Charlie Taibi

𝗧𝗵𝗲 $𝟭𝟲𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? A sobering reality check: EdTech is more profitable than ever, yet remains "𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀" in the classroom. As someone who has watched the surge of capital into this space, I can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve spent a decade optimizing for investor decks and administrative convenience while ignoring the one variable that actually matters: the practitioner. The disconnect is clear: • For VCs: High-margin "gamified" apps look great on paper but often result in "clicking without learning." • For Educators: "New" solutions are frequently dumped into classrooms without being integrated into a teacher's workflow, leading to tech fatigue rather than transformation. In my view, we are hitting an 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. The era of "software-only" solutions is over. If a tool is developed without deep, frontline educator input, it isn’t a solution—it’s just expensive noise. The future isn't about replacing the teacher; it’s about Human + AI collaboration. 𝙒𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩. #EdTech #VentureCapital #EducationInnovation #AIinEducation #Leadership #FutureOfLearning https://lnkd.in/du6RnFPm

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Funding 101 for EdTech: How District Dollars Drive Decisions If you sell to (or support) K–12, you need to speak funding. This webinar breaks down how district budgets actually work, why funding dictates priorities, and how to have confident, credible conversations about funding sources with superintendents and cabinet-level leaders. Featured Guests: Luis Valentino — Former Superintendent (Coachella Valley USD; Albuquerque Public Schools) and Chief Academic Officer (Portland Public Schools); now CEO of Valgar LLC where he created EduBridge.pro, an online community of practice connecting K-12 schools and universities with vetted service providers. He is the author of several books, including The Edupreneurs' Foundation: Principles of Educational Entrepreneurship and Thought Leadership in Education: A Comprehensive Exploration of Transformative Educational Ideas, and serves on the boards of several organizations including OpenSciEd, Communities in Schools Los Angeles, and Bright Start International Education. He brings a unique perspective from both sides of the table: setting district priorities, aligning multimillion-dollar budgets to outcomes, and making the tough calls about what gets funded (and what doesn't). Tiffany Morse, Ph.D. — Assistant Superintendent of School and Systems Improvement at Rio School District; former Superintendent (Ojai USD) and Executive Director at Foundry 805; previously Executive Director of Career Education at Ventura County Office of Education and Education Policy Consultant at the California Department of Education. Tiffany brings deep expertise in grants, CTE/college-career funding, and how education policy flows into district spending. We’ll explore: How K–12 funding really works Budget cycles and buying windows What funding signals to look for in district plans How to talk funding with leaders Common pitfalls to avoid when selling into schools and districts Perfect for: EdTech sales and client success teams, founders, and transitioning educators who want to move from site-level wins to district-wide partnerships.

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For K-12 EdTech, Ease of Use shouldn't be listed as a feature – it should be the non-negotiable standard. 💯 Why this matters: -Complex interfaces frustrate teachers. ⏰🍎 -Intuitive design empowers students of all tech levels. 🧑‍🎓👩‍🏫 -Usability drives successful adoption and ROI. 💪📈 -Ease of use let's teachers focus on instruction. 🧑‍🏫 🤓 If you have a product or solution in your school or district the delivers a poor user experience? If so, talk to the vendor to change it, or maybe it's time to for you to make a change. ✅ #EdTech #K12 #Education #UserExperience #UX #EdTechDesign #Teaching #Learning #SchoolAdmin #DigitalLearning #EdChat

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Eric Tucker and Edward Metz explain how public seed funding, exemplified by SBIR, can effectively scale innovative edtech delivering immense value at minimal cost per user https://lnkd.in/g4Ndzgen

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