The edtech industry is growing fast. It’s already become a $16 billion golden egg that has lined many nests with money. Because it can be so lucrative, edtech attracts many entrepreneurs hoping to make it big.

Anyone who launches an edtech startup knows that coming up with an idea for a product or service can seem like the easy part. Starting an edtech company is just the beginning. You have to solve a problem, build a product, and grow your team.

Spend enough time on research

Think Renaissance man (or woman) when you begin your startup. You have to know a lot in many different disciplines, including technology, psychology, communication, and design. You’ll need the creativity of Leonardo da Vinci, the intuition of Elizabeth I, the genius of Isaac Newton, and the insatiable curiosity of Madame Curie. If you don’t have those characteristics, hire for them. These skills will come in handy when it comes to doing research.

Your edtech startup will take wing only if you’ve spent enough time researching everything you can about your MVP. Not only will you need a foundation in applicable theory, but also you’ll have to validate how closely your education technology results correlate with expectations.

And how long will that take? There’s no definitive, one-size-fits-all answer. For some edtech entrepreneurs, the research may take little time. Others will need a much longer runway before becoming airborne.

Network

Sometimes what you know takes a back seat to who you know. Edtech entrepreneurs join incubators and accelerators for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to meet and work with influential people. These influencers do more than innovate and guide.  They can help novice entrepreneurs make useful connections to angels, investors, and mentors.

When you are ready to launch your edtech product or service, get the word out by being visible and heard. Practice your elevator speech. Talk to local TV and radio personalities on air about your product. Broadcast yourself on Facebook or establish a video channel on Vimeo. If the broadcast is live, talk to your listeners. Follow up by commenting on posts.

Present, pilot and persevere

Having an edtech product and marketing an edtech market is not the same thing. You – or your team – have to get out there and sell your wares. That means presenting your edtech solution to as many audiences as possible.

You’ve got to ask for the opportunity to demo what you have. These demos may take place in person or via remote technology link teleconferencing.  Furthermore, these demos can take place at any time of the day, especially if you are trying to catch teachers during conference periods.

After each demo or presentation, ask for the opportunity to pilot your product, especially if you are not quite ready to scale up.

Finally, be ready to persevere. Many entrepreneurs faced setbacks in the early days of their work. Before Goggle was Google, it was called Backrub. The little company intent on organizing all of the information in the world began in a garage. Fortunately, Larry Page and Peter Brin persevered, and Google became the tech giant that it is today.