#EdTech #Startup #UK #StudentData #VirtualLearning #UserExperience #EducationalTechnology #MIS #VLE
Are you being naive? This question is at the forefront of many young entrepreneurs’ minds as they navigate the uncertain waters of starting their own businesses. In the case of Max, an 18-year-old living in the UK, this question is particularly poignant as he embarks on his EdTech startup journey.
🚀 The Vision: A New Approach to Educational Technology 📚
Max’s passion for design and his frustration with the current state of school administrative software fueled his vision for a more integrated solution for schools’ needs. His idea centers around a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and Management Information System (MIS) Gateway that prioritizes user experience (UX) and aims to streamline homework assignments, announcements, and resource management.
🌟 What Sets Max’s Idea Apart? 🌈
Unlike existing solutions, Max’s platform promises unique features like lesson planning tools, learning targets, and an AI assistant designed to enhance user experience and improve productivity for both students and staff. His vision extends beyond this initial solution to a suite of EdTech software and hardware that work cohesively to support schools in delivering excellent teaching.
🤔 The Crossroads: Ambition vs. Practicality 💼
As Max stands at the crossroads of pursuing his startup dream or opting for a more traditional career path, he grapples with questions of timing, experience, and funding. Despite his diligent groundwork in company registration, domain acquisition, and initial infrastructure discussions, Max acknowledges his comfort zone in the conceptual side of business and the potential challenges of finding a co-founder or CTO.
💡 Seeking Advice and Input 🗣️
Max’s call for advice and insights from the community reflects his openness to feedback and willingness to learn. As he weighs the pros and cons of proceeding with his vision at a young age, input from experienced entrepreneurs and industry professionals could provide valuable perspectives on the feasibility and potential success of his startup venture.
🌟 Conclusion: Embracing Ambition with Caution 🌟
In the journey of entrepreneurship, balancing ambition with practicality is key to success. While Max’s ambition and vision for disrupting the educational technology landscape are commendable, careful consideration of timing, experience, and strategic partnerships will be essential in navigating the challenges ahead.
What are your thoughts on Max’s EdTech startup journey? Share your insights, advice, and support as he navigates this pivotal moment in his entrepreneurial path. Your perspectives could be the guiding light that helps Max find his way in the dynamic world of startups.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates on Max’s EdTech startup journey! 🚀🔍🎓
The key question is probably how long and how much effort (ie engineers) will it take to build an MVP.
Now triple that estimate since this is new and you don’t have any experience.
Now ask how you are going to fund that along with ongoing development.
Ok now figure out how much these schools are paying for these other products you mentioned. Find out how long it takes those companies to close the deals (sales cycle) and take a guess at how hard it will be for you to do something similar. You may need to hire an account exec (aka sales) from one of these companies that knows how to sell.
Also make sure you know what compliance requirements they have because I’m sure they have them since these types of systems are probably targets of every student hacker.
If you make it through all that and your pitch deck tells a good story about what you plan to build and how you plan to take it to market then go talk to people.
This is probably not bootstrable. Also you can do some of this under the “I am student learning about the software business guise.”
If you make it through all that and someone offers reasonable funding you should do it.
45 year old entrepreneur here with 6 companies and a few lessons learned. Three in edtech, an agency that I grew to 30 people and sold, and a couple of earlier projects that never got to where I wanted them to get to which were good learning, but expensive lessons.
My advice is to think about your own cashflow first, and if you can at all avoid it, don’t get into debt. Debt is really hard to get out of, and you pay back much more that you borrow, so it’s a really key point. Compounding interest. Took me ten years to pay off student debt, and looking back that brought with it a lot of stress, that I think should be avoided at all costs.
As a UX designer you can build a solid income and brand for yourself, and your first priority should be to build your contracting and employment options, so you have an ability to generate an income and pay for your living costs, ideally building up some savings. I question whether a degree is worth it these days, especially in tech, where really no one cares. They just want to see your portfolio.
Having said that, university is formative, and so if you can afford to do it, and not take on a ton of debt, it’s a great time to study and explore, but it comes at a cost.
It’s great that you are thinking seriously about starting a business. It is like climbing a very big mountain, and should be thought of as such, it’s a long term project. You should have the skills, time and resources to do it, and for those who don’t prepare and rush it, or burn through their cash (resources), you can end up like those frozen climbers on Mount Everest, dying in the snow. Many do.
The good thing is that the UX is going to be key, and you can do that yourself. Many can’t. You should continue to work on the wireframes and design, and continue testing this as a project. That doesn’t cost you anything except your own time, and is also great for your professional portfolio.
But don’t hire developers or spend any money on it, until you have secured a runway of at least $150k in funding, as you’re talking about a very big build, and building half a platform is a dead in the snow outcome. And definitely don’t take on any debts to do this. Take your time – you have a lot of it.
Also continue working with potential clients. Everyone will want to help someone your age, and doing lots of user interviews, competitor research, talking to possible clients – you can never do enough, and frankly that’s the best education you can have, learning by doing.
Warren Buffet rule number 1 – don’t lose money. Rule number 2 – see rule number 1.
Way too early for you.
Get real world experience.
Also even if the product is good don’t assume it will be bought by schools , universities. Fair bit of politics . Also for new products the question is always. Well what if this closes down in a year. What do we do.
Be careful. Be patient.
Now is def the time. Uni does not give any of these experiences and will cost you $$$. Plus after a few years of working (even on your own startup) employers rarely look at uni experiences. So overrate ime.
And your idea is a 100% valid; real gap in the market there. Needs disruption.
Ps – best way to do a startup is by doing. Not reading or learning about it in a classroom.
I’d guesstimate that’d take 10 devs a year to build what you said, maybe 1million dollars or so of work, let alone the sales and marketing effort. So you either need to get very good at convincing people to give you money or get exceptionally good at development and do it yourself over a period of about 10 years. UX is but a tiny fraction of what goes into making such a thing successful. Go learn the other skills required to make this and circle back
Go to university and do that apprenticeship.
The idea is useful, but unrealistic. It’s a crowded space and what you’re describing will take at least a year to build. Then it will take another year to sell it.
School districts have limited budgets and complex, laborious purchasing processes. Changing their MIS/SIS is a massive undertaking with serious privacy, legal and training concerns.
Look for lower hanging fruit and find a developer to explore ideas with.
Avoid Ed-Tech if you can. There’s nothing worse than selling to a school district.
I’ve been in EdTech for 11 years, it’s incredibly tough! Legacy systems with slow processes and slow-moving decision makers.
The sales cycle for UK EdTech per client will take 12-18 months in the early stages, 3-6 once well established and market penetration is high.
I’m not saying it won’t work, but you’ll need heaps of cash to survive the long winters in the early stages.