Why You Should Start Your Career at an Edtech Startup

Siya Raj Purohit is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Springboard, an Edtech company that offers a new online apprenticeship model for in-demand careers. Siya is passionate about bridging the jobs-skills gap and helping grow/invest in startups that are transforming the education and employment sectors. She also teaches a class on AI, Automation, and the Future of Work at Golden Gate University. Before Springboard, Siya worked at Udacity and VC firms including Reach Capital and GSV AcceleraTE.

This was an interview conducted by Sree Kondaji Ramesh, Udacity MBA Intern 2018. Original post here.

You have worked across many early-stage start-ups and have also been on the investment side of Edtech companies as well. What was it like joining a startup straight after college?

During the summer of 2013, I interned at Apple as part of the team that hosts WWDC — the company’s developer conference. WWDC brings together hundreds of entrepreneurs and while meeting them, I was blown away by the incredible amount of courage and passion that they put forward every day just to fight for their company’s right to exist. I began believing that startups are a great force for good in society — tapping into a group’s creative — and hacky — approach to solving critical problems.

I joined Udacity when it was about 50 people. Joining a startup when you’re fresh out of college is amazing — you don’t have to force yourself to be creative or think outside the box since you haven’t yet learned there is a box. Since we had so much work to do, I got to take on responsibilities that were far beyond my actual years of experience. It was chaotic and confusing at times — but to me, the company felt like it was my own. I would call out people when they’d leave lights on or take an UberBlack for a work meeting — small things that employees at a big company probably don’t even think about. Startup employees feel deeply invested in the company and that sense of ownership and scrappiness becomes a personality trait that continues in every part of your life after.

I strongly believe everyone should have startup experiences early in their career so they get to be creative, hacky, and feel true ownership of a company or product.

What does your day-to-day at Springboard look like?

I joined Springboard as the first business person when the company was about 20 people (we’re 90+ now, and hiring quickly!). Joining a team that early means you have to do all things business and no two days are alike.

I mainly focus on 3 types of projects:

• Product Strategy / Research — evaluating new content verticals, researching sector needs, and supporting product positioning
• Partnerships — working alongside companies to build new offerings and work on user acquisition
• All Things Biz — setting up company-wide performance reviews and pulse surveys, finding an office space, and taking on people ops projects

What excites you most about working at Springboard?

I love the team — it’s a group of mission-driven people who genuinely love spending time with one another, both at the company and outside.

One of my favorite stories that exemplifies how the team works together came from a dinner we went to in my first month here. We arrived at the restaurant, and the waiter said that if we waited 90 minutes, he’d give us a better table and 3 free sangrias. And the entire team unanimously responded yes! I was amazed — which team wants to spend 90 more minutes together on a Friday night? This culture has fortunately stayed with us as we’ve scaled.

Springboard has a strong 1:1 mentoring program to help students as they learn job-ready skills. What are some benefits of this model that you have seen?

I first joined Springboard because while in VC, I realized that many edtech companies had nailed content development and delivery but no one was working to bring online the best aspects of an in-person education: the human relationships. Springboard’s 1:1 industry mentorship model aims to provide students with access to inspiring professionals who help support their educational pursuits.

Springboard students get paired with mentors in their field — so if you’re studying Data Science, you could be working with a Data Scientist at a company like Uber or Airbnb. Mentors work with students 1:1 throughout the course to help them understand how the concepts they’re learning are being applied in industry.

The benefits are:

• 1:1 mentorship leads to higher completion rates and stronger job readiness.
• We’re unlocking a knowledge economy — providing opportunities for professionals who want to help train the next generation of talent in their field.
• Students are building a network within the field they’re looking to break into. We’ve seen several examples of our mentors hiring students they’ve worked with. This contributes to our 100% job placement rate.

Given the impact of AI and automation and the rising need for workers to have new technological skills, how do you see the online education category growing/responding to this need over the next 5 years?

I love answering this question. For too long, education technology has been perceived as a social impact sector or limited to K-12 education. But edtech is much more than that — it’s about defining workforce development and the Future of Work. We need to answer the questions of what jobs people will have in the future, and how they will grow in their careers.

Education and employment are at the very core of human needs and the edtech industry will help develop innovative mechanisms that enable people to transcend socioeconomic barriers and build the lives they want.

What advice do you have for someone interested in working at an Edtech startup?

When you reach out to companies, have a focused pitch describing your interest in the specific problem they’re trying to solve and what makes you uniquely qualified to help grow the company. Successful candidates sometimes go the extra mile by showcasing their skills through independent projects for the company (e.g. provide suggestions for how their product positioning could be clearer, what companies they could partner with, or how their UX could be smoother — depending on the role you’re targeting).

When I first applied to Udacity, I did many of these things — but was still initially rejected since the recruiter said there wasn’t a clear fit for my skills. Here’s the story of how I turned the rejection around and created a role for myself there. The big takeaway is to be persistent and show the company the value you can add to their team.