EdTech Founder Stories: Building Products for Education’s Big Challenges

Becoming an EdTech founder and building software for the education market has unique challenges and rewards. It requires navigating complex stakeholders and user needs, political realities, long sales cycles, and deeply mission-driven users across K-12 and higher education. But it’s also about having a rewarding chance to create products that can change career trajectories and drive life choices for countless students.

In this candid panel discussion, we’ll hear directly from some of the most successful Philly-based EdTech founders who have built products in the education ecosystem and lived to tell the story. Dave Becker of CampusESP, Jeremy Rogoff of KickUp, and Shaunak Roy of Yellowdig will share their origin stories, lessons learned, and practical insights into building, validating, and scaling products for education markets.

Moderated by Joshua Aversa, this conversation will pull back the curtain on what’s uniquely hard—and uniquely rewarding—about building in EdTech, whether you’re a founder, PM, or considering a move into the space.

This is a special collaboration meetup between ProductTank Philadelphia, the largest Product Management Professionals in the city and the Philly EdTech Meetup group, Philly’s largest group of Higher Ed, K-12, Workforce Development members who are passionate about the intersection of education and technology.

What to expect: 🎓 Founder Origin Stories – What problems inspired them, how they validated demand, and why they chose EdTech. 🏛 Market Realities of EdTech – Sales cycles, procurement, funding dynamics, seasonality, and political pressures. 🛠 Building Product in Education – Getting feedback from a wide user base - students, teachers, admins, and parents; balancing compliance, safety, and accessibility. 🚀 Early-Stage Lessons – First hires, scrappy MVPs, fundraising realities, and go-to-market experiments. 🧭 Career Pathways into EdTech – Advice for PMs and operators entering mission-driven education organizations.

Whether you’re working in EdTech today, thinking about making the leap, or simply curious about what it really takes to build products in education, this panel will offer honest stories, practical takeaways, and plenty of perspective. Agenda: 6:00 PM – Check-in & Networking 6:30–7:30 PM – Panel Discussion 7:30–8:00 PM – More Networking

Location: CampusESP Headquarters 30 S 15th St, Philadelphia PA 19102 In the Graham Building right off of 15th and Ranstead Streets and opposite the La Colombe and on the 14th floor.

Notes:

• RSVP (even if it’s initially a maybe) as we need to provide a list of names to building security in advance for faster access.
• Last-minute attendees can be accommodated, but arriving early is recommended to allow time for building security and elevator access
• Bring an photo ID to show the building security.
• Light refreshments may be provided