The education sector is experiencing an epic period of excitement and investment, fueling vibrant entrepreneurial activity. The challenge for many is making the transition from start-up to scale, achieving broad-based awareness, adoption, and financial sustainability. CEOs of leading growth-stage companies drawn from the Tyton Growth50, will share their lessons learned in driving scale and impact within their markets.

2. SXSW 2016 Panel Proposal
Scaling in Education:
Lessons from Tyton Growth50
July 2015

3. 3
Sources: CBInsights; Pitchbook, Tyton Partners analysis
Funding for Ed Tech Companies Continues to Grow
Rapidly as Investors Flock to the Sector…
100
$200M
$0M
250
150
$400M
200
$600M
0
$1,200M
$1,600M
$1,400M
50
$800M
$1,000M
$1,800M
Deals
20132010 2011 2012 2015
(Year-to-Date)
2014
$1,412M
74
133
$513M
$414M
$846M
$1,610M
$944M
170
40%
217
223
127
Deals
Investments
Ed Tech Global Annual Financing, 2010-2015
Q1 2013
raises $150M
Q1 2015
raises $186M
Q3 2014
raises $135M
2010-2014
CAGR

4. 4
… But Which Companies, Buoyed by the Current Funding
Boom, Will be Able to Achieve Long-term Sustainability?
Selected Core Attributes
• Learner/Stakeholder Impact
• Financial Stability
• Customer Execution
• Market awareness
To answer this question, Tyton Partners identified 50 growth-stage
companies that together represent dynamic organizations that are scaling
their impact and achieving key financial, customer penetration, and
brand awareness goals

5. 5
Across All Sectors of the Education Industry, Balancing
these Four Attributes Is a Prerequisite for Scaling Growth
Tyton Partners Growth Framework

6. The Tyton Growth50 is a Diverse Set of Companies that
Have Demonstrated Ability to Pursue Scale and Impact…
6

7. 7
… And Have Proved their Potential for Long-term Viability
7

8. 8
Our Panel – Composed of Growth50 CEOs – Will Share
Critical Success Factors and Lessons Learned
Gates Bryant, Partner, Tyton Partners - Gates joined Tyton Partners in 2011 in the strategy
consulting practice. Prior to joining Tyton Partners, Gates was an executive with Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, working in strategy, product management, and finance during a period of dramatic
change in the educational publishing and technology industry. Prior to joining Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, Gates spent seven years as a strategy consultant with the Parthenon Group. In
addition, Gates was a member of the start-up team of Edify, a non-profit focused on supporting
affordable private schools in the developing world.
Andrew Grauer, Co-founder and CEO, Course Hero - Andrew cofounded and runs Course
Hero, which, for a membership fee, offers study guides, class notes, past course exams, flash
cards, live tutoring services, and supplementary courses, mostly for college students. The
company has raised over $18 million in funding from influential investors including YouTube’s
cofounder, Steve Chen.
Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO, Chair, and President, DreamBox Learning, Inc. - Jessie heads
DreamBox Learning, the company that pioneered Intelligent Adaptive Learning™. Jessie has
nearly two decades of experience in K–12 e-learning and has held several leadership roles in
prominent education companies, including serving as President of Blackboard’s K-12 Group and
President of LeapFrog SchoolHouse. Jessie also held leadership positions at collegeboard.com
and Kaplan.
Lane Rankin, CEO and President, Illuminate Education - Prior to founding Illuminate, Lane
was the founder, CEO and President of two educational technology companies, WebMedia
Solutions, Inc. and Achieve! Data Solutions, later acquired by Houghton Mifflin. Lane also has
experience as a classroom teacher, county office and school administrator, and university
professor and is a national presenter on educational data and assessment management.