Education Week - Navigating the Ed-Tech Marketplace - S20

TRENDS AND IDEAS
CEOs
Speak
Out
The leaders of three
ed-tech companies
talk about the
challenges of working
with K-12 schools and
how they expect to
see the marketplace
evolve in the future
JOHN J. "JACK" LYNCH JR. took the reins as ceo in November 2012 when Renaissance Learning-which makes
and markets star Assessments and the Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math curricula-was owned by Permira,
a London-based private-equity firm. Google Capital, an equity fund focused on growth companies, invested $40 million
in Renaissance this year.
Renaissance Learning, which started with a reading product developed by Judith and Terrance Paul in 1984, graduated
into the stratosphere of ed-tech companies this year. In March, the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.-based business was sold for
$1.1 billion to Hellman & Friedman llc, a San Francisco-based private-equity firm, at more than double its $455 million
sale price from only 2½ years ago.
In a telephone interview, Education Week Staff Writer Michele Molnar asked Mr. Lynch to talk about the ed-tech marketplace,
what it means for educators and students, and what he sees on the horizon for education.
How has the K-12 marketplace changed in
recent years?
Our customers are becoming more
data-fluent, using data for decisionmaking.
You can probably find it in
health care, too, where [doctors] are
beginning to use genomics to tailor
treatments. We're using what we call "learnalytics" to
help teachers tailor instructional strategies for students.
Companies like us endeavor to turn that fire hose of
data into real insights to help students move along a
learning path. We're very focused on that.
You talk about leveraging student data,
but lately there's been a firestorm of
concern about protecting it. How do you
reconcile these two forces?
Obviously, it's a fair concern. From our standpoint,
it's not an issue for our customers because they know
we ensure our data is hermetically sealed. No other
folks can use it other than educators; if they [educators]
choose, they can share [data] with students and
their parents.
It's a concern legislators are having and parents
are having. The thing is, we need to be careful. ... The
unintended consequence of taking data and locking
it down in a local school district would be pretty significant
and would impact our ability to help students
progress.
How do you think that "unintended consequence"
should be addressed?
The Software & Information Industry Association's
education division is very focused on ensuring that the
data-privacy concerns are fleshed out in greater detail
and that we also do not overreact to those concerns.
S20 | NAVIGATING THE ED-TECH MARKETPLACE
EDUCATION WEEK * June 11, 2014
> www.edweek.org/go/edtechmarket
They have a subcommittee within siia that's really
focused on data privacy.
How do you work with schools?
We have a sales organization of 150 people. It's probably
an area where we have an advantage. We have
very strong brands in the K-12 market, so we have
brand recognition, and our sales force spends a lot of
time building relationships in K-12. Half of our people
are on the phone talking to customers about products;
half of our people are in the field.
The largest school districts are more byzantine and
bureaucratic. You need folks who understand ... and
can work with them on a few processes to get through
a rather complex decisionmaking process.
What are your biggest challenges as a
company now?
Our biggest challenge, as we grow, is to continue to recruit
outstanding talent to accelerate the growth of the
company. I spend a disproportionate amount of my time
on people and talent. That's what's made us successful
getting to this stage.
What can educators expect to see from
Renaissance on the horizon?
We are working right now on the learning progression
for science. Right now, we're doing all the research
to create the sequencing of the skills. That will be the
next biggest content area we'll move into-star Science.
How
do you create new products?
We use an agile process. It's from the concept of the
lean startup. We essentially create a minimum viable
PAGE S22 >
Emile Wamsteker for Education Week

http://www.edweek.org/go/edtechmarket

Education Week - Navigating the Ed-Tech Marketplace

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