Are you thinking about making the next thing in Ed Tech? Well, I have to say that the journey is really entertaining but at the same time is extremely challenging! Many people have tried to revolutionize education and have failed. That’s why you have to make sure you are facing the challenge and ready for a very long journey and not in it to get out quickly!
I want to share some lessons I have learned (and still learn) The calf officerCareer -based learning platforms for professionals who want to meet their dream career goals. I will share the lesson of every step so far. We have seen 3 steps: pre -MVP, MVP and product.
Step before MVP:
This is the step where you will Market research And quickly Customer Development Environments. You are still confirming this problem and trying to understand the space more. Many founders, unfortunately, leave this stage completely and go directly to the next. They must begin to close their eyes without being adorned with the true knowledge and understanding of the place in which they want to work.
Challenges Founding Edtec’s founders:
Small Network: A small number of small numbers of ED -Tech Startups (compared to other markets such as Fantake, Aditik, etc.) So a very small network and everyone is still looking and finding it.
Access to data: It is very difficult and difficult to keep your hands on real, authentic and comprehensive data around market size and various financial activities.
Getting research evidence: This challenge continues in the coming stages, but you should start thinking about it from the beginning. The beginning of education requires science and research evidence on the view of learning and education. I will definitely recommend UCL Education Program for this side.
MVP Stage:
This is the phase that comes directly with the MVP and after confirming it with users. Generally, this is the step where you start reaching investors. This is the place where you see real and direct insights from your potential users and users and gain more confidence in this problem and your solution.
Challenges:​
Ed Tech needs quickly typing and axis: I’ve been playing and testing Ed Tech products and platforms for more than 7 years now and I do not remember a product that has at least a massive success without an axis. And since your runway is usually very small at this stage, it becomes really difficult to try different ways and test many fields until you force yourself to be super lean.
Investment: It is extremely difficult to gather for ED Tech Startup and you will find very few VCs that focus only on ED -Tech investment. The reason behind this is that it usually takes years to start making decent revenue to Aid Tech startup, leaving the profit. Not all investors are patient to invest in a product and vision, rather than investing in a business, which will return immediately or closer in the future. With the founders of all adventure, it is also a challenge on how they create the effects of learning and education on their customers, and especially at this stage to measure the value of their product prices.
Product Step:
Now, you’ve got some investment or has decided to bootstrap and have a direct product with many consumers/consumers. Now you transfer your focus on building a product to think more about building a viable business that maintains this product.
Challenges:
It is not really difficult for your product to get consumers at this stage because your price suggestion is clear and the product is somehow useful. The actual challenge is with maintaining and engaging and keeping these 2 matrix at a healthy level when you are expanding your user base.
Minatization: As I mentioned earlier, it is always a challenge to maneuvering in the admit, and even the market is still experimenting with and is trying to detect it like Dolingo. Historically, this is the place where the Ed Tech businessmen have failed.
Learning is a very complex process and involves a deep understanding of how the brain works and how people learn effectively. There is a mixture of science, engineering and philosophy behind it, which requires careful studies and progressive teams.
Schools/Institutes/companies usually have the approval process that can be very long in terms of your product and compliance requirements, especially the difficulty in implementing the cost of your product offered, is sometimes offered due to the point (3)
Considering these challenges, I also wanted to summarize some famous non -successful stories and a brief lesson to learn from everyone.
Startup | The reason for failure |
Layer of approval required to use the product. The use of products depends on the approval of students and administrator, which complicated the relationship with the teachers and made the process longer and burdensome. | |
The long story short, they failed to keep the business to keep the business. | |
Like the Red Mill and many businesses in the eBook industry, they failed to create a sustainable business model. According to the founder, “Finally, the economy of eBook sales does not just mean that if you do not own a platform like Apple, Google, or Amazon.” | |
Even Apple was performing well with the top VC and investors until it came with its iPad and ate their lunch! They failed to counter the market barrier. |
Hopefully we will all learn from the lessons and produce ad tech products that really serve learners, permanently innovate our companies to maintain the development of our companies and create viable and modern business models. Helping education and helping people learn is a good purpose and we understand that learning is one of the important pillars of a successful life. This is the thing that forces us to work every day unless we fix the skill difference!
About us
Ahmed al -Sharkasi KCEs and co -founders The calf officer. I’ve been working on startup for more than 7 years between research, engineering and product management.
Knowledge Officer is a learning platform for professionals. Our mission is to empower the generation of lifetime learners and to help people, though they are busy, learn something new and relevant every day and achieve your career goals.
About the writer
The CEO and co -founder of the Knowledge Officer, a London -based startup that has the mission to manage the world’s knowledge and fix the skill difference!