The EdTech Startup Show

This episode is a little bit different than the typical episode. Often I interview CEOs, founders, and professionals from the world of EdTech startups.

However, every day I also write The Business of Learning Letter, which is a short daily email,  sharing my perspective on the intersection of business, technology, and education.

It's read by folks from companies like Newsela, Kiddom, Edpuzzle, ThinkCERCA, Nearpod, and more.

So if you want to find out more and subscribe to the newsletter you can check it out and sign up here.

PS - Here's my favorite testimonial of all time about The Business of Learning: 

"I read your email every day, then print it to put in a binder for reference, and carry a couple of my favorites in my bag for rereading during quiet moments. Every one gives me a few new ideas that I can put to use.  One of the emails I carry around is "5 tips for marketing to teachers" because these are tips I need to keep top in my mind. But I realize different folks are interested in different aspects of marketing or building a business. I don't know how you manage to write such an informative email every day, and if it were only once every few days or once a week, it would still be pretty amazing. But I'm not going to complain about too much gold. Your advice is usually very distilled and gets me newly focused. Thank you."

You can sign up for The Business of Learning Letter here.

Typically on the podcast, I interview one EdTech entrepreneur, often a founder or CEO or an accomplished professional in the industry. Today's episode is a little different. After doing the show for a year, I've started to notice some trends in the stories and insights that founders share.

So today is the first example of me reporting on one of those trends, and it comes in the form of sharing three excerpts of past episodes. I'm going to share with you a clip from my conversation with Michelle Brown, the founder of CommonLit. A clip from my conversation with Brett Kopf, who along with his brother created Remind and also a clip from my conversation with Brad Schiller, who is the CEO of Prompt

In each of these clips, you'll hear the three entrepreneurs discuss what I'm calling their Superhero Origin Stories. We all know how before superheroes get their powers or when they discover their powers, they go through some kind of formative story. And I've noticed that for many EdTech founders, something similar happens.

I hope you enjoy this new format for this podcast, and please give me your feedback about whether you like it or not. You can do that on Twitter @GerardDawson3 or you can connect and message me on LinkedIn, and I'm Gerard Dawson there.

Also, if you liked the episode, please give the podcast a rating. Leave a review on iTunes, and be sure to share it with the entrepreneur or educator in your life.

Thanks for listening,

Gerard Dawson

https://www.GerardDawson.com

My guest for this episode of The EdTech Startup Show is Jessica Millstone.

Read the full show notes on the blog here.

Jessica Millstone, MPS, Ed.M, is a leading expert on the use of technology at both home and school, and an early-stage investor in technology companies primarily in the education space.  

Most recently she served as Director of Engagement at BrainPOP, connecting teachers and families to BrainPOP’s beloved animated movies and interactive tools in new and creative ways.  Prior to BrainPOP Jessica was the inaugural Education Fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a research + innovation lab at Sesame Workshop, and a presenter for Common Sense Media.  She holds master’s degrees from New York University's Interactive Telecommunication Program and Bank Street College of Education, where she was a professor of instructional technology for 5 years, and is the mother of two children (ages 14 and 9) residing in Brooklyn, NY. 

Many New Yorkers also know Jessica from her work as organizer of the NYEdTech Meetup, a professional networking organization with nearly 9000 members that hosts monthly events for educators, entrepreneurs and investors working across the edtech space.

Important Links:

• Follow Jessica on Twitter
• Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
• Learn more about the NYEdTech Meetup

Want to hear another episode with someone from NYC's EdTech Community? Listen to past conversations with Brad Schiller of Prompt or Jordan Levy of CapSource.

If you like the podcast, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. Share the podcast with an educator or entrepreneur in your life.

Tweet me your feedback @GerardDawson3 or email me at [email protected]

Thanks for listening,

Gerard Dawson

This is another quick clip from my conversation with Jessica Millstone.

This is a listener question submitted by Pamela Gaudet, who asked Jessica: "What is your opinion on valuations in EdTech? Is there a bubble and if so will it burst?"

• To catch the full interview with Jessica, coming soon, subscribe to the EdTech Startup Show in your podcast player.
• Also, if you find this episode enjoyable, then please leave an honest rating and review for the show.
• Share the episode with an educator, entrepreneur, or investor in your life. 
• And feel free to tweet me and Jessica with your feedback:

Gerard on Twitter: @GerardDawson3

Jessica on Twitter: @j_millstone

Thanks for listening,

Gerard Dawson

www.GerardDawson.com

Read the full transcript of this episode here.

This episode is a clip from my conversation with Jessica Millstone, a leader in the NYC EdTech community, an early-stage tech investor, and co-organizer of the NYEdTech Meetup.

Learn more about the New York EdTech Meetup here.

On this episode of the EdTech Startup Show, my guest is Graham Forman, founder of Edovate Capital.

Note: this episode features our full conversation. Previously, I shared three highlights of this conversation.

You can read and listen to those here:

• Why does Graham do seed-stage investing in EdTech?
• How does Graham identify successful education entrepreneurs?
• How do you grow an EdTech Startup? Graham answers

Graham is the founder and managing director of Edovate Capital. He’s spent his career in education, entrepreneurship, and investing. The first phase of his career was in education policy where he worked for U.S. Senator Paul Simon and former California State Assemblyman, Senator, and Community College Chancellor Jack Scott. He worked with school leaders addressing some of their biggest challenges in leading large school systems.

The second phase of his career was as a startup operator serving as head of sales, marketing, business development, and customer success in impact-focused SaaS companies serving education. His last role included leading sales and business development for Netchemia. During his tenure, the company grew to serve more than 2,400 school districts and 20,000 schools in the U.S. with a best-in-class talent management suite. Netchemia was acquired by People Admin (backed by Vista Equity Partners) in 2015, which kicked off Graham’s third career phase where he founded Edovate. In this role, he backs impact-focused seed stage K12 companies with investment and advisory support.

He lives in Denver with his wife and two children and enjoys travel, the outdoors, and cooking.

Important links:

• Read Graham's writing on Medium
• Visit the Edovate Capital website

If you enjoyed this episode, please tap 5 stars to give this podcast a rating. If you have 90 seconds, leave a review so other listeners can discover the podcast. And share this podcast with the educators, entrepreneurs, or investors in your life. 

Thanks for listening,

Gerard Dawson

www.GerardDawson.com

 

This is the third and final snippet of my conversation with Graham Forman, 3X edtech startup operator and founder of early-stage investment company Edovate Capital.

Here, Graham gives detailed advice to education entrepreneurs looking to scale their edtech startup and sell to schools. 

No article for this one, but you can watch the video version on LinkedIn here.

Subscribe to The EdTech Startup Show so you don't miss the full episode, which comes out on Thursday. 

Here's the second clip from my conversation with Graham Forman of Edovate Capital. The audio clears up for this one.

In this clip, Graham answers the question: "why do you choose to do seed-stage investing in EdTech?"

To read this as a Q/A article, click here.

Note: there's a little "buzz" in the background. Graham's answers are so valuable that I had to share it anyway : )

This is a clip from my conversation with Graham Forman of Edovate Capital. More from Graham coming soon.

In this clip answers the question: "What patterns do you notice after talking to 500+ edtech entrepreneurs each year?"

To read this as a Q/A article, click here.

Today's guest on the EdTech Startup Show is Jennifer Larson, CEO of Hive Digital Minds & Creator of SchoolBzz. If you enjoyed this episode please leave a rating for the show on iTunes, review the show, and share it. 

Click here to read the full original article about my conversation with Jennifer, featuring quotes from the podcast.

SchoolBzz is a cloud-based communications platform that streamlines how schools share information with families, giving parents and guardians the opportunity to engage in all aspects of their child’s education. The SchoolBzz team is comprised of parents, educators and communications experts who have spent years studying parents’ experiences with school communications and built the platform to address their real and pressing needs. This easy-to-use tool has been successfully piloted in schools across the U.S., helping to simplify communications, increase buy-in for initiatives, and foster a thriving school culture. To learn more, visit https://schoolbzz.com or call 800-213-8915.     Hive Digital Minds provides communication solutions for the K-12 industry helping school and district leaders more effectively reach, connect and engage their key stakeholders. The Hive team created its flagship solution, SchoolBzz, to address the challenge many parents face in staying connected and knowing how to actively support their child’s learning journey. Hive Digital Minds is a member of the Amazon Web Services EdStart Accelerator and was selected as a Top Startup to Watch in 2019 by Built in Colorado. Learn more at https://hivedm.com/.     

• Connect with Jennifer Larson on Twitter
• Visit the Hive Digital Minds website
• Visit the SchoolBzz website

Thanks for listening,

Gerard Dawson

www.GerardDawson.com