This article unveils the Solve Education! inspiring journey of leveraging technology to improve education. Discover how they identified user needs and achieved a successful product fit!
Who is Janine Teo?
Janine Teo was born and raised in Singapore and earned a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from Nanyang Technological University. Over the years, she has founded and sold companies in the technology and FMCG sectors. With all these experiences, she has gained a strong sales, marketing, and revenue management background within the competitive hospitality industry. This journey took her across eight countries, supporting hotels in nearly 100 countries. Thus, her career blends entrepreneurial spirit with corporate expertise.
Her path into the education sector began when she realized the vast educational disparities faced by underserved populations. It broke her heart to see the wide educational gap between the poor and the rich. Soon, she recognized the potential of mobile technology and gamification to bridge that gap. Seeing the widespread availability of smartphones, even in underserved areas, she knew there was potential to create an impactful, scalable solution to improve literacy and numeracy skills.
This insight inspired her to use mobile technology and gamification to build a learning program that makes education accessible and exciting. Therefore, in 2015, with this vision in mind, she founded Solve Education!. Together, they quickly started making significant progress by delivering scalable educational solutions through innovative platforms like their AI chat-based “Ed the Learning Bot.”
This article dives into Janine and her team’s journey in finding product-market fit.
The Beginning of The Journey
What was the initial spark that inspired your startup idea? How did you know it had the potential to meet a market need?
The initial spark for Solve Education! came from noticing the lack of access to good education, especially in poorer areas. This gap in educational resources inspired me to address the issue of using technology to help these groups learn better. The widespread availability of smartphones, even in underserved areas, highlighted the potential of mobile technology and gamification to bridge the educational gap, making it clear that there was a significant market need for such a solution.
What market research techniques did you employ to analyze trends, competitors, and potential barriers to entry? How did this research influence your product strategy?
We conducted extensive market research by analyzing educational trends, studying competitors, and identifying potential barriers to entry. This research included direct interviews, surveys, and collaboration with local educational institutions. The insights gained from this research influenced our product strategy by highlighting the importance of mobile accessibility and the preference for gamified learning, which became central to our approach.
Listening to People’s Needs: Key of Product-Market Fit
How did you go about validating your idea with potential customers? What methods did you use to gather feedback and ensure a demand for your product?
To validate our idea, we initially talked to parents and kids in resource-limited communities to understand their needs. We collaborated with local schools and organizations to test the app, gathering direct feedback from the users. This approach helped us ensure there was a demand for our product and guided us in refining our solution to better meet user needs.
How did you secure your first set of customers or early adopters? What strategies were most effective in convincing them to try your product?
We secured our first set of customers by partnering with community groups and nonprofits, offering our product for free to support existing learning programs. Showcasing the benefits of our solution on social media and at events was also effective in convincing early adopters to try our product. Demonstrating clear improvements in learning outcomes helped build trust and attract more users.
Facing the Challenges in Doing Product-Market Fit
Can you share a story about a critical iteration or change you made to your product based on customer feedback? How did this iteration improve your product’s fit with the market?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we discovered through user feedback that people preferred learning on chat apps like WhatsApp. This insight led us to adapt our solution to a simple chat format, making it more accessible and popular among users. This critical iteration resulted in the development of Ed the Learning Bot, which has now delivered over 20 million lessons and reached more than 600,000 youth in over 45 countries, significantly improving our product’s fit with the market.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced on your journey to finding product-market fit, and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges was making our technology fit the diverse needs of our users. We overcame this by constantly collecting feedback and improving our product based on user input. Building trust was another significant hurdle, which we tackled by being open in our communication and showing clear improvements in learning outcomes. Keeping users engaged was also challenging, but we addressed this by studying user behavior and designing strategies to keep learners motivated.
Were there any unexpected discoveries or serendipitous moments during your journey to finding the product-market fit that significantly impacted your startup?
One unexpected discovery was the popularity of learning through chat apps like WhatsApp, which came to light during the pandemic. This serendipitous moment led to the development of Ed the Learning Bot, which significantly improved our product’s accessibility and engagement, helping us reach a broader audience and achieve a stronger product-market fit.
Empowering People Through Education
How has your vision for your startup evolved since you first began, especially after finding product-market fit? What future directions do you see for your product and company?
Our vision has evolved to focus on continuous improvement and adapting to changing user needs. We now aim to expand our reach and impact by exploring new technologies and platforms to make learning more accessible and engaging. Solve Education!’s future directions include further developing our AI capabilities and expanding our partnerships to reach more underserved communities globally.
What advice would you give to other startup founders who are in the process of seeking product-market fit? Are there any key lessons or strategies you would recommend?
For new founders, staying connected to your users and truly listening to their feedback is crucial. Being ready to adapt and improve based on their needs is essential. Building flexible teams that can quickly respond to changes is also important. Forming “full-stack” teams that include both technical experts and user growth roles can help avoid working in silos and foster better collaboration.
