EdTech Crowd

Justyna Orłowska as the head of GovTech Poland is responsible for driving digital transformation across the country's public sector. Under Orłowska's leadership, GovTech Poland has launched a number of groundbreaking initiatives also in public education. Her main project Future Labs (Laboratoria Przyszłości) was one of the biggest investments in Polish Education delivered in very fast 1 year period.

In this episode, you will learn: the background story behind preparations for the Future Labs project; what are the other projects GovTech prepares in Polish education? how does Justyna see cooperation with EdTech start-ups from a governmental perspective? what does she recommend for future EdTech founders? how does she predict the future of education?

Agata Wilam after success in creating an extraordinary learning experience for teenagers cooperating with scientists decided to scale it up and teach teachers how to create an immersive and engaging learning experience. She decided to do a simple worldwide demand test and this led her to start a project in Nigeria. The story of WhyBlueSky is full of unexpected situations, cultural differences, and much impact. Agata in this episode brings us to the world of the Sub-saharan EdTech industry.

In this episode, you will learn: How is the EdTech situation in Africa? What are the alternative options for financing impact-driven EdTechs? What are the challenges in doing EdTech business in Nigeria? How to conduct a global market test? 

Agata's Crowdfunding: https://patronite.pl/agata-wilam-whybluesky

Nick Gross is one of the most interesting guests on this podcast. He is a professional musician, an active investor in the music, sports, and entertainment industries and a person with many passions. He started to Find Your Grind an online platform that helps students figure out who they are and where they want to go. Before that he made 1-year roadshow around schools in the US to help students to find their passion.

In this episode, you will learn: how he tested his business idea before he started a platform? how unleash the passion for the education of teenagers? how to grow EdTech business in the US? What is the situation for EdTech in the US?

Ela Szczepaniak started her business simulation games when she worked at the University. They wanted to create entrepreneurship courses more practical and interesting for students. From university games, they started a real business which now is available in many markets around the World. 

In this episode, you will learn: how to run an EdTech start-up without VCs? how gamification can improve the learning experience? how to expand EdTech business? What is the situation for EdTech in Poland? 

Michael Foreshaw is another UK-based EdTech veteran who started his career a long time before the term EdTech was widely used. He began as an ICT teacher and over years he was involved in many EdTech-oriented projects like being a BESA's executive council member, advising the Department of Education, or starting the start-up Innovate My School. His current project EdTech Impact is an independent review platform for EdTech designed to help educators find the best educational technology. Having started in the UK, it has the potential to be a global opinion-forming website. 

In this episode, you will learn: what is evidence-based learning? how to reach schools as an EdTech Start-up? how to enter the British market? what is the situation for EdTechs in the UK? 

Eimantas after a few years of experience working as a tutor decided to create a concept that could be more scalable. Instead of creating another marketplace that connects tutors with students, he focused on a platform that allows students to have classes with top tutors for a fraction of the regular tutoring price. In this episode, he shares his story and vision for his platform Memby. 

In this episode, you will learn: How to create a new EdTech start-up? Market insights? Eimanta's vision on the industry and future of education.

Stephen has over 20 years of experience in creating educational videos. He started in BBC, and now his company Digital Learning Associates supplies videos to the markets all around the World. In this episode, he shares his experience and gives tips on creating engaging and efficient educational video content. 

In this episode, you will learn: how to create the best video content? What are the insights from different markets? What are Stephen's predictions for the future of education?

Mike Grześ is Co-CEO of Photon Education, the biggest educational robotics company in Poland. In this episode, Mike describes Photon's path from a university project to a well-funded EdTech start-up that operates on several markets around the Globe. He shares his experience, vision on current trends in education, and tips for newcomers to the EdTech business. 

In this episode, you will learn: how to start an EdTech start-up? how to build EdTech products which are really used? what are the Photon's reasons for success? what are his predictions for the future of the industry? 

Rajesh is responsible for the product development of Brainly, one of the biggest EdTech start-ups from Europe. His products are used by over 300 million users every month. His mission is to democratize education and build communities of students beyond their local schools. His global perspective and work experience for different organizations like Google give a unique insight into EdTech products development. 

In this episode, you will learn: how Brainly built a global presence? what does education in India look like? Rajesh's advice on starting an EdTech start-up? how does he predict the future of education? 

Svenia is a very active professional who is building several EdTech initiatives on a national level in France and internationally. She co-founded organizations such as EdTech France, LearnSpace Innovation Hub, European EdTech Alliance. She has visited many countries analyzing local educational systems and EdTech innovations. She also cooperated with many start-ups from the industry. She decided to share her unique experience with EdTech crowd listeners, and in this episode, you can learn:

• about French educational system and EdTech industry
• best practices to grow EdTech start-up
• how start-ups from different countries differ from each other 
• what are the best markets to start an EdTech business 
• how Svenia predicts the future of the industry
• what changes we can expect in the EdTech ecosystem on the European level 

Anna Iartoska, CEO of Robowunderkind, is building a unique set of tools that enhance the way kids play, learn, and create with tech in school and at home. She and her business have been awarded by many institutions such as Amazon, Education Alliance Finland, EdTech Awards, and many more. Robowunderkind is available in several markets around the globe. In this episode, Anna shares:

• Experience of shifting from corporate consulting job to edtech start-up
• Information on DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) market 
• Predictions about the future of the edtech industry
• How to scale up edtech business

Anna Dementieva, program manager at xEdu Accelerator and coordinator at EdTech Finland. Finnish educational system is considered to be the global leader of innovation. As a person who grew up in a completely different educational system, Anna has a unique experience in analyzing the local educational ecosystem. She has also worked with dozens of EdTech start-ups from several countries through xEdu acceleration programs. In this episode, you will learn

• what makes Finish educational system unique?
• what are the key success factors for EdTech start-ups?
• Anna’s tips for EdTech entrepreneurs and her?
• predictions for the future of education?

Karol Górnowicz, CEO of Polish start-up Skriware, tells about his EdTech journey. They started as a manufacturer of 3D printers for the retail market and pivoted to become a supplier of innovative STEAM laboratories for schools. From this podcast you can learn:

• Challenges of running hardware EdTech start-up
• How successful pivoting can look like
• Karol's prediction on future education and EdTech industry
• Karol's recommendations for EdTech start-ups