engage us in other dimensions of the counseling framework i.e. including our paid products.
As one counsellor from an international school in Turkey put it, our ability to, “solve an issue that is high priority - but not core to her activities - in such an effective (and generous) way” made her more comfortable to engage us in other dimensions of the counseling framework i.e. including our paid products.
Even if you have former educators in your team, working with schools can be hard. The above list is a start, but there is a lot more to know. For example, segmenting your market is a crucial exercise to find the schools that are a best fit for your product; getting the right pricing model is fundamental to drive adoption; establishing early on customer success best practices is key to improve retention.
So while these are by no means a definitive guide, these tips are a great starting point to address educators in need of edtech solutions. They are also a reminder that working with schools is not that much different than working with other customers in a B2B setting: it’s really about finding their pain, by listening to their needs.
Giuseppe Iademarco (’20) is co-founder and COO of Millie, an organization on a mission to support international school students to take the next step towards the future they dream of. He is responsible for scaling the company’s operations across the globe, while also spearheading its business development efforts. Read Giuseppe's blog about his journey here.
Prior to founding Millie, Giuseppe worked at Third Bridge, a global information services firm, where he managed teams across several functions and three continents. In his last role, he was Senior Vice President of Forum, a content division he launched in 2014 and grew to over 100 people in 2019.
Giuseppe holds a BSc in International Economics & Management from Bocconi University, an MSs in Economic History from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and a dual degree MBA from Columbia University & London Business School.
Giuseppe loves to host dinner parties for his friends when he’s not out sailing in the New York harbor or riding his motorcycle in upstate New York. In true Italian fashion, he owns his own olive grove, and one day dreams of owning his own vineyard.