Why Ed-Tech Startups Don't Scale (2022)

"See, when you build an education product, you’re competing against two massive institutions: the formal education system (schools, colleges, state universities, etc.), and the laws and cultural expectations around that system."

Well, there's your problem. I worked for years in those markets, cooperating with their needs, not fighting them. You succeed in such markets by helping them do what they already do... just better. Disruption happens at a procedural level, not by changing what they do. So does the monetization: "We just saved you $20K per year, and only charge $10K - everyone wins."

I'm surprised it didn't do more than touch on probably the biggest reason: we already pay a huge amount for education out of taxes, so the educational budgets are allocated by bureaucrats, and not by education consumers (or their parents).

there is also not that much money in the state run that the majority of people education follow. Teacher salaries are already squeezed. Its ironic, everyone says get a good education, old grumps complain the kids don’t know anything, but when it comes to actually paying for it its crickets. Software could help make teaching more efficient but requires up front investment that no one wants to make. State run software projects tend to suck because they are based on minimising cost. Maybe if the act and job if teaching had the same social status as doctors and lawyers it would be different.

I think this really depends on your definition of EdTech. I don’t think anyone would contend that turnitin or Ellucian haven’t scaled well.

Tools that cater to the organisations that have money can absolutely do well, but trying to sell to people without the means to buy your stuff will always be unsuccessful.

I second that.

Originally we were targeting schools as our main customers but found it incredible difficult to sell too.

The main reason probably that the beneficiaries (the students) are not the decision makers (the school admin) and that our product (air quality) is also not a core aspect of a school.

There also seems to be a run to the bottom regarding quality of products in many schools and no appreciation for sustainable and long lasting products.

We moved on in the meantime which is a pity because we would have loved to work more with students on air pollution and climate change.