Why Education Startups fails?: We all are aware of the fact that how people are now attracted to Start-ups, especially during this pandemic many entrepreneurs have opted for online start-ups and one of the trending fields is Education.
Applications like Byjus, Vedantu, UnAcademy, and many more apps are in trend for the online extra classes of the students. Keeping this in mind many people think that if they will be starting an app related to education their app will also be able to take place in the market. But unfortunately, it’s not true. There are many apps in the market that have already gained places, not only places but also the trust of people. Whenever there are new apps in the market, it’s hard for people to trust them and that’s because of the increase in the rate of cybercrime. When we talk about the customer base in the online sector, it’s hard to create one because of a lack of trust of people and even a small mistake can shatter the trust of people.
But, trust is not the only factor on which the online especially the education sector works. There many other factors that are brought to limelight below.
In-sufficient Market Analysis:
Before starting any kind of business a proper market study must be done already. The market study is important because, through that study, we get to know about the requirements of those people for whom we are making the app or starting the business. It also helps us to find out our targeted audience. Though the business is open to every kind of audience, there is a certain kind of age group every company focuses on.
Lack of market study results in business failure whether it is online or physical. Here, we are talking about education start-ups, the study plays an important role. People who are thinking of starting any education apps or are already into this field must know that these education apps should focus on the good quality content and transparency between the tutors and children. Here the user doesn’t need much of a fancy app feature which will distract their mind, they just need good tutors who can take responsibility for their studies.
Difference between Users and Customers:
A lot of Ed-tech companies fail in the market because they have users but not enough customers because of whom they generate revenue. Many of us download the app (here we are talking about all kinds of apps) but how many of us buy the services they provide in the app. Maybe only 20%-30% of the total downloaders, which is not enough for a start-up company. The actual revenue which is generated is because of the customers we are making every day. Maybe the company has a decent number of users but not customers. The same applies to Children who use these apps can belong to various societies and households. Maybe one child can afford the services and others not.
Technology is Good, but not too much:
Every app which launched is made, keeping in view the technology which can help people to study easily and in a more effective way. For this many of the companies introduce new technologies in their apps to make it more appealing to the users. But sometimes these technologies are the reason for the failure of the company. Too much technology sometimes makes an app complicated to use. Though there are instructions on how to use an app but not every user is literate to such a level that they can understand each step. If we keep aside the fact of being literate, we can also say that even a literate can also get confused about how to use an app because maybe they don’t have tech-mind and are not interested in technologies muc
Too many features are also not Good:
Just like mentioned before, in Ed-tech business the developers should take care that for the education apps users don’t need fancy apps. They need apps with good quality of the content. Sometimes to make the application more appealing developers may add more features to attract the audience. Though it works at first as soon as people start using the app they may find the app too complicated to use. Why users download any kind of app? Just to get away with complexities they are facing with their work. If they’ll find more complexities in the app as compared to their work no user would like to use that app.
Need to have Patience:
Like any other business, the Ed-tech industry takes time to grow. The whole example is in front of our eyes. It was not too long ago when parents didn’t trust online platforms for their child’s education. They would prefer tutions over studying from an app. But now, due to the hard-hit of the pandemic parents have no choice but to use online platforms for their children. Think if there was no such thing as Coronavirus, everything would be normal. Students going to schools and tutions for their studies. The boom that the Ed-tech industry has got during this period is shocking. By this example, the thing that comes up as a fact is that the Ed-tech industry as compared to other industries takes time to grow. Many of the applications which are now in trend such as Byjus, Duolingo, Vedantu, and many more didn’t get much recognition in the starting years. The companies might see their growth only after 7-8 years of business. This time gap can be uninspiring to the owners as well as the investors who have invested their capital into the business. Each business runs on the returns of what they have invested. No business will be motivated if they are running in loss for this long and ultimately they give up on this business.
Personnel/User Training:
When companies launch new applications, before that they are so hyped to make the app stand out in the market, adding new features, and also taking surveys to know people’s demand that they sometimes overlook minor things in the process. For example this one. To make the application more advance the developers need to take care that their users are unaware of the new features you are adding. Even if some people know the features, the software companies need to assume that they don’t know and according to that have to take steps like providing with in-built user manuals so that users are aware of what they have to do in the application.
Above we discussed why Ed-tech companies face failure in the market and reasons why people give up in this business. But there are also ways to come out of that dark pit. Below we’ll highlight some of the ways to revive an Ed-tech business and if you are one of those who are going to start such business then you’ll need to consider these points.
Sufficient Market Study:
Above we discussed how lack of market study causes failure of a business. The market study should be the prime step of any business whether a start-up or established. Without market study, a business can never no what it has to focus on. With market study, business comes to know what age group can have more interest in their application, what kind of features they want, what kind of problems they face, etc.
Teachers and Institutions can be great Help:
As we all know how teachers have been an integral part of traditional teaching. Till now teachers are considered as God. Teachers know what their students want, how each of their students has a different learning pattern, and also the strength and weaknesses of every student. Companies who are thinking of starting their business in this field should think of collaborating with top teachers and institutes.
Modify your existing Business Model:
The developers who are in the middle of their start-up and are facing problems to grow their business should work on their business model. If the app they are working on, is available to the user is for free then they should be well worse with the facts that how free application earns money. They should opt for factors like Freemium, Subscription, Company Sales, etc.
There are many other factors like integrating the right technology in your application, upgrading your existing system, and many more. The entrepreneurs need to take each step carefully and after a thorough study. People need to be patient whether they are entering Ed-tech or any other business. Till today’s date, many start-up businesses have failed and have given up. But here we listed why their businesses might have failed and also some ways do get out of that dark dead end. So if among the readers you are the one who’s thinking to start a new Ed-tech business must consider these points.
