Innovamat, building a transformational company
As venture capitalists we are incredibly fortunate to work with amazing founders, we have the privilege to help them fulfill their vision and work alongside them to scale their companies. Every investment is an opportunity to build a lasting company, one that can change how things get done, how industries grow and become more efficient. Each company is set to solve a specific pain and our goal is to find the best teams to solve the toughest problems. This is the beauty of our job and yet it is incredibly hard since gems are tough to find and unique leaders and visionaries are even harder to come by.
We do not take our job lightly. Every investment we make is at the expense of saying no to other teams since our resources are finite. The key to venture success is to hope to find the gem and have those teams let us join them in their journey.
We have often discussed internally the concept of transformational companies. What do we mean by that? These are often companies that shape industries, companies that tackle very complex problems in a very different way. Some examples of transformational companies could be IBM, Apple, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks or Spotify. Each one of them very unique in their own way, each tackling their industry problems in a way that was truly disruptive.
When we analyzed Innovamat we asked ourselves the question. Could we be facing a transformational company? Was the transformation they were building truly unique in shaping an industry and tackling a well-defined pain?
Let us walk you through why we believe Innovamat can be a transformational company and why we are incredibly excited about working with this team.
Despite the many tech advancements in the past decades, the reality of how poorly kids perform in maths is hitting us in the face. This is truly counterintuitive. We can compute faster, AI is eating the world and yet a majority of teenagers today cannot solve basic math problems. Even more worrisome, many feel anxiety and fear towards maths. Should we care? The question is rather rethorical. Maths is at the core of building inquisitive minds, of fostering innovation around technology, of finding answers to our world’s biggest challenges. A society where most citizens have not developed basic math skills will be a more vulnerable society. And yet, the fundamental question is, why are we not as a society totally focused on reversing this?
A couple of hypothesis:
a) teaching methods have largely stayed unchanged. We can’t expect to do the same and expect different results. Changing needs to be directed to the core of the curriculum. This is not about supplemental maths or software for an extracurricular module. The reality is that companies that tackle the curriculum face an incredibly hard problem (building credibility within the pedagogical community, getting teachers buy-in, convincing districts, administrators, parents). Implementing transformation at the core is just simply, very hard. Tackling the hard problems takes time, results can also take time, funding can be much tougher to come by, not one for the faint-hearted
b) building a unique differentiated product needs to have a very strong pedagogical and scientific base. This is incredibly hard to do. We need to tackle learning in a way that works, that combines discovery with real life context, that allows for discussion, for collaboration, for finding ways to entice the more inquisitive students and make it intuitive to the ones that need more time. This needs to be useful and engaging to the teacher community as well so they can be equipped to shine. Getting the product right is only part of the answer. Combining this talent with founders who can live and breathe the product and bring it to such a demanding market is like finding a needle in a haystack. And on top of it all, schools need to take the leap of faith and completely change their core curriculum in the absence of validation. Who will take the plunge? Again, very hard when it comes to children’s education
Could the team at Innovamat have found the answer? Could they have put together the pieces to fundamentally change how maths is taught and create the right content that can have teachers on board and schools willing to try it and implement it across the K-12 curriculum?
We are confident they have and hence we could be facing a truly transformational company.
- The team has worked to bring change to the core, working with pedagogical experts Laura Morera and Cecilia Calvo, they have completely redesigned how children learn. Understanding, experimenting, collaborating, trying different options, getting kids to “getting it” vs. memorizing concepts without meaning. The team is obsessed by helping kids solve real problems through maths. Making kids see how maths is truly relevant, this can unlock their interest in a very powerful way
- Students but also teachers are at the core. Most teachers have a passion for their subject and they are often frustrated when students get lost and ultimately disengage. Having the right sequential process in the lessons with timed learning sessions where students can explore, collaborate and understand with real life examples provide the tools for teachers to be more effective. Students learn in a different way, find meaning in learning and learn to ask the questions they need until they understand the answer
- Passionate founders, Andreu Dotti, Isaac Sayol, Alex Espinet and the rest of the team are on a relentless mission to change how maths is understood and taught. They understand how cracking this will empower kids to grow, explore and be fearless
- Innovamat was incredibly successful initially in Catalonia, their home region and benefitted from a public school system willing to embrace change. Innovamat had achieved €7M ARR with only €600k in funding when we analyzed the investment opportunity. Every SaaS metric we looked at was off the charts
- The team is incredibly data driven and this focus on data is a mantra that drives sales efforts and execution. Data dictates how decisions are made with a clear focus on how to best generate engagement at each individual session level
- Maths is universal and the team has a vision to bring Innovamat across the globe. It is currently present in Spain, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brasil and the US
- The team is focused on having the best product possible but also proving that it will ultimately make students better mathematicians. Recently the first research has been published showing how kids who have gone through the Innovamat system perform better in standardized tests
- Gaining literacy in maths is a growing concern and OECD data shows how countries need to take measures. Improving maths skills is becoming a central point in the political agenda in countries such as the UK or the US. There is a growing sense of urgency. The time is now
- Significantly improving STEM skills within the core curriculum has a tremendous social impact, which continues to be a theme we actively seek out in investments and founders
Innovamat is confident it has built a unique platform to bring maths to life in the classroom under a new methodology, focused on understanding and finding meaning, which will change the stigma and the fear around the subject. Teachers are empowered by running effective sessions with clear learning targets and room to generate discussion and experimentation, all in very thought through sessions where teachers have all the tools they need.
Having a generation of children developing a different relationship with maths can only lead to incredible outcomes, to unique transformation. Can’t wait to see what this transformational company will achieve in the years to come.
