What are the opportunities in Edtech?
Data Science.
Machine Learning.
Big Data.
Programming.
Business Analytics.
Project Management.
Web Design.
DevOps and Cloud computing.
2. Introduction
2021 is an amazing year for EdTech.The
pandemic fuelled the industry and sparked
a ton of innovative ideas.
But having a good product is just a part of
success. EdTech startup business model
should actually be sustainable.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
3. Introduction
2021 is an amazing year for EdTech.The
pandemic fuelled the industry and sparked
a ton of innovative ideas.
But having a good product is just a part of
success. EdTech startup business model
should actually be sustainable.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
7. Problem
According to CBS Insights, 42% of startups
fail because their product doesn’t solve a
real problem.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
10. Freemium
It’s an attractive model for startups as it allows you to
establish trust in your brand and quickly become a niche
leader.
Initially, Coursera offered free courses on a variety of
topics with an option to pay for a certificate. Powered by
$210+ million of investments, the company quickly
became an edtech powerhouse.
In 2020, Coursera gained 30+ million new users.
Introducing a free enterprise tier brought $22 million in
revenue and attracted 4,000+ institutions, which the
company intends to monetize sometime down the road.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
12. Free trial
+ paid
subscription
This approach is similar to freemium. The only difference is that you
offer a complete package right off the bat, but for a short period of
time.
After the trial runs out, people either stop using your app or
purchase an upgrade. This means that at any point in time, most
users will be paying customers generating early revenue, especially,
if the trial automatically changes to a paid subscription.
Some users may simply forget to unsubscribe, others will be too
lazy. But if you offer a valuable service, most will stay as your loyal
customers.
Mystery Science is successfully using the free trial model to help
kids fall in love with science. They offer a ton of free lessons on a
variety of STEM-related topics.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
15. EdTech
Marketplace
The idea is simple – build a platform where creators can make
money from their educational content and take a share of their
revenue.
Udemy is one of the world’s most valuable edtech companies, worth
$3.3 billion.
The platform hosts thousands of 3rd-party courses from businesses
and individuals offering a full set of tools to produce, market, and
monetize learning materials.
Posting a course is free but Udemy takes 50% of the creator’s
revenue.
There are other revenue sharing models you can use, like charging
an upfront fee for hosting a course or taking the first $50,000 earned
on the platform like edX.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
23. Institutional
model
This is a traditional model for the K12 sector.
The concept is simple – pitch your product to school districts,
university administrations, and other decision-makers.
This model can be a winning choice if your product benefits
organizations more than individuals. Or if it needs to be
integrated into data systems at the district level.
Schoolzilla offers interactive dashboards to 140+ school
districts across the US. Its main benefit is better decision-
making, which appeals to principals and district admins. So
the top-down approach was a natural extension of the
product.
However, it’s not a one-fits-all solution.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
25. Enterprise /
B2B sales
Udacity is a $1.1 billion unicorn that sells educational courses
both to businesses and users. These so-called nano degrees
are created in partnership with companies like Google and
Amazon. This makes them more attractive for the students
and helps the company stand out from the crowd.
The company also has a successful B2B model with on-site
training for corporate clients.
By combining different B2C and B2B models, Udacity
managed to increase its revenue by 260% in 2020.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
29. Grants,
corporate
sponsorships
and recruiting
business
A popular option is to partner with governments, education
institutions, or nonprofits.
FutureLearn is another MOOC heavyweight with 210+ partners that
include universities, humanitarian foundations, and large
businesses.
Some startups even rely on corporate sponsorship as their main
business model.
GoNoodle, for example, reached over 40% of schools across the US
by partnering with hospitals and brands like Disney and Pixar. The
company provides a ton of free games, videos, and activities to keep
children engaged and physically active in the classroom.
R. Rajkumar | EdTech for Successful Business
36. Challenges
and
Opportunities
Edtech is full of opportunities.
We should aim to build a sustainable edtech
startup business model.
And this is only possible if people actually want
the thing that we are trying to build.
37. Steps to
consider
Know the EdTech market
Narrow down your niche
Validate your idea
Form a unique value proposition
Choose a sustainable business model
Build the right team
Develop a proof of concept
Raise the money
Grow your business
38. Conclusion
Owing to the accessibility of affordable internet, the EdTech
industry was able to expand its reach in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
Education became affordable, interactive, engaging and allowed
students the freedom and privacy to learn at their convenience
from the comfort of their homes.
2025 will be more opportunity for the EdTech players to emerge as
leaders and play a key role in revolutionising our education sector.
It can be achieved by focussing on ‘student success’ as a tool to
measure achievements and effectiveness, thereby stressing more
on learning outcomes in the coming year.
Aided by AI and MI, teachers in the EdTech industry will have the
data to design a customised study plan and methodology for
students. And then deliver live classes in an interactive manner by
incorporating gamification.