Meet Sohum Bhatt, District and Customer Success Manager
For a long time, Sohum knew he wanted to go into education, but “I wasn’t brave enough to admit to myself that’s what I wanted to do,” he says.
Instead, Sohum decided to pursue engineering in college since that is what he thought was his interest and career goal. While studying Material Science and Engineering in college, Sohum got an internship at an engineering company but didn’t love it. He then opened himself up to jobs in other areas, and after graduating from college, he got a job as a client service manager at a healthcare SaaS company. It was here that he realized the pull towards education was strong and persistent.
Sohum decided to change careers and joined Teach for America. He became a high school chemistry teacher and taught for seven years before joining Goalbook. In this Q&A, Sohum provides insight into what he was looking for in — and what he’s learned since — his transition from teaching into EdTech.
1. What inspired you to go into education?
I had strong educators in high school who really supported me and helped me feel comfortable with who I was. Plus, the idea of being in a school environment where you teach during the day and maybe coach after school sounded fun.
Also, in high school and in college, I had some tutoring gigs, which I found engaging and challenging because I had to communicate complex subject matters to others. I was willing to engage with this productive struggle because it was rewarding.
Two years after graduating from college, I thought if there were ever a time to take a huge risk and try something new, it would be then. So I decided to change careers, and the rest is history.
2. How did you determine what role in the private sector would be best for you? Why did you think you would like that role and think you’d be good at it?
I stumbled upon a blog from a former teacher who had transitioned out of the classroom. In one of the posts, she wrote about the differences between customer success and customer support, and also explained the different types of customer success roles you’d see out in the field. When I read that, I realized that customer success in EdTech was similar to what I had done in my client services job, but in an industry I cared more about. The job responsibilities in a customer success role weren’t unfamiliar, and I saw this role as a way to get into EdTech.
I also did some networking with folks who had previously taught and were now in the private sector. I made a spreadsheet that I used to help me network. I included the following information:
- Who I talked to and when
- Their current role
- Information about their career path after teaching
- How they found the company they were at
- What roles they thought existed in EdTech
- What they found exciting and challenging about working in EdTech
“To me, teaching is about leaning into the humanizing aspect of the work: building relationships and encouraging students to work with one another…”
3. What attracted you to Goalbook’s mission?
I was really drawn to the “empower educators” phrase of our mission. I was certain I didn’t want to work for an EdTech company that replaced the art and experience of teaching or gamified learning. I wanted to work for a company that enabled teachers to better support students.
To me, teaching is about leaning into the humanizing aspect of the work: building relationships and encouraging students to work with one another, so when students sit in front of a computer screen and work their way through some gamification of a curriculum, it feels dehumanizing to me. I knew there had to be a sweet spot in EdTech of empowering teachers with the tools they need while still allowing them to maintain human connections with students.
The more I learned about Goalbook, the more I saw that it is in that sweet spot of empowering teachers and supporting students. Our product, Goalbook Toolkit, doesn’t replace teachers, and it’s not a curriculum that students play on a computer. It’s a resource that can be very, very useful to special education teachers.
“There is an intentionality in Goalbook’s job descriptions that maps the roles and responsibilities that teachers can have and how those translate to a customer success position.”
4. What did you notice about customer success roles during your job search and after you started at Goalbook?
A lot of times, companies require prior experience in customer success, and that can feel discouraging because, as a teacher, there’s no opportunity to have prior experience in a role outside of teaching.
Goalbook didn’t require that. There is an intentionality in Goalbook’s job descriptions that maps the roles and responsibilities that teachers can have and how those translate to a customer success position.
Goalbook does a phenomenal job of bridging the gap between teaching and customer success. I cannot speak highly enough of how my manager, in particular, has been such a guide when it comes to this transition. My manager helps me think about how my teaching experience in the public sector translates to a customer success role in the private sector. She has also been tremendous at supporting me personally in my transition to becoming a parent as well. I feel cared for professionally but also personally.
5. In your current role, how do you measure your impact on the education system? How do you know that your work is contributing?
I struggled for some time with whether it’s possible to have an impact on education without being in the classroom. But then it dawned on me one day when I was talking to my dad after I had delivered a training. He asked me how many teachers were at the training, and I told him around 50. He then asked me how many students each of those teachers had. I quickly did the math and realized that’s a lot of students! I began to reframe my impact that way.
6. What are one or two things you love here?
I’ve always wanted to learn more about the overall education system. I’m getting more acquainted with that through the work I do with different school districts, talking to teachers in different states, and hearing what is going on across the nation. A lot of the challenges are the same, but seeing how different schools and districts think about problem solving these challenges is a special first hand experience.
I love that so many colleagues have been teachers. There is a persona that comes with being a teacher, and there are references and experiences we’ve all had. We can lean into that for community building but also to inform how our tool gets made.
“Being able to go onsite to the school buildings I taught in and have colleagues that I used to work with in the audience has been a really powerful experience for me. It didn’t feel so much like a PD, but more like a homecoming.”
7. What’s your favorite memory during your time at Goalbook?
Doing a PD for the district I taught in. I taught in the same district for seven years, and I now support them as a customer success manager. Being able to go onsite to the school buildings I taught in and have colleagues that I used to work with in the audience has been a really powerful experience for me. It didn’t feel so much like a PD, but more like a homecoming.
I was able to share experiences about when I was teaching at a particular school in the district, and people in the audience nodded their heads because there was a relatability there. I was speaking to a shared experience we have which creates a special connection.
To now be in a position to support the teachers there and help them do their jobs is very special to me because they are phenomenal folks, and knowing I’m a small part of their teaching practice is huge.
8. What are you watching/reading/listening to right now?
I’m reading Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (a recommendation from my manager).
I’m watching The Bear on Hulu.
I’m listening to the podcast The Old Man and the Three. It’s a basketball podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter.
9. Early bird or night owl?
My preference is to be a night owl, but since becoming a parent, I am forced to be an early bird.
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