edtech
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Suryanarayanan Paneerselvam and the education that starts after the degree
He left an engineering job in America to help engineers in India put their knowledge to work. Skill-Lync grew from after-hours lessons into a funded business, bringing a larger test of the promise that started it.
Antti Korhonen keeps an old map for a new world
A 1970s map in a Helsinki meeting room offers a clue to the xEdu co-founder’s work: helping education entrepreneurs notice what has changed, and find the people who can help them catch up.
Peter Dabrowa and the value of turning the sign around
A printing accident in New Orleans captures something about Wonde co-founder Peter Dabrowa: he is willing to change the pitch when the customer reveals a better problem. His career in school technology has grown from the same habit of paying attention.
Vinay Mahadik and the laptop that went home
The Securly co-founder and founding CEO built a business around a school device’s life beyond the classroom. His next venture takes on another familiar problem: finding what an organization already knows.
Jeston George and the school news that never arrived
He wanted enough notice to see his nephew’s school events. Building Apptegy taught Jeston George that the larger opportunity was helping schools tell the stories already happening inside them.
Lefteris Ntouanoglou and the education of a company
He built Schoox between Thessaloniki and Austin, with an engineer’s attachment to the product. Now Lefteris Ntouanoglou wants workplace learning to answer a harder question: what changed after the course ended?
Mehdi Alaoui and the business of opening doors
He started by making mobile apps easier to build. With LaStartupStation, Mehdi Alaoui turned to a harder problem: helping African founders reach the people who can buy, back and use what they make.
Discovery Education puts curiosity on the lesson plan
A video can catch a child’s attention. Discovery Education has spent two decades building the lessons, practice and teacher support that give that attention somewhere to go.
James Gray and the book that took too long
A family business taught James Gray to get academic books to readers faster. Three decades, a Nashville detour and one return to Dorset later, the Kortext founder is still finding things that stand between students and learning.
Claudio Erba and the lesson that took nineteen years
He built Docebo from a classroom problem into a company listed in Toronto and New York. Then Claudio Erba handed over the CEO job and began giving the lessons away.
Al Kingsley and the art of the awkward question
He helps build the software schools buy, then sits at the table where school spending is questioned. For Al Kingsley, three decades in education technology have made asking better questions a working habit.
Kostyantyn Makarov’s $100,000 change of course
Kostyantyn Rozenshtraus-Makarov took SendPulse to New York and learned how expensive a reluctant customer can be. His path from Chernihiv programmer to software co-founder runs through Brazil, shared offices and a habit of reconsidering the plan.
Nicolas Hernandez and the trouble with knowing best
He built 360Learning around a stubborn belief: the useful knowledge is already in the room. Now, as chairman and the founder of Jupi, Nicolas Hernandez is taking on the next question - who gets to decide?
James Chia and the trouble with three files
A civil-service induction gave him paperwork without context. Years later, the ArcLab co-founder is building training around the people who have the least time to sit through it.
Examity put the exam room online
A webcam could move an exam out of the testing center. Examity built a business around the harder question: who would trust the result?
Chegg has a new homework assignment: get you hired.
Chegg built a business around the stuck student. After AI disrupted paid homework help, it is betting that the harder problem comes after graduation.
ClassDojo made the classroom a conversation
A little green monster helped teachers bring parents into the school day. The business grew by keeping that connection free - and finding things families would pay for at home.
GoGuardian and the classroom with a thousand tabs
Schools put the internet on every desk. GoGuardian built a business helping adults manage what happened next - from wandering attention to signs of distress.
Magic Software Inc. makes the textbook travel
A digital textbook has a surprisingly long journey to the classroom. Behind MagicBox, Magic Software Inc. handles the rights, rosters, formats and connections that help it arrive.
Preply bets on the person across the screen
A language lesson is easy to buy. The habit of speaking is harder. Preply has built a global marketplace around the tutor who gets you to come back.
Top Hat found the classroom’s missing reply.
A lecture can reach hundreds of students and still miss what they understand. Top Hat built a business around getting an answer back.
Brainly has the answer. Now comes the hard part.
A Polish homework community grew by helping students get unstuck. Its AI chapter asks a harder question: can getting an answer become the beginning of learning?
LingoAce Learned to Hold a Child’s Attention
A father watched his son lose his Chinese. The company he built around that problem now wants a bigger place in the family timetable.
Tom Sayer and the lesson Google couldn’t teach
He helped classrooms around the world use Google’s tools. At Ello, Tom Sayer is pursuing a more personal ambition: giving a child the kind of attention that money usually buys.
Abhay Saboo and the problem with an easy answer
He began tutoring before he finished school. At CoLearn, Abhay Saboo has spent years working on a harder assignment: getting students to want to do the work themselves.
Jan Rihak and the answers nobody hears
Before Classtime, Jan Rihak helped fund scholarships and built a career in finance. His next undertaking asks a deceptively simple question: what is everyone else in the classroom thinking?
Rupa Chandra Gupta and the trouble with a beautiful dashboard
She built the charts, watched students shrug, and changed her mind. At Sown To Grow, Rupa Chandra Gupta is putting students inside the story their school data tells.
Sabda PS and the trouble with knowing the answer
The Zenius co-founder built a teaching business around a stubborn question: what if passing the test leaves you unable to think? From classroom fees and CDs to an operational pause and a return, his work keeps coming back to the foundations.
Robert Barakat and the case against “thus”
Before Atomi became a platform for schools, Robert Barakat had a theory about the words students wanted to hear. His career has been a long exercise in making a difficult lesson feel within reach.
Andrés Moreno and the classroom that ran out of room
Before Open English, Andrés Moreno ran a language school that worked - until he tried to make it bigger. His answer took the classroom online, put him on television and eventually brought a country to the negotiating table.