What do we do?

We designed a 6-week immersive program to help European K12 founders expand to the US market by sharing market intelligence and access to the best experts and sales resources with them.

This 6-week learning pathway has been created to engage K-12 founders who want to explore the US market in depth. During this program, we will share insightful data and market intelligence, providing the tools and knowledge to scale in the US market. Former founders, sales executives, and industry experts will share valuable insight through a 90-minute engagement taking place once a week over a six-week time period.

The program participation cost is 3,000€ per company.

Apply for the second cohort starting on Sept 30th, 2024

Applications close on Sept 20th, 2024

Join us!

~1h30

6

8

Weeks

With 6 sessions, you'll gain a deep understanding of the US K-12 market, including the sales, funding, and legal requirements.

Founders

Each cohort will consist of 10 founders and their teams. We will tailor the sessions and our introductions to each founder's/cohort's needs.

per week

Our weekly virtual sessions will last 90 minutes, and we encourage founders to join with their team members. (*First session will be 2 hours to provide a welcome)

The program

1

2

US market 101

Understand the structure of the US school system and its variation at the state and district levels. Explore how federal funding, data protection, and privacy compliance are key in adopting and purchasing.

Best practices

Meet 3 European entrepreneurs who successfully expanded their edtech company to the US market, they'll share their biggest lessons learnt.

Selling to school districts

You'll meet a former superintendent and learn how to successfully sell to school districts in the US.

3

4

The importance of efficacy studies

You'll meet with two researchers in Edtech and learn how to conduct efficacy studies to comply with the ESSA tier of evidence.

5

6

Closing, done right

With a seasoned sales person who worked for a number of companies, you'll learn more about the key ingredients of a successful B2S (school) sales strategy.

Investment & M&A landscape

We'll go through an overview of the investment and M&A landscape in the EdTech sector and discuss how to managing both a US & EU company and meet with US investors who will share their expectations

6 modules, 6 weeks, 1h30 per week to become a US expert.

We've partnered with experts to provide our fellows with the best knowledge and expertise

Team & Experts

Svenia Busson

Laurent Jolie

Sari Hurme-Mehtälä
Co-founder, Kide Science (Accelerate Learning)

Rayna Glumac
Founder, RYE

Ecosystem builder.
Co-founder, Edtech France & European Edtech Alliance. Consultant to Edtech startups
Book a meeting with Svenia

Experienced founder.
Co-founder, Lalilo (acquired by Renaissance Learning 🇺🇸) Advisor to Edtech startups
Book a meeting with Laurent

The founders & program hosts:

The experts & operators mentoring the participants:

Nate Lichte
GM, IEI: Advise

Mark Phillips,
Founder, HireEducation

Matthew Johnson
Edtech Investment Banking Lead, Oppenheimer

Over the past decade, Rayna has spearheaded growth in the EdTech market for over 200 companies from 16 countries, using her in-depth industry knowledge to design customized consulting solutions for innovative EdTech from around the world.

Nate is the General Manager for IEI:Advise at the Institute for Education Innovation. In his current role at IEI, Nate is tasked with overseeing and leading all aspects of IEI: Advise, the advisory and consulting division of the Institutes for Education Innovation. He is also a passionate advocate for equity and inclusivity for All students.

Sari is the co-founder of Kide Science, an Edtech startup from Finland who successfully penetrated the US market and got acquired by Accelerate Learning, she knows (almost) all the secrets to successfully sell to schools & districts and will share them with you.

Mark is the Founder and Board Chair of HireEducation. He's been recruiting since the late 90s. He has personally interviewed nearly 10,000 sales people, and C-Suite executives, so has a broad dataset for discussions involving everything surrounding founding, managing, and growing companies in the US Edtech sector.

Matthew leads Oppenheimer's edtech focus, advising companies and investors on private and public market strategies to fund and grow their businesses. Matt has over a decade of experience in the edtech space and was previously an attorney in the edtech practice at Cooley LLP.

Lyman Missimer
Investor, Owl Ventures

Lyman recently joined Owl Ventures, where he invests and oversees Strategic M&A for the Owl portfolio. Lyman sources, evaluates, and executes on new investments across the K12, Higher Ed, and Workforce learning technology sectors. He also supports buy-side activities for current portfolio companies, as well as creates exit strategies for relevant Owl portcos.

Mack Moyer,
Sales Executive, Amira

Mack is a seasoned professional with a strong background in sales and business development. With over 18 years experience, he excels at understanding the needs of the EdTech market and developing strategies to effectively sell products and services. Mack has a proven track record of exceeding sales targets and driving significant revenue growth in companies such as Innovamat Learning, Renaissance Learning, Lalilo, and Pearson Education.

Jacob Kantor,
Co-founder, EDLIT

This is year 16 for Jacob in Edtech. He has sold over $25 million dollars of products across these companies: McGraw Hill, C2 EDUCATION, Revolution Prep, Collegewise, Varsity Tutors, Spark Education. Jacob now consults full time for companies that have included: Stride K12 , Outlier (sold to Savvas), AIEDU etc. He recently started EDLIT - Empowering Districts through Learning, Innovation & Technology that pairs edtech solutions with district decision makers across the US.

Natalia is Professor of early childhood affiliated with universities in Norway and England and visiting professor at UCL Institute of Education. Natalia’s research encompasses personalization in early childhood, children's app narratives, app development (e.g., Our Story), and establishment of an industry-academia spin-out that aims to integrate learning sciences with children’s EdTech design.

Natalia Kucirkova,
International Centre for EdTech Impact

Meet our alumni

Some testimonials

Testimonials from our alumni

Charles Sol, co-founder, EduMedia 🇫🇷

"If you're considering expanding into the US, participating in these six sessions and connecting with these mentors is essential. Also, Svenia and Laurent are great facilitators, genuinely committed to your success."

Markku Pelkonen, head of international expansion, Graphogame 🇫🇮

"The approach taken was incredibly insightful, offering a comprehensive overview of the US market entry process, from detailed specifics to a holistic big picture perspective. Excellently executed."

Hamza Fechtali, co-founder, Mizou 🇫🇷

"Break into the US opened my eyes to the importance of understanding how school districts are organised, how they think, and use their budgets, which is just as crucial as having a good product.
I learned so much!"

Clothilde Relin, head of business development, Numworks 🇫🇷

"This program enabled me to meet some fascinating people who are very close to the US market. They helped us to take a step back and look at the issues involved in launching a business in the US, while at the same time giving us very concrete examples and very operational advice. I'm delighted to have been able to take part in this program!"

François Vonthron, co-founder, Poppins 🇫🇷

"The program saved me a phenomenal amount of time in entering the US educational community, by establishing trust with partners and providers who have proved to be key to the development of Poppins. The speakers involved in the program are impressively qualified; they're the right people to meet if you want to get a foothold in the US"

Natalia Pereldik, co-founder, Funexpected 🇬🇧

"The program is extremely informative and it also feels very tailored. We were able to find answers for our very specific questions. Any question you have, Svenia and Laurent are able to connect you with someone who can mentor and answer these for you. And this is extremely valuable, especially for someone coming from outside of the US."

Aude Guéneau, co-founder, Plume 🇫🇷

"Break into the US was a game-changer for our company. The expert-led sessions provided invaluable insights into the US market, and we gained a deep understanding of how school districts operate. I highly recommend this program to any European K-12 EdTech founder looking to expand into the US market."

Contact us

For any inquiry, partnership request, suggestion or anything else, please fill the form below to contact us!