Welcome to Incubateme’s newsletter, written by Alice Zhang , edited by Lauren Fishbane
Follow us on social! Instagram: @joinincubateme, Twitter: @incubateme
Dear all,
In this issue we share an article from a16z on the latest trends in EdTech shaping the future of Education.
On February 4th, we will have a deep dive conversation with Jesse Clemmens on his journey from Facebook to starting an EdTech tool that enables anyone to create a multi-day, interactive course online. Join us & RSVP Here!
Lastly, we are excited by the outpouring of interests for featured profiles. We are working hard to develop more tools and resources to feature our community members first. If you are interested in being featured, please sign up for our community below!
Join us this Thursday on EdTech trends and tools!
RSVP here to join a dialogue with Jesse Clemmens on EdTech trends, and the journey of starting Clockwork, an interactive EdTech tool. See you on February 4th!
Six ways post-COVID EdTech will differ from the past
In the U.S. COVID has brought renewed urgency to the mission to make our education system more digital and accessible.
Today, a new wave of EdTech companies is taking cues from gaming, entertainment, and abroad to reinvent the experience of online education entirely. If the past was marked by massive onscreen lectures, the future of education technology will be consumer- and product-led: interactive, and engaging.
We believe post-COVID online education will differ from the past in below key ways:
Parents cut through red tape
Teachers will be free agents
MOOCs get a makeover
Math meets Minecraft
YouTube gets unbundled
a16z
Featured EdTech: Clockwork
Company Name: Clockwork
Description: Clockwork is a great place to publish and/or sell skills that take multi-day and more than one sitting to learn, such as home beer brewing or baking.
Founder(s): Jesse Clemmens
Created in: October 2020
⏰ Tell us in 1-2 paragraphs about yourself, your company, how you got it started and where it is now.
I am a Brooklyn, NY based entrepreneur. After attending a small liberal arts college, I joined an AdTech startup called Admeld. I started on an hourly basis and worked my way to managing a team. Admeld eventually was acquired by Google. But I missed the adventure of the startup world, and left Google within a year to join another AdTech startup, LiveRail. LiveRail was acquired by Facebook in 2014 and I worked at FB in a variety of roles until 2020 when I decided to get back to the startup life.
I started Clockwork in October of 2020 after leaving Facebook. We expect to launch our consumer app in the next few weeks.
⏰ Give us an example of a multi-day skillset that can be "published and make money off of" by Clockwork.
One great example is home beer brewing. One of our creators is publishing a program that makes the step-by-step process of making an IPA at home. By publishing into the Clockwork app, this home brewer adds additional "utility value" to his instructions. Utility might include various timers, step by step videos, links to purchase products used, and the ability to stay organized and on track by marking each step complete. Because each program on Clockwork is timeline dependent, the app keeps the user on track. For example, if you were supposed to move the home brew to a different temperature yesterday but didn't, you'd receive a notification reminding you of such.
⏰ Who are you looking to connect? What would you like to help them with?
I believe that almost every individual person has *at least* one unique skill. It could be the best way to build muscle, or the best way to train a dog. For skills that take more than a few hours over more than a few days, there aren’t great options for experts to publish and monetize those skills. I want to close this gap between experts with unique skills and consumers who want to learn those skills.
⏰ Any other lessons/advice you’d like to share with other fellow entrepreneurs?
Invest in yourself by ensuring you have a constant stream of information and ideas - then find the right balance between LEARNING and DOING. Taking action before you feel fully ready is really important; continuing to expose yourself to new ideas while taking action is equally important so you can adjust course as needed.
⏰ Any requests / asks from the micro-entrepreneur community?
Clockwork is accepting Beta creators. If you are interested in creating a program for the platform, or know someone who might be, I would love to talk to you.
Other Upcoming Events
🌟 Starting a newsletter based business - Polina Marinova - ex-Fortune editor; Founder of The Profile - RSVP!
🌟 Dos and don’ts when launching a consumer product - Alysha Malik- Co-Founder of Radiche, Product and Brand Strategist - RSVP!
🌟 Marketing & community building in health & fitness sector - Alexa Cawley - ex-Lululemon & ex-SoulCycle - RSVP!
Recap of A Dialogue with Dianna Cohen
☀️ Last week we had an amazing interview with the CEO and Founder of the luxury hair care brand Crown Affair. A highlight from the talk: you can disrupt an outdated market by leveraging changed consumer discovery and shopping behavior, and building a community with real relationships and rituals.
☀️ Mind answering questions below from Dianna? (Click on the Twitter links)
☀️ You can access the video recording of the talk HERE.
Exclusive Partnership Offering
We are partnering with the much acclaimed Copy.ai to help make your copywriting easier! Receive Incubateme exclusive 65% off coupon code, if you sign up for our Micro-entrepreneur Community!
You made it to the end
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