How to build a kickass edtech startup

We are just a few days away from the private beta launch of our edtech startup, GyanLab. It has been a tough journey. Starting with B2B hardware maker labs to B2C offline learning programs to national level competitions to personalized learning platform using tech — it has been a lot of jumps, pivots, shutdowns, and finally we are arriving at a place where we want to be.

These are some key mantras we have incorporated while building our platform, and which we will continue to hold on to once it launches. I’m sure these will come in useful for founders of other edtech startups as well.

1. Settling on a sustainable business model

A sustainable business model is the key to success in the edtech space.

Time and again, almost all edtech startups have failed either due to not making enough money, or not charging enough for their products and/or services.

Right from the day of launch, be focused on getting the right business model. Make regular tweaks, have minor pivots, run multiple models at the same time, but just stay on course to finding the right business model.

A crazy top line looks cool, but a solid bottom line actually makes your startup sexy (like, for real).

2. Don’t be afraid to charge customers

Nothing in the world costs nothing.

Why should your customer get anything from you for free? Are you fearful of having an inferior product? Or do you think just because you give someone something for free, they will be loyal to you?

 In education, free is always inferior.

Nobody values free products in edtech. In education, free is always inferior. Have you seen preschools, schools, colleges, universities charge less to acquire students? Have you seen coaching institutes charge less to acquire customers? They have built their niche, and now charge as they want, and customers still flock to them!

So don’t be afraid to charge customers right from the start. It will bring you a solid validation of whether people will actually pay for your product — and that’s real traction.

3. Don’t overprice, don’t underprice

Pricing is a key aspect of any edtech product/service.

Don’t underprice. Over time, you will realize that it is better to have a small number of customers paying more than having too many customers paying too little. As edtech entrepreneurs, we instinctively want to give things out at low prices. Don’t get caught in that trap.

4. Build a relationship with your customers

5. Keep key influencers close

6. Be aware of global trends, practices, and habits

7. Don’t replace educators, complement them