This document provides advice for those looking to start an education technology startup. It emphasizes keeping ideas simple, focusing on solving real problems, bootstrapping the initial product development, and getting feedback from potential customers and advisers. Successful education startups require addressing a clear need, building a minimum viable product, and preparing for a lengthy sales cycle to work with schools.

1. ( )a primer
for those thinking of becoming a founder of an
education startup. what you need to know.
by Aron Solomon

2. ( )keep it simple.
the best reason to do an
education startup is because
you’ve identified a real pain
point. this is called problem
identification. explain this simply
and clearly. tell us why your
product or service should exist.
if we don’t feel that pain point,
we won’t buy in.

3. ( )simpler than that.
imagine that you have an
elevator ride of two, not twenty,
floors to pitch your idea. keep it
that simple and brief. your goal
here is to spark enough interest
for the person to sit down with
you for a coffee. that’s it.

4. ( )even more simple.
having problems formulating
your pitch? explain the concept
to a middle school student. do
they get it?

5. ( )no mercenaries.
it’s really hard to do a startup,
exponentially harder in the
education space. if you’re here
to make a quick buck, probably
best to leave now.

6. ( )business models are
the new black.
read alex osterwalder’s
“business model generation.”
it’s immensely useful.

7. ( )bootstrap.
it’s 2013 - finding someone to
fund your minimum viable
product is very difficult and
probably unadvisable. Fund
your own build. Ask friends and
family. Be really stingy with
equity.

8. ( )take money when it
presents.
always be friendraising. this
leads to later fundraising.
building the right relationships
with potential investors takes
months and years, not days and
weeks.

9. ( )let’s think about
product.
don’t worry about bells and
whistles. build something simple
and make sure that it works.
read steve blank’s “the startup
owner’s manual.” test stuff. a
lot.

10. ( )it’s a small world.
how mobile are you? do you
need to build your product in
your home city or country? is
your market domestic or global?
be flexible and open to
opportunity.

11. ( )the 7th circle of hell.
selling education product and
services into school boards and
the like takes a very long time.
few startups are equipped or
prepared for the sales cycle. my
own personal preference is for
consumer-facing education
products.

12. ( )no. they won’t get it.
but they eventually might. stick
with it.

13. ( )research matters.
this is education. you need to
have support that what you’re
doing makes sense for your
users. it’s much more
complicated than this but just
understand that the stakes are
higher because it’s education.

14. ( )you need help.
surround yourself with a great
team and superb advisors.
sometimes it makes sense to
make a key advisor a
compensated member of the
team.

15. ( )learn to pitch.
everyone can do a better job
pitching their idea. practice. a
lot.

16. ( )design counts.
seriously. find a great designer.
have them use visual design to
help convey your thoughts and
ideas. your presentation decks
need to look and feel good. your
website should be beautiful and
honest.

17. ( )get more help.
don’t shop around for new
people when the ones you have
close to you don’t tell you what
you want to hear, but take the
time to hear some voices
outside your inner circle.

18. ( )don’t fake it.
ask when you don’t know
something. you’re entering a
world of endless acronyms and
simple things with ten different
names. if you’re confused just
ask.

19. ( )stealth is old news.
collaboration is better than
secrecy. the chance of someone
stealing your idea is slim. keep
people updates with your
progress, discuss where you’re
running into problems. find
allies.

20. ( )find and re-find your
center.
your north star is the pain point
you initially identified. as you
build whatever it is that you’re
building, keep going back to
that. do your features help solve
this problem? hit that problem
hard and directly.

21. ( )get it done.
build something beautiful and
useful that helps a lot of people.
and generates revenue. because
if it doesn’t, it’s a hobby, not a
business.