Amir Nathoo - CEO of Outschool

07/11/19 • 46 min

On this episode of The EdTech Startup Show, I talk to Amir Nathoo (@amirnathoo), CEO & co-founder of Outschool.

Amir leads growth, trust and safety at Outschool. He previously worked at Square founding the Square Payroll product. Before that he was CEO and co-founder of Trigger.io, having started his career at IBM. Amir holds an MEng from Cambridge.

Outschool is a marketplace of live online classes for kids. The company's mission is to inspire kids to love learning. They provide small group classes that meet over live video chat where learners are connected with teachers and classmates who share their interests. These classes are offered through Outschool's marketplace and conducted on their remote learning platform.

Amir encourages interested teachers to explore the flexibility, autonomy, and income-earning opportunities available to teachers on Outschool.

Highlights from the episode

The class Amir would like to teach on Outschool
How playing computer games for hours led to Amir's career in technology
In the very early days, Amir taught an Outschool class on startups and business. He tells this story
The incredible power of learning from teachers who love their subject area
"Math art"?? - This is just one example of a unique and inspirational class available on Outschool
The relationship between inspired students, passionate teachers, and supportive parents
How a retired economics professor helped guide a young Amir on his journey to become a programmer
San Francisco, 2015: the story of Amir, Mikhail, & Nick coming together to start Outschool
HS physics teacher --> first engineer at Airbnb --> product manager at Clever --> founder of Outschool: Amir explains the journey of his co-founder Nick Grandy
Version 1.0 of Outschool was in-person classes: Amir explains
The critical difference between live online video and other online education modalities
An inspiring story of how Megan Hardy became (the world's first?) full-time teacher of Dungeons & Dragons classes
Another incredible story: Kirsten Bowman, a UN human rights lawyer, who teaches social studies classes to young learners on Outschool
Pet Reptile Social Hour. You'll just have to listen to learn more.
Why Amir wonders if his son might want to pursue e-sports instead of programming when 20 years from now
The inherent tension between core, standardized knowledge bases with career and interest-specific skills
The new role of coding and technological literacy as a core subject for all learners
Amir and I will need to talk again in 5-10 years to evaluate the predictions made during our conversation
A teacher for every learner's interest: Amir's vision for the future of Outschool
Amir's invitation to teachers who are waiting to teach the subjects they've always wanted to teach
Objective, secular, age-appropriate: the fair and open content guidelines for classes on Outschool

If you liked this episode, then leave a review on iTunes, and share it with a friend.

Thanks for listening!

Gerard Dawson

On this episode of The EdTech Startup Show, I talk to Amir Nathoo (@amirnathoo), CEO & co-founder of Outschool.

Amir encourages interested teachers to explore the flexibility, autonomy, and income-earning opportunities available to teachers on Outschool.

Highlights from the episode

The class Amir would like to teach on Outschool
How playing computer games for hours led to Amir's career in technology
In the very early days, Amir taught an Outschool class on startups and business. He tells this story
The incredible power of learning from teachers who love their subject area
"Math art"?? - This is just one example of a unique and inspirational class available on Outschool
The relationship between inspired students, passionate teachers, and supportive parents
How a retired economics professor helped guide a young Amir on his journey to become a programmer
San Francisco, 2015: the story of Amir, Mikhail, & Nick coming together to start Outschool
HS physics teacher --> first engineer at Airbnb --> product manager at Clever --> founder of Outschool: Amir explains the journey of his co-founder Nick Grandy
Version 1.0 of Outschool was in-person classes: Amir explains
The critical difference between live online video and other online education modalities
An inspiring story of how Megan Hardy became (the world's first?) full-time teacher of Dungeons & Dragons classes
Another incredible story: Kirsten Bowman, a UN human rights lawyer, who teaches social studies classes to young learners on Outschool
Pet Reptile Social Hour. You'll just have to listen to learn more.
Why Amir wonders if his son might want to pursue e-sports instead of programming when 20 years from now
The inherent tension between core, standardized knowledge bases with career and interest-specific skills
The new role of coding and technological literacy as a core subject for all learners
Amir and I will need to talk again in 5-10 years to evaluate the predictions made during our conversation
A teacher for every learner's interest: Amir's vision for the future of Outschool
Amir's invitation to teachers who are waiting to teach the subjects they've always wanted to teach
Objective, secular, age-appropriate: the fair and open content guidelines for classes on Outschool

If you liked this episode, then leave a review on iTunes, and share it with a friend.

Thanks for listening!

Gerard Dawson

Previous Episode

PR for EdTech with Jacob Hanson of PR With Panache

When it comes to PR for EdTech, this episode is a masterclass. My guest is Jacob Hanson, CEO of PR with Panache. Background on Jacob:

A graduate of Fort Lewis College, Jacob graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Language. Spending subsequent years of his career dedicated to sales growth, marketing, and brand awareness, Jacob brings to PR with Panache! a fierce passion for education and extensive experience in moving high-quality companies and their brands to the forefront of the education marketplace.

A skilled communicator with a zest for life, he has the wherewithal to see the big picture, connecting the dots between sales, marketing, and public relations to create dynamic communication and integrated marketing plans to effectively tell your story. Jacob serves on the Board of Directors for a MN-based STEM non-profit, High Tech Kids, whose mission is to deliver fun, hands-on science, engineering, and technology programs and events that inspire Minnesota kids in their formative years.

A native of Minnesota with a strong affinity for the Rocky Mountains, Jacob enjoys spending time with his two wonderful children, Sawyer and Bexley, making fresh tracks and hiking with his hound dog, Dan.

From the PR with Panache website: "PR with Panache! develops and shares stories that captivate the K-12 education market and influence high-level conversations in the media. Our team includes expert journalists, editors, administrators, and former educators who have one thing in common: We are all storytellers at heart. We craft customized campaigns that stay true to your vision while leveraging the dynamic voice of your customers and establishing you as a thought leader in education. Together we craft stories that inspire decision-makers in K-12 education not just to take notice but to act. As your storytelling team, we earn you the attention and acclaim of your audience. And we do it all with passion and energy that’s unparalleled in the education industry."

Highlights from the show

The history of Jacob's agency, PR with Panache, and how his mother started the company
How Jacob went from a Spanish major to CEO of his company
Why Jacob turned down a job at a startup in order to join his family business
The origin story of the mother-son tag team at Jacob's company
A complete description of PR with Panache, a boutique agency doing PR for EdTech and PreK-12 education companies
An overview of the type of campaigns - both inbound marketing and brand awareness - Jacob runs for his clients
What's it like to work in a family business? Jacob explains at 7:00
Insights and tips on running a 100% virtual team
The different business relationship Jacob had with his mother and father
"Sorry to say this, but there is no silver bullet in education" - Jacob explains why there are no short cuts when doing PR for EdTech at 12:30
The first step in crafting your message as an EdTech startup
"It's not about your product, it's about the educators"
Jacob breaks down why education is a relationship-based industry (advice especially relevant for newer companies)
It's not "sell and tell," it's "earn." Jacob explains this marketing and sales strategy.
There's no breaking news in education - Jacob explains how education entrepreneurs should work with this
Why EdTech startups need to plan five-years ahead (17:15)
Jacob gives a step-by-step breakdown of how EdTech startups can do their own PR
The "Too big too soon" problem EdTech startups fall into (and the power of local media)
2 specific tips on pitching to media outlets at 23:00
The incredible story of an 8-year-old who could never speak who comes home and says, "Hey Mom." (PR With Panache's work with RoboKind)
Why focusing on impact and results is the secret to great storytelling for startups
"The Common Core Aligned Effect" - the danger of slapping buzzwords on your education tool or product
Jacob's advice on how EdTech startups can maximize the return on investment on attending live events (30:00)
"We below $150,000 at conferences last year and have nothing to show for it" - Jacob's post-mortem on a founder who says something like this to him
How to deal with tougher school SPAM filters and engaging in permission marketing
The importance of educator voices in for PR for EdTech (and why context is the most important thing here)
Jacob's current take on purchasing in schools and districts
The 3 types of principals and how you can use this to your advantage

Links for this episode:

Sue Hanson, founder o...

Next Episode

Natalie Mactier - CEO of Vivi

This episode is brought to you byThe EdTech Shop.

Today's guest is Natalie Mactier, CEO of Vivi.

Natalie has a demonstrated history of building start-ups, an in-depth knowledge of the education industry and over 16 years’ experience in sales and marketing.

Natalie spent the first decade of her professional life in sales before taking on the role of SEEK’s inaugural Marketing Manager in 2003. After 6 years building the SEEK brand, she left to join SEEK’s original CMO at her new start-up; Kidspot. Natalie helped scale Kidspot into the leading parenting website in Australia and was part of the Executive Team who took the business to market to be acquired by News Corporation. Natalie became Kidpot’s CEO following the acquisition. In 2014 Natalie was approached by a Founder and investment team to build an innovative online platform for private school vacancies, which led to the launch of School Places. As CEO of School Places, Natalie oversaw two funding rounds and offshore expansion. In September 2018 she became Vivi’s inaugural CEO.

Learn more about Vivi at https://www.vivi.io/.