What edtech entrepreneur doesn’t dream of the time they’ll be able to spend their days collecting revenue from their must-have education solution?

It’s entirely possible, but it’s not probable unless you address a few factors affecting your position in the education marketplace. Some of the factors, such as inflation rates and the amount of disposable income, can’t be controlled.

Instead, focus on the internal factors you can control, like consumer confidence, eliminating technical difficulties, and increasing flexibility.  

Build consumer confidence

One of the most important steps every edtech entrepreneur should take is to build relationships based on trust.

Your consumer base is the lifeblood of your education marketplace. This singular foundation affects everything else you do, from product and services development to marketing and consumer response.

Edtech entrepreneurs who tap into the needs of their consumers are more likely to be successful than those who don’t. You can’t assume that you know what teachers need in their classrooms, even if you are a former teacher yourself. Education’s pressures and demands change continuously. Being out of school for even a year can isolate you from what’s really going on in schools.

Your best bet is to uncover the real needs of teachers by talking to them. Build consumer confidence by listening to what they’re requesting, and deliver it. By the same token, if you don’t connect emotionally with teachers, you’re destined to failure.

Eliminate technical difficulties

Schools operate on an academic calendar consisting of 200 or fewer instructional days. Factor in professional development, bad weather days, and other activities like assessments, and instructional time shrinks even more.

Transparent access to data is critical to edtech product success. As early as 2016, Imagine K12s Advisory Board advocated for two must-haves:

·      real-time student access to data

·      transparent on-demand data for administrators

Instead, edtech companies sometimes find themselves facing lag time.

Lag time can become an issue for schools that are trying to maximize every hour spent with students. Every delay, from product deployment to data collection issues, can frustrate everyone. Even data inaccuracies can throw an entire district – or state – off track.

Increase your flexibility

The good news is that the demand for online education is increasing, especially among adult learners. Edtech is here to stay, but only if it’s relevant to the needs of today’s learners. For example, adult learners have a variety of motivations for learning, including focusing on academics, starting or accelerating careers, and even switching industries. Their needs may shift your purpose.

Additionally, you may find yourself experiencing fluctuations in the online education marketplace for education. You’re not alone. Plenty of big companies like Pearson and Oxford University Press have sought ways to remain relevant in a quickly changing world. They achieve relevance by being flexible enough to forge new partnerships with other companies, like Quizlet, the student resource for premium content.

Others are going through similar growing pains on their journey to success. The most important thing you can do for your online education marketplace is to seek collaboration with others, especially if their backgrounds and products and services are different from yours. The education marketplace isn’t gloomy, and you’re not doomed to failure, especially if you continue to focus on consumer confidence, reduce technical lag time, and remain flexible.