SI855- Entrepreneurship

TabletTeach: Opportunity Analysis

03/25/2020

Jack Russo, a product innovation consultant for a K-12 educational software firm, has
identified an opportunity in the digital learning space catering to K-8 students, and has decided
to start his own venture- TabletTeach to make the most of that opportunity. From his initial
research, customer discovery and jobs to be done (JTBD) analysis, he deduced that the digital
learning solution has to be student-centric, and that TabletTeach initially should be sold directly
to parents who wanted to provide their children with technology or career-readiness skills (such
as teamwork, communication, and independent/creative thinking), and to prepare their children
for the 2014–2015 CCSS-aligned national tests.
He has developed four product concepts: point applications for tablets, learning management
system for tablets, peer-based learning app; and after-school enrichment program.

Opportunity evaluation criteria

Fit with market criteria:

The criteria that I think are the most important to verify that the product concept solves a
valuable problem are: -
1. Alignment with market needs- First of all it is important to verify that the product is student-
centric and caters to the primary customer- the parents or secondary customer- the teachers.
2. Total Addressable Market (TAM)- It will be useful to do a bottom-up analysis and calculate
the TAM for each product concept to verify if it a problem worth solving with that product.
This will also help verify whether it is more valuable to cater to parents or to teachers.

Fit with company:

According to me, the criteria most important to ensure that TabletTeach beats competition and
is able to gain market share are: -
1. Time-to-market- Time is of the essence here as the new national assessments aligned to the
CCSS were scheduled for implementation in the 2014–2015 school year, so the product
must be executed in a year or so (its May 2013), so that the product has the first-mover
advantage and is set as the standard and subsequently able to capture a larger market.
2. Competition analysis- It is important to ensure that the product is well differentiated from
the existing competition. TabletTeach must not only provide features or services that the
competition does not currently possess but also enter a market that can be disrupted.

Fit with business:

The two criteria required to make sure TabletTeach makes money are: -

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 1. Lifetime Value (LTV) of the customer- The LTV-discounted profits from each new
customer, should be calculated for each product concept. Then assess which product
concept gives an LTV to CAC ratio of three or higher.
2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)- Calculate the CAC for each product concept for
comparison. That would not only give an idea about the sales and marketing cost required
for each product concepts but also the initial capital investment required for the projects.

Option evaluation table

Rank Product concept Pros Cons Primary driver(s)
- Caters to customer - Not very student- - Totally aligned with market
(parents) needs centric if not made fun needs of parents who want
- Execution able and engaging students to be prepared for the
1 Point application - Less time-to-market - Incumbents and CCSS aligned national tests
competition can scoop - Can execute efficiently
in easily (founder has capability) in the
short time frame
- Addresses customer - Iteration required for - Student-centric and aligned
needs product definition with market needs of parents
Peer-based
2 - Student-centric - Tight time to market - Novel. Difficult for
learning software
- First-mover advantage competition to enter, first-
mover
- Student-centric - Capital intensive, very - Very capital intensive to reach
- Addresses customer high CAC the market. Heavy investment
After-school needs - Well-established required in setting up the
3 enrichment competition service centers.
services solution - Founder does not have - Well-established Competition
the capability
(experience)
- Market ripe for - Not student-centric - Does not address most pressing
disruption - Does not cater to most customer pain points.
Learning - Addresses needs of pressing pain points of - Difficult to access most of the
4 management the teacher the parents (customer) market (public schools)
system (LMS) because of high barriers to
entry (bureaucratic purchasing
systems)

Product concept definition for the opportunity

TabletTeach: A peer-based learning software with CCSS aligned point applications. A

gamified digital platform where students work together to solve goal-based learning
challenges, called “quests”. The quests will be aligned to CCSS, predominantly the high-
opportunity “holes”, such as the lack of apps addressing Common Core math skills. Combining
the fun and engaging peer-based learning software with the point apps addresses the short-fall
of point apps not being student friendly. This combined software caters to the customer
(parents) needs of their children being ready for the CCSS aligned national tests, while
developing the children’s teamwork. This product is user (student) friendly, as they will have
fun while learning in groups, which is exactly what they want. Thus, this product has a good

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market fit. Russo, who has experience in this industry has the capabilities to make this product.
TabletTeach will be the first-mover when the product is launched before 2014, and it will be
too late for the incumbents to react, therefore TabletTeach will have a competitive advantage.
This product will require a lower capital investment and has the highest chance to make money.
Thus, this product nicely fits in the evaluation criteria discussed above.

Opportunity brief as a future press release

TechCrunch
TabletTeach disrupts digital learning
Rohtua Eman December 2015

Edtech startup TabletTeach, a peer-based learning company that begin its life with a suite of
Common Core State Standard (CCSS) curriculum-focused iPad games for kids, announced
today it has closed on $19 million in Series B funding. Jack Russo struck the iron when it was
hot, he launched TabletTeach in January 2014, seven months before students had to appear for
the new CCSS aligned national tests. There was a huge gap in the digital content for the new
curriculum and TabletTeach addressed that gap in a customer-centric fashion. Student had fun
learning in groups, and parents were satisfied that their children were prepared to appear for
the new tests. Such were the customer testimonies:
I was very anxious when the new curriculum-based exam was coming to effect in
2014 and my child was to appear that year for the 7th grade national test. Then one
day Steve comes to me saying that his friend Max is playing this learning application
TabletTeach, and I had seen their advertisement about teaching the new curriculum. I
downloaded the software and Steve passed the test with flying colors while enjoying
studying with friends! I thank TabletTeach for I have never seen Steve have so much
fun while studying.
- Steve’s mom, February 2015
TabletTeach now is a household name and trusted by all parents for their kid’s coursework.
The proprietary peer-based software is a clear hit and VCs have lined up to partner with
TabletTeach to scale, since the news broke that California state government is directing schools
to incorporate TabletTeach in the classes so as to improve the pedagogy. Jack Russo says “The
day is not far when print textbooks will be obsolete.”

Opportunity hypothesis

There is a dearth of content available for the new CCSS aligned national tests. Parents needs
their children to be prepared for the new national tests in addition to learning teamwork and
familiarizing with technology. These parents are ready to buy software that addresses their
needs.

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Customer Problem
Parents are not confident with the available resources and materials available with schools and
enrichment centers for the new exam. Parents want their children to me familiar with digital
technology and also learn teamwork. They are worried for their kids appearing for exam for
the first time as their going to a better school and class depends on getting good scores in the
competitive exam. Students get bored if the pedagogy is easy or mundane and don’t like to
study.

Proposed Solution Concept

The TabletTeach peer-based learning software is loaded with latest curriculum delivered in a
team based fun and engaging way. The users (students) will complete quests in teams. The
quests will be based on CCSS curriculum.

Hypotheses
§ H1: Parents are anxious about the new CCSS aligned national tests. Metrics include
percentage of parents and ranking of anxiety level.
§ H2: Parents do have a say in deciding what course materials are good enough for their kid’s
exam preparation.
§ H2: Parents prefer digital content over print content for their children for studies.
§ H3: Parents are willing to pay for additional course material in addition to all school
expenses for their children’s studies.

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