In order for a fledgling education startup to truly compete with the vast array of businesses already in a position to carve out their spot in a saturated market, the imperative lies in finding the right educators to carry out the pedagogical aims which give the startup its overall direction. The problem inherent with the vast number of competitors to any education startup, niche or otherwise, is that those competitors are selecting from the same pool of potential candidates and trying to scoop up the top talent on the market before someone else can. 

In 2017, international edtech funding in all markets soared to an all-time record of $9.52 billion. That’s a very impressive number, yet it belies an important fact – the majority of money pouring in is from corporate backing and consumer spending. And that slice of the financial pie gets exponentially smaller if you’re trying to compete in the PreK-20 field. PreK-12 companies had just a 13% share of that global investment number, and post-secondary education companies received just 8% of that overall figure. 

How can your startup be viable in this environment?

Your education startup’s viability lies in securing quality talent, just like for any startup in any discipline or field. The unique problem for education startups is that the quality of your teachers has to be so strong as to help you differentiate your startup from an absolute wealth of other options on the market. Looking over Angel.co and its current job boards in the education sector, there are a mind-boggling 16,258 education startups listed with just 2,940 current job openings. 

Unless you’ve built your education startup into a niche within a niche, eliminating the number of competitors by severely limiting your scope, you’re going to be faced with a glut of companies who may offer the exact same services at a similar price point. There is really no way for a new startup to beat out competitors who already have a foothold in the education market without offering something that the others can’t. And for education startups, that breaks down to identifying the best teaching talent who can secure results and continued positive reviews to build the reputation and market share of your company.

What is the best way to find top teaching talent?

To find great teachers, you have to go to them. It seems simple enough, yet it is how you engage (and where you go to do so) which makes all the difference. Twitter is a powerful tool for teachers and education startups alike. This official schedule of education Twitter chats gives you a chance to watch teachers learn, engage and grow in their discipline – thus allowing you to separate the brightest lights and potential teaching superstars from the rest.

Depending on whether you’re looking for professorial talent or K-12 educators, you’ll be able to narrow your playing field by learning of the different chats catered to teachers who match up with your startup. You can also peruse the vast array of Facebook groups out there dedicated to similar aims as these Twitter chats. Once you’ve identified potential candidates, put your networking skills to use. If you have a competitive pay scale to offer and approach things with the right balance of respect and marketing skill, you’ll have a leg up on thousands of competitors who aren’t engaging these channels or engaging them properly and/or consistently.