EdTech has exploded in popularity over the last decade. In Covid, the field has found a tremendous force multiplier.

Many founders are now turning to online education for startup ideas. Here’s why: it can be extremely profitable because online courses do not require physical classrooms, startup costs are more affordable, and startup time frames are shorter. The ability to scale fast makes this space very attractive for new ventures.

The education world has made a shift in the last decade from a sage-on-stage model to a guide-on-side model. In the former, teachers lectured to students in an auditorium format. In the latter, kids were assigned YouTube or Khan Academy videos as homework, and they did exercises in class with the teacher assisting as needed.

Now, we’re making another giant paradigm shift at an accelerated pace: kids are at home, teachers are at home, parents are at home. The learning is happening at home, and the teacher is a virtual presence.

As in most paradigm shifts, the best way to consider them is by looking at the opportunities they present.

Throughout the Covid quarantine, I have preserved a daily routine of studying French on DuoLingo. There’s much that I’ve observed in their approach that can be applied to other types of subjects at various levels. For K-12, the most interesting of these is gamification.

Children tend to hang out in groups. One of the key success factors of K-12 gamification could be to tap into this natural tendency and turn these organic affinities into study groups with built-in gamification.

If you can come up with such a paradigm, you can build a kick-ass EdTech company for the Post Covid world.

In general, a lot of paradigm shifts are happening in EdTech. You can build lots of interesting ventures by thinking through new models of imparting education.

If you want to build a venture in the online learning space, take this Udemy course for ideas and inspiration. The course features real-life startup founders. It has an intimate, conversational feel.

1. How to Build Online Education Startups with Sramana Mitra

Let’s face it. Money is a major issue for every startup. Luckily, nowadays founders can begin on a shoestring budget. The lean startup principle works, as the industry has seen time and again.

Consider bootstrapping in all its glory. It will save you many headaches. These three Udemy courses on bootstrapping should get you going.

1. Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later with Sramana Mitra

2. Bootstrapping a Startup with a Paycheck with Sramana Mitra

3. How To Succeed As A Solo Entrepreneur with Sramana Mitra

Once you’ve bootstrapped to an extent, you’d consider raising funding. Learn:

1. How Pre-Seed Investors Think About Startups with Sramana Mitra

2. How Seed Investors Think About Startups with Sramana Mitra

3. Post-Seed and Pre-Series A Investors on Startups with Sramana Mitra

Here you have it. All seven courses above are chock-full of real-world startup founders’ stories and strategies.

The majority started their ventures with little upfront capital. You’ll learn about ways to bootstrap your online learning business while still managing other aspects of your life.

If you have any specific questions, come and see me at a 1Mby1M free roundtable.

P.S. We’re looking to partner with community leaders who write blogs, teach and mentor entrepreneurs, and help support startup ecosystems in every corner of the world, no matter how small or how remote. I have written about my own journey building startup ecosystems around the world, and how you can draw from my lessons from the trenches. If you’re interested in partnering with 1Mby1M, please consider joining our ambassador program.

For more information, please check out the external resources.

This is a terrific story of a European EdTech venture that has raised $600 million dollars and is scaling extremely well after 3 years of not finding a monetization model.

We’ve done a lot of EdTech case studies and also a lot of 2-sided Marketplace Case Studies. Here’s one from The Netherlands that compares/competes with CourseHero and Quizlet. Terrific story!

We interviewed Andrew Grauer five years back when Course Hero was at around $10 million in revenue. In 2018, the company’s website had 300 million visits. Revenue is approaching $100 million. And as for comparables, Pluralsight has gone public and has validated the business model of all-you-can-eat subscription-based online learning. This is a deep dive into the trends for the sector.