Could a Blend of Tech Sales and Educator Care Save Our Schools?
On selling education better to fund the cost of a better system.
I worked in tech for six years—the most utilitarian industry I know—where few profit millions from one product.
In tech, teams chase profit and growth. They sell software and ideas with a laser focus on scaling revenue. Their tools are built for growth, not for improving the world.
When I worked in edtech, marketing and growth teams still chased money. I wasn’t fixing the system—I wasn’t fighting classroom disengagement, raising retention, or sparking children’s love of learning. I only boosted the profit of tools that extract profit from educators. It made me wonder: where’s the impact?
Now, I work exclusively with alternative schools and teachers who care deeply about their students. They hold collaborative meetings to hone their craft and build learning spaces that nurture each child’s interests. They focus on the human side of education.
Yet, compared to tech, the education sector struggles with marketing. Few can distill innovative learning methods into clear, compelling messages. Their life-changing ideas go unnoticed because they don’t know what they’re selling, who to sell it to, or how.
Many who eventually join education and that can bring change come from profit-driven industries, spending 20, 30, or even 40 years building wealth before switching gears. They bring money, values, and ideals.
But the long wait delays their impact. If it takes decades for someone to invest in education, generations of children go unsupported. By the time change arrives, the “kid” is 20, disenchanted with learning, and lacking purpose.
I want to figure out how to combine tech’s selling ability with educators’ deep care. I wonder if an industry can exist where business-savvy individuals collaborate with passionate teachers, linking their efforts to revenue so that schools can justify hiring them. Meanwhile, educators can focus on their calling and not on whatever LTV/CAC means.
That’s a win-win—fueling growth while giving every child a more personalized, agentic, and supportive education.