Advice From 13 Successful Education Entrepreneurs on How to Take the Plunge Into Non-Traditional Schooling
It’s a great time to be an education entrepreneur! Parents are eager for access to a diversity of education options. They continue to explore alternatives to district schools, including homeschooling, microschooling, virtual schools, learning pods, low-cost private schools, and charter schools.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that public schools lost more than one million students during the pandemic, and many are not returning to a conventional classroom. Instead of competing with K-12 schooling alternatives and moving toward smaller, more personalized learning experiences for students, district schools are responding to declining enrollments by consolidating schools into much larger ones—a trend that is likely to prompt more parents to seek other learning options.
The widening gap between what parents want for their children’s education and what mass schooling currently offers creates greater opportunities for today’s education entrepreneurs.
If you are thinking about becoming an education entrepreneur in 2023, check out the advice below from several of the successful founders whom I featured on my LiberatED Podcast in 2022. These suggestions came from our podcast conversations throughout the year. The entrepreneurs range from former public school teachers who launched microschools to venture capital-backed startup founders who have built national education networks.
