The Business of Education | S01E23 | Charles Thornburgh

Summary

Charles Thornburgh, CEO and founder of Kinjo, shares his journey in the education technology space and his passion for using technology to improve learning experiences. He discusses the challenges of product market fit in the education industry, where multiple stakeholders have different needs and expectations. Thornburgh emphasizes the importance of understanding and measuring the user experience at each level, from students to teachers to administrators. He also highlights the need to inspire motivation and intellectual curiosity in students through engaging and personalized learning experiences. In this conversation, Charles Thornburgh discusses the importance of finding alignment in the education space. He emphasizes the need to identify the problem being solved, the target audience, and the available resources. Thornburgh also highlights the significance of pricing and go-to-market strategies that align with the problem and the customer. He shares his experience with Civitas and how they pivoted to focus on the problem of student persistence. Thornburgh also discusses the challenges of pricing AI solutions in education and suggests focusing on the positive outcomes and reputational value. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of building a strong network and leveraging relationships in the education industry.

Takeaways

- Building education technology businesses requires serving multiple stakeholders with different needs and expectations.
- Product market fit in education technology involves understanding and measuring the user experience at each level, from students to teachers to administrators.
- Motivation and intellectual curiosity are key factors in student engagement and learning.
- Technology can be used to expand access to learning experiences and improve the efficacy of education.
- The gap between the engagement students experience outside the classroom and inside the classroom is growing, and addressing this gap is a challenge in education. Finding alignment is crucial in the education space, including identifying the problem being solved, the target audience, and the available resources.
- Pricing and go-to-market strategies should align with the problem and the customer, considering the financial implications and pain points.
- Focusing on positive outcomes and reputational value can help justify the pricing of AI solutions in education.
- Building a strong network and leveraging relationships is essential in the education industry, as it can lead to valuable connections and opportunities.

Sound Bites

"I'm a career education technology entrepreneur."
"Motivation is kind of the last frontier when it comes to learning and education."
"When they're making their own choices, when they're driving the bus, how do we make them choose things that are better for them?"
"The most important thing is to find alignment."
"What is the problem that you're solving? Who are you solving it for? Where are the resources coming from?"
"There's a moment now where the way that schools have thought about what software is worth to them is changing."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:09 Overview of Kinjo

09:20 The Importance of Motivation in Learning

25:14 Challenges of Serving Multiple Stakeholders

29:41 Pricing and Go-to-Market Strategies for Education Solutions

37:25 The Importance of Positive Outcomes and Reputational Value

50:46 Building a Strong Network in the Education Industry

About Charles

Charles Thornburgh has spent 25 years building education businesses that use technology and data to improve student success. He began his career creating K12 study skills software, and has since built online public and private K12 schools, run university academics, and most recently founded Civitas Learning, which uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve graduation rates across Higher Ed. Inspired by his own young sons, Charles is now working on using cognitive and behavioural science to help families unleash the learning power of the world's most engaging digital experiences.

Connect with Charles

LinkedIn: [@charlesthornburgh]
X: [@Charles_edu]

Company Website: kinjo.com