From EdTech Pioneer to Strategic Coach

Since founding one of the first university collaboration platforms in the late 90s, I've been passionate about how technology can transform education. Today, I help EdTech founders navigate the journey from vision to impact.

My EdTech Journey

Building EdTech Before It Had a Name

In the late 1990s, long before "EdTech" became a recognised sector, I founded Eurotopia—a pioneering platform designed to connect university students across institutions for collaboration and knowledge sharing. This early social learning network enabled students to build communities, share resources, and collaborate on projects in ways that traditional educational structures couldn't support.

Raising $1M in seed funding for Eurotopia taught me firsthand the unique challenges of EdTech entrepreneurship: balancing educational impact with business sustainability, navigating complex institutional stakeholders, and scaling solutions that must adapt to diverse learning cultures and environments.

While the technology landscape has evolved dramatically since then, the core challenge remains the same: how do we leverage technology to create meaningful educational transformation while building viable, sustainable businesses?

From Founder to Coach

This founding experience, combined with 25+ years of subsequent business transformation work, positions me uniquely to understand both sides of the EdTech equation. I've walked the path that today's EdTech founders are navigating—from initial vision through funding challenges to scaling across diverse markets.

Now, as a strategic coach, I help EdTech founders accelerate their journey by applying the insights I've gained not just from business success, but from the inevitable challenges, pivots, and breakthroughs that define the entrepreneurial path

Why EdTech Deserves Dedicated Focus

Education technology isn't just another industry vertical—it's the foundation that enables innovation across every other sector. Through my experience founding an early EdTech platform and later coaching startups across diverse industries, I've come to understand that educational technology holds unique power to create exponential impact.

Unlike other technology sectors that solve specific problems, EdTech creates problem-solvers. It doesn't just build better tools; it builds better minds capable of tackling humanity's greatest challenges. This multiplier effect makes EdTech uniquely deserving of specialized focus and dedicated expertise.

My EdTech Philosophy

My coaching philosophy centers on a fundamental belief: the best EdTech solutions emerge when founders are empowered to discover their own breakthrough insights rather than being given prescribed answers. This mirrors the very essence of great education—it's not about transferring information, but about igniting curiosity and enabling discovery.

Empowerment Over Instruction

Just as effective educational technology should empower learners to think critically and solve problems independently, effective EdTech coaching should empower founders to develop their own strategic insights and solutions. My role isn't to provide ready-made answers, but to ask the strategic questions that unlock each founder's unique vision and capabilities.

This coaching approach aligns perfectly with the transformational learning experiences that great EdTech products themselves should create—both foster independence, critical thinking, and the confidence to tackle complex challenges.

My EdTech Coaching Framework

CLARITY

Through strategic questioning, I help EdTech founders gain crystal-clear understanding of their target learners' needs, market dynamics, and unique value proposition. This isn't about me providing answers—it's about empowering founders to discover insights they can own and act upon.

DECISIONS

With enhanced clarity, founders can make confident strategic decisions about product development, market positioning, and scaling strategies. My role is to support their decision-making process, not make decisions for them.

RESULTS

Empowered with clarity and confident in their decisions, EdTech founders achieve breakthrough results that create lasting educational impact while building sustainable businesses.

This framework has proven effective across diverse cultural and educational contexts, from teams developing agricultural education solutions in Malawi to innovative learning platforms in Southeast Asia.

  • My EdTech journey began in the late 90s as CEO of Eurotopia, where I built one of the early university student collaboration platforms. This community-building technology enabled students to connect, share knowledge, and collaborate across educational institutions - essentially creating an early social learning network. Successfully raising $1M in seed funding for this educational technology venture gave me firsthand insight into the unique challenges of scaling solutions that must balance educational impact with sustainable business models.

  • Currently coaching international startup teams at PIM Purpose in Motion across multiple technology sectors, including EdTech solutions addressing global educational challenges. My coaching approach emphasizes strategic questioning and founder empowerment, helping teams discover breakthrough insights rather than providing prescribed solutions.

  • Having guided teams through online and offline setups, the extended timeline required for meaningful EdTech development. My experience spans diverse cultural and educational contexts, from emerging markets to established educational systems, providing deep insight into how educational technology must adapt to different learning environments and stakeholder needs.

EdTech Experience & Results

Are you an EdTech founder navigating similar tensions - between innovation and humility, scale and relevance ? You can book a short 15-minute call to explore what you’re working on.

Thinking Space (15 min) - A short conversation for founders thinking deeply about what they’re building - and why. Whether you’re facing a challenge, refining your direction, or just want a thought partner, this is your space to pause, reflect, and explore. Come curious.

EDTECH THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Featured Insights: Transforming Education Through Technology

I've recently published three comprehensive analyses exploring how EdTech can address our most pressing educational challenges:

These insights inform my coaching approach, helping EdTech founders understand not just how to build solutions, but how to address the deeper systemic challenges that make their work essential.