Helping EdTech Leaders See the Pattern Keeping Them Stuck

what keeps you

up at night?

Introduction by
—
Chris Davis,
Founder & Principal

For most EdTech companies, the product gets built while the question of who it's for never quite gets answered.
From the inside, you're too close to read the label on the jar you're sitting in. Here's three places this goes wrong, even when the intent is right:

01—
your positioning

Making critical decisions in a vacuum

‍(lonely at the top)

the right buyers don't recognize themselves in what you built

—— You can describe what you do, but not why a specific buyer should choose you over the alternatives. People nod, ask to follow up, then go quiet.

Getting your numbers to make sense(performance)

—— You're not lacking options. You're drowning in them. You've had success, yet you've outgrown your current decision-making framework and haven't developed new ones yet. When executives can finally see their patterns clearly, one choice typically becomes obvious while others fade into the background.

02—
The Right Metrics

Too much data, not enough insight

‍(analysis paralysis)

EVIDENCE OF USE instead of EVIDENCE IT'S WORKING

—— You're collecting evidence that the product is being used. What's missing is evidence that the right buyer is getting what they came for. Different question, different data. Most dashboards aren't built to answer the second one.

Standing out in the crowd(Brand differentiation)

—— You know something's off but can't pinpoint exactly what, so you keep collecting more data hoping it will become obvious. You're likely tracking several numbers, yet only 3-5 typically predict success. What executives discover is that when you can finally see which metrics actually matter, the rest becomes noise you can confidently ignore.

03—
Pruning the business

03—
Strategy
misALIGnMENT

Working hard but not moving forward

‍(out of sync)

Growth looks like adding. The work is usually subtraction.

—— Everyone's busy, initiatives feel urgent, and the priorities make sense when you explain them. What's harder to see is whether any of it is producing anything worth keeping.

Getting business and creative strategy on the same page(Alignment)

—— Your team is executing flawlessly, but you're still not hitting the target. Everyone's busy, yet initiatives feel scattered, and you're starting to wonder if you're solving the wrong problems entirely. When teams can finally see the same patterns clearly, the scattered feeling and frustration tends to dissolve naturally.

Recent insight

& projects

How Smart Teams Get Stuck in Their Own Patterns

After three years of development, WriteRightNow had a heavily researched product...and a sign-up flow teachers couldn't get through.

The team kept fixing the surface. Every feature was built to showcase what the research could prove, on the assumption that teachers would think like the researchers. Once the team watched teachers actually try to use the product, the gap was no longer invisible.

The work that followed produced 5,000+ teacher adoptions in six months, 400% above target.

view case study

STRATEGY

True Isn't The Same As Unique

You spent three months on your messaging, until you landed on something that felt right. Now go pull up your three closest competitors.
‍
Read the full story here.

Be chosen on purpose, not by accident.

Get insights on EdTech positioning.

For most EdTech companies, the product gets built while the question of who it's for never quite gets answered.From the inside, you're too close to read the label on the jar you're sitting in. Here's three places this goes wrong, even when the intent is right:

01—your positioning