Education software -- too crowded?
I'm a web developer for an organization whose main business is international schools (K-12). I've built some plugins for PowerSchool (the SIS we're using, which is horrible, especially in an international school setting).
What I've discovered is that there seems to be a ton of web-based software out there for education, but it's all quite old and the market seems to go to those who've been around the longest.
Is it worth the effort for an IH to try and take a slice of the pie? Too crowded? I need advice before I sink too much time into something...
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I have been working in EdTech for a while (www.peergrade.io and www.eduflow.com), selling to schools and universities the last 5 years.
There is always money to be made, but schools are generally not favourable customers for different reasons.
There is plenty of good software for school teachers, look at: Seesaw, Padlet, ClassDojo, Clever, Kiddom, Kodable, ClassHook, and the many companies coming out out Imagine K12 and YC over the years. This is not a problem for you, but I don't agree with the "but it's all quite old".
The sentence "the market seems to go to those who've been around the longest" is problematic for you, since it means you will have a hard time as a small fish.
Generally, you can make good software and get adoption from teachers if your product is good. But teachers don't have a lot of money and expect free tools (https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/parents-and-educators-tweet-reversethefee-to-verizon-for-imposing-fee-on-app tells a story of a free product that schools would not pay for, even after years of using it). To make money in K12, you have to sell to schools (like for example Mystery Science does it) or sell to districts (like most people do it). It is hard, and it takes a lot of time.
Education is a hard market when it comes to "non-essential" product things. You don't just have to be GDPR compliant, but also comply with FERPA, COPPA, SOPIPA, etc. You have to make your software accessible and fill out a VPAT (the form from hell). You have to sign custom data processor agreements with every district/state/school, and that is even if they are using your free product.
But! Having happy teachers and kids as customers is an amazing feeling. We collect public testimonials here https://www.notion.so/peergrade/Make-something-people-want-188e0b7d969c4c389893abdf0b87f2d8 and it is one of the most motivational things :).
Let me know if you have any questions regarding the above. It sounds quite negative, but I just wanted to let you know of some of the inherent challenges with serving K12.
Thanks for this. There are definitely things I need to hear before walking down this path.
I said some blanket statements. I know there are decent solutions out there (i.e. not all of it is old). You've confirmed that it is a tough market and would be a very tiny fish in an enormous pond.
I think you've touched on something I've heard before from others, and that is that when teachers are on board, that's when the school/district is more likely to adopt a system.
Would you say that the same challenges exist in higher ed?
It is definitely a strategy to get teacher adoption first, and then use that to approach districts and schools for purchasing. In reality, there is unfortunately often a big gap between what teachers like, and what administration is willing to pay for. Teachers like products that help their students, but (this might be unfair to many good people out there) most district procurement teams care about checking off boxes and talking tech specs.
Higher education is in many ways similar to schools. My own experience is that the complexity of landing a deal with a university and a school is the same, but the check size will be significantly higher with a university. Remember that many universities are huge institutions (sometimes thousands of employees and tens of thousands of students), so they have a lot of money, a lot of problems and a lot of complexity.
For Peergrade, we have 50%+ users in schools, but less than 5% of our revenue is coming from the school segment.
That's fascinating. I might pick your brain some day...
There are smaller matters that could be built, however the big one i want to go after would be an sis. The problem is that it would be a number of effort. But, once more, the big players had been round see you later. They are stuck of their ways. The manner they have got designed their structures isn't always necessarily the quality as software program has matured. So on this recognize, i definitely feel adore it desires disrupting. https://10thclassresult.site/
I did some research on this topic myself. What I found out is that depends on the country and regulations for acquiring software. It is much easier to work with international schools, because those are usually private and have more room in the budget. I think it is totally worth the effort since you are already working in the field :)
Thanks! Yeah, I think international schools would be good for me since I understand them better than US-based ones...
Sounds like it needs disrupting! What's the biggest need or problem that they have? Is there something specific worth focusing on to begin with?
It totally needs disrupting. The companies I've encountered guard everything, even knowledge on how to use their systems. The idea of "building in public" really appeals to me in this context, because it's so different than what exists.
There are smaller things that could be built, but the big one I want to go after would be an SIS (student information system). The problem is that it would be a lot of effort. But, again, the big players have been around so long. They're stuck in their ways. The way they've designed their systems isn't necessarily the best as software has matured. So in this respect, I really feel like it needs disrupting.
Having a "smallish" thing to start with would be a wise start. Those are good questions to ask schools to find something to start with. Thanks
Hey Grant,
It sounds like you've identified a real need for modern, efficient software in the education sector, especially for international schools. While the market may seem crowded with older solutions, there's always room for innovation and improvement.
Given your experience as a web developer and your firsthand knowledge of the challenges within PowerSchool, you're in a unique position to create something truly valuable. It might be worth exploring niche areas or specific pain points within the education software space that haven't been addressed by existing solutions.
Consider conducting market research to understand the specific needs and preferences of international schools. This could help you tailor your plugins or software to better meet their requirements and stand out in a crowded market.
Innovation and quality often speak for themselves, so if you believe in your idea and can offer something that solves a significant problem, it could be well worth the effort.
Best of luck with your decision!
I totally agree with you that there are lots of educational software in the market. In my experience, many of these are not appropriate for the user. As a student, I am often searching for various educational software and services online. Recently I got a trusted academic writing services company edubirdie review that can help to understand their service quality. Now I am studying computer science and my passion is want to be a developer. So I am very glad to know from you. Thank you so much.
It's a sector ripe for disruption — schools move very slowly, so many are still running on very out-dated software and apps. The flip side is that status quo bias works in your favour once you get inside. Teachers will tend to stick with platforms they trust long-term.
Development of educational software is a complex and diverse process. But in connection with the coronavirus, more than half of the students switched to online learning, so the development of an educational platform is quite a promising direction https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/education-software-development-companies/
I realize this is quite an old post, but this is something that I have been looking into recently. I definitely believe there is a market out there for new software for the education sector, but it needs to be better than what's already available (of course!).
Working in the education sector, we recently adopted a new cloud based platform that turned out to be absolutely horrific (bugs, bugs and more bugs. Unintuitive design. Missing features) but they can get away with this because there simply is no alternative.
I think the main thing people need to be looking at making is an SIS that can really disrupt the market. Something that's new, packed with features and something that people really want to use. From my experience so far, the software in use in the schools I work with is only used as there's no alternative and so they're stuck with it. Make something better and I don't think it'll be as difficult as you might think to get a foothold.
EDIT: if anyone is interested in potentially looking into making an SIS please get in touch! I am UK based.
Yes, yes, yes...
I would love to work on an SIS. I think it will come down the road eventually, but not at the moment. I would love to partner up some day!
Nice conversation going on here. Thank you all. Could you please give me pointers on where to learn more about as SIS design. Like what features are necessary. Does it include fee payment processing, for example?
We built a product to allow schools to send notifications to parents or students, as well as test results. However, before contacting schools we just realized that schools already have a SIS and it would be difficult to convince them to replicate the information in our system. So, we either talk to provider companies for integration (we're afraid they'll steal the idea) or build a SIS from scratch to enter the market with new schools.
What do you think of this mess?
I would find existing SIS vendors and work on integrations with them. Most/all of them have an API, so it's just a matter of learning each vendor's system and building integrations with each.
At the very least, you could allow a csv import of student and parent data. All SIS vendors have export features of some kind.
In your situation I'd start by seeing if you can make one or more contacts in those schools and ask them what they like and don't like about what they currently use.
Absolutely great starting point. In China we have six schools. Recently there has been an effort to unify them in terms of processes and systems, but before they were left to fend for themselves. Asking the ones that were around before would be a great starting point. Thanks for the pointer!