I’ve written about recommendations for EdTech startups (PLG, Advice, K12), but I feel that the overall GTM strategy needs more emphasis on the sequence and priorities (see figure below).
Traditional Product Sequence. The traditional development cycle for an EdTech product is to build a product with limited user research and limited (or no) ongoing user feedback. Once an MVP is built, it is time to start marketing. This sequence is fraught with peril because of the difficult K12 procurement process combined with buyer confusion as new products enter the market daily. As a result, there isn’t a cost-effective way to find EdTech buyers.
More Savvy Sequence. A better approach to the traditional approach is to include lots of user research before and during MVP development and start building market awareness as soon as possible. This means that an “elevator pitch” of the expected utility of the product needs to be articulated before MVP is actually completed. People involved in early user research — combined with the elevator pitch — can be used to build a waitlist ahead of the general release. Analyzing the waitlist can also reveal the locations, grades, and subjects of the early adopters. More about other aspects in the timeline is a future post.
