Category Archives: Rita Ferrandino

Investing in Workforce EdTech: Staying Ahead of the Curve

As the very nature of work evolves rapidly, so does the nature of workforce training and education. Companies and students are demanding change, colleges are adapting, and investors are making workforce edtech a top priority–but are you considering how you can take advantage of this opportunity?  Technology is playing a highly disruptive role, both by […]

Is Your Education Company Ready?

Though the new year has just been begun, there are less than a hundred selling days until schools and universities end the academic year. Is your company optimized to take advantage of the school selling cycle? In these crucial, limited selling days, your entire organization must be aligned with your sales team to help bring […]

7 Summer To-Dos to Increase Next School Year’s Sales

School is wrapping up across the country, but for education companies, summer is no time to kick back and relax. With next year’s sales revenue riding on the ability to prep during the summer, the first step to success is understanding the selling cycle: As the sales cycle shows, being fully prepared at the start […]

Preparing to Win

Coach Vince Lombardi said it best, “The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win.”   Most EdTech start-ups have the will to win. They usually have mission-driven teams who have identified problems and built solutions to transform education. They are often dedicated, skilled professionals committed to a […]

Angel Investors Outperform Venture Capital

Harvard and MIT Research: Angel Investors Outperform Venture Capital Reading List Leading alternative asset researchers Josh Lerner (Harvard) and Antoinette Schoar (MIT) have published a report analyzing how the Angel Investor asset class in the U.S. compares to the VC asset class. During the period of the study, the angel group outperformed the VC group […]

Five Steps to Take Now to Build a Strategic Plan in a Changing Political Environment

As the dust continues to settle from the historic 2016 Presidential election, it’s time to assess what you should do to prepare your company for the shifting political environment. Though uncertainty abounds about what direction the new administration will take in the education arena, there is no doubt that changes are coming. And while the […]

The Pitfalls of Too Much Capital

Too much capital may seem like a problem every company would like to have, but there can be drawbacks associated with a high level of capital. If your company only has a few hundred thousand in the bank, odds are that your company and leadership will be intensely focused on revenue. But if you raise […]

Could Field Sales Work for You?

For educational companies aiming for the best possible valuation, it is critical to demonstrate a sustainable income stream that is scalable, defensible and predictable. In fact, we see about a 30 to 50% premium on the valuation of companies that can sell in this way. How does a company show a scalable, defensible and predictable […]

Making the Most of Your Sales & Marketing Dollar

Arc is often asked our recommendations for best utilizing a limited marketing budget. When you have a limited sales and marketing budget (in the $4k range), it is critical to make sure you thoroughly understand your company’s goals and how to direct that money to meet your goals.  With that said, here are a few […]