Each month as part of StartHub’s Startups to Watch Program we connect with the winning company to learn more about them. Recently we had the pleasure of chatting with Teddy Rice, President & Co-Founder of Ellevation, a Boston-based startup that helps teachers who work with kids trying to learn English. Here’s what we learned:
StartHub: Tell us about your company. What does Ellevation do?
Ellevation is a software company focused exclusively on the needs English Language Learners and the educators that serve them. We develop, market and support a web-based software platform that gives educators the tools they need to increase productivity, improve collaboration, and enhance instruction of their ELL students. Our Main Platform is especially focused on ESL/bilingual specialists and administrators; our newest products – InClass and Instructional Strategies – are focused on supporting classroom teachers as they work with ELLs to learn the language while simultaneously mastering the content of the classroom. Today we serve nearly 500 school districts across the US and continue to grow rapidly.
StartHub: What is your background?
Jordan Meranus and I started Ellevation about 5 years ago. Prior to starting Ellevation, I was a Director at a Venture Capital firm focused on supporting for-profit social enterprises, with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs working to make an impact in education. Jordan was doing something similar as a Partner at New Schools Venture Fund. Together, we saw an important opportunity to address the needs of a rapidly-growing group of underserved students, while also building a great SaaS business. In late 2011, with some financial support from early investors, we partnered with two people down in North Carolina that had created an MVP-version of the product that we eventually re-built and began selling across the U.S. We were really focused on solving the most important pain points of our customers so that they could better serve ELLs. We still are.
StartHub: How did you come up with the idea for Ellevation? Who is your target customer?
The idea was born from our experience as entrepreneurs and investors, but it was confirmed when we began serving our partner districts. I can still remember the time when I showed a district administrator in Georgia one of the reports we were able to generate for her team, and she gave me a huge hug and kiss – she was in disbelief that we understood what she needed. That’s a good feeling. It still happens all the time.
StartHub: How do you think Ellevation is going to disrupt the market? What are the main differentiators between you and your competitors?
For most of our existence, Ellevation hasn’t had any competitors at all, though that is starting to change. Truth is, 99% of the districts we call on have very antiquated databases and paper-based workflows to help them accomplish their work. Our “competition” is more often-than-not a “status quo” mentality that is intimidated by change; in the early days, it took a lot of persuasion to move some districts onto a new way of doing things. But we are rapidly educating the market about the value of our application and, once we on-board a new customer, they are very unlikely to leave. We are especially excited about the new products that we have recently introduced, which extend the power of Ellevation to the classroom, where we can have a more direct impact on student instruction. Ultimately, our goal is to help ELLs achieve their highest aspirations, and that can only happen when students can master both content and language. It is an inspiring challenge.
StartHub: Who are your main investors?
Our investors include the Emerson Collective, Zuckerberg Education Ventures, and the Omidyar Network – as well as a number of fabulous high-net-worth investors and institutions that have backgrounds as entrepreneurs and investors. The thing that they all have in common is a passion for making a difference for underserved children through education.
StartHub: Why did you decide to start your business in Boston? How long has your company been around?
Well, Jordan and I were both based here when we founded Ellevation, and it turns out that Boston is an outstanding place for technology companies. Not only is there software talent – and we have some of the best – but there are also a lot of socially-minded folks that care about education – investors and employees alike. So there is an ecosystem here that is supportive and unique. That said, we now have employees in the South, Texas, Upper Midwest and California, and there are upsides to some of those places as well. But Boston will always be home for Ellevation.
StartHub: What resources in the startup community have contributed to the success of Ellevation? (For example, co-working spaces, accelerators networking groups)
This is a hard question to answer. The community of Boston has been incredibly helpful and supportive. We were never part of an accelerator program, though we’ve been supportive of LearnLaunch, nor did we take advantage of some of the co-working space that is now available. But it is difficult to imagine how we could have brought together the early team, and the early investors, had we been based elsewhere. This is a magical city when it comes to tech innovation and social enterprise. I know that the Mayor is looking to re-energize our location in particular – Downtown Crossing – which will help us compete for talent.
StartHub: What are the next steps for Ellevation?
Ellevation will continue adding to its team as we both extend our impact to more districts and states, and deepen our impact on the existing partners we serve. To the latter point, we will use some of the proceeds from our recent financing to continue to build and deploy Instructional Strategies for the classroom.
StartHub: What is the most important thing our readers should know about Ellevation?
We are building a great business with a big heart. If you are looking to work for a company that makes a difference for a vulnerable population, then take a look at our career board. We are hiring great people for a range of different positions and our impact on students is only limited by the pace at which we can add to our team. Please reach out!
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