In the modern world, where advanced technology is making significant and radical changes in our daily life, education technology has become a billion-dollar industry – and this hasn’t been overnight.
However, launching your own EdTech startup is not as easy as you might think and quite frankly, it never is easy. In this article, we hope that it can help you take a deeper dive at the opportunities and challenges in EdTech startups and ultimately serve as a guideline.
The Potential of EdTech
There are a few reasons for EdTech startups are blooming in the past decade, and here’s why:
A Fast-Growing Industry
From website platforms to mobile apps and everything in between, EdTech startups are popping up and achieving more and more success.
In 2017, investment in EdTech reached 9 billion dollars worldwide. And 2018 was continuously a record-breaking year of education technology business with a total investment of $16.3 billion.
It is forecasted that online education expenditure will reach $250 billion in 2020. Furthermore, EdTech will continue to position itself as a lucrative industry with an annual growth of 17 percent in the next ten years.
Unexplored Opportunities
It’s undeniable that technology has revolutionized our life in general and education in particular.
More and more online platforms such as Studypool and Chegg provide students with an accessible, fast, and more fun way to learn. Students can get instant answers to their questions. Plus, they can access a massive library of books categorized by subjects.
Since the potential of technology is unlimited, you can think out of the box and succeed with new ideas such as AR/VR Apps or gamification – Khan Academy is a great example of a company who has leveraged their platform with gamification. These two fields have experienced little development in recent years but attracting many incubators and accelerators.
Challenges facing EdTech startups
Considering all of the above, you’d think Edtech is a lucrative industry, however, there are many unforeseen challenges many entrepreneurs tend to overlook. Let’s see what obstacles EdTech entrepreneurs must overcome:
The Blooming of EdTech
The fast growth of EdTech is filled with opportunities, but a serious challenge for every one of those.
The blooming of EdTech means that entrepreneurs must fight against several competitors – so the question is, how to make your company stand out in such a crowded environment?
Like other industries, education technology startups need an outstanding idea to succeed. Copycat ideas cannot make any move in the competitive market. Instead, the differentiator that satisfy unmet needs can rise on top and go very far.
The Slow and Traditional Education System
While technology goes surprisingly fast, the conventional education system needs a considerable amount of time to adapt.
Although people are aware of the inevitable approach of technology, there’s a lot of resistance to change. Multiple stakeholders such as teachers, boards of education, and government are skeptical of EdTech. There’s also fear that your product might overwhelm traditional education.
To remove the doubtful attitude, you need to show the real value as well as the benefits of EdTech backed by data. Put their students’ profit to the front might be a wise move in persuading those cautious decision-makers.
Final Words
Launching your Edtech startup might be struggling at times. However, with careful and thorough preparation, you can catch opportunities and ready for challenges.