EdTechX Awards Spotlight: ObjectiveEd
ObjectiveEd received the 2022 EdTechX Startup Award which recognises education or training companies for the most significant innovation and growth over the last year, and with an annual revenue of less than €10M.
ObjectiveEd is a US-based company that builds digital curriculum for students with disabilities. We spoke with Co-Founder and President, Marty Schultz to learn more about the business, his perspectives on the industry, the company’s aspirations for the future and more.
What was the inspiration behind starting ObjectiveEd?
After our last two companies were strategically acquired, we decided our new venture would be both commercially successful and improve the lives of over 7 million students. Despite the government spending billions, educational outcomes for students with disabilities are not improving. We knew we could solve this problem by making teachers more effective through technology, such as AI and gamification.
What would you like everyone to know about ObjectiveEd?
We strongly believe that customer engagement and success is vital to our growth. School districts are reluctant to try new technologies. However, if the technology helps the teachers and helps the school district, and the company provides excellent training and support, the school district will remain a loyal customer forever. In our last EdTech venture, we provided a great product and excellent customer service, resulting in churn of under 1%.
What does winning the EdTechX Award mean to you and your business?
Winning this award gives us the recognition as a company to watch in the eyes of the investment community; we’ve already been contacted by several VC firms interested in our mission, our products, and our go-to-market strategy. We plan on raising our Series A within the next year, and this recognition is an important step in the funding process.
Looking back to the day you started, what would you have done differently?
While we involved teachers in the development of our products, we probably should have brought in research scientists sooner. Having these scientists as part of our teams has enabled us to win grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. We use these grants to offset some of the product development costs, and to produce the studies that demonstrate to schools that with our products, students with disabilities learn faster.
What piece of advice would you give to other entrepreneurs working in the EdTech space?
Make sure you understand why your product eliminates a pain, i.e., it’s an aspirin, not a vitamin. Understand from where the customer, such as a school, will get the money to buy your product: will your product replace another product that the school already spends money on? Understand their budget cycles and the approval process.
What’s the one thing about EdTech you wish was discussed more?
People need to realize that the plethora of technologies that teachers must learn to use with their students is challenging. Providing “yet another new technology” doesn’t necessarily help a teacher be more effective. Teachers barely have enough time to teach their students; introducing more technology that requires a learning curve does not make their lives easier.
Can you share one prediction around the future of learning?
In Regular Ed, learning will become more individualized, in the same way that is currently provided in Special Ed. Teachers will use technology, such as AI, to quickly assess a student’s progress and areas of difficulty. That way, the limited time teachers have for one-on-one instruction is targeted: teachers can focus on the problems students are having.
What do the next 5–10 years look like for ObjectiveEd and what impact do you see it having on the future of learning?
We will continue to use technology to make teachers more effective. That will help mitigate the teacher shortage. We will continue to innovate using current research and state-of-the-art technologies to help students with disabilities.
Marty is Co-Founder and President of ObjectiveEd, based in the US. Prior to ObjectiveEd, Marty and his partners built several successful software companies, and spent over 20 years in an Education Technology venture. He has degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and Harvard Business School.
