Comment by templaedhel | Hacker News Reader

Comment by templaedhel | Hacker News Reader

Last Spring, Clever was pitching me for a job (which full disclosure I accepted). I was dubious, edtech startups don't have the best track record, and they had barely gotten started (just got into YC). However after hearing the problem they set out to solve, and seeing how they planned to do it, I was convinced. Clever bypasses most of the biggest problems edtech startups run into, specifically selling to schools. Schools don't like to pay for things, and when they do it's shrouded in bureaucracy. Clever is free for schools, and instead sells to developers, easing their pain and in turn making it easier for them to sell and get setup with schools. From the Clever point of view a new schools takes 5 minutes to onboard.

This is one of the major points that allowed us to see this level of growth over the past year, and I'm excited to see where Clever takes education going forward.

We're also actively hiring so head over to our jobs page if being on the forefront of a revolution in the edtech space sounds interesting to you. https://getclever.com/about/jobs

I just want to say, I absolutely love what you guys are doing. Rourke Publishing (a small, independent, K-12, non-fiction publisher) used to be a major client of mine, and I still consult with them from time to time. They recently called me asking about integrating one of their applications with a SIS (at the request of a customer). I remembered seeing you guys when you were part of YC. I looked up your app and documentation, and it was immediately clear that you guys are the clear front-runner. It ended up making my recommendation really easy: integrate with Clever, then point all your customers there.

Congrats on the funding, and all the best!

I'm a teacher by day and a hacker on my own time, so I look at ed tech initiatives with a critical eye. One thing I want in educational offerings: free and open access for teachers, students, and schools. These kinds of offerings are the only kind that have the potential to truly disrupt existing learning gaps.

What you are describing sounds good, but I'd like to know: is what Clever offers truly open source, or is it just free as in beer?

From my quick perusal of the Clever site, I don't see any real assurance that this is a truly open offering. I admit I'm taking a quick look on my lunch break, so please correct me if my impression is off.

there are plenty of non-profits in the edtech space if you're really looking for "free and open access". Gooru (http://www.goorulearning.org/#discover) is a Google spinoff backed by the Gates Foundation and others, for instance.

It's not so much that I'm looking for nonprofits myself. I challenge the notion that anyone is really doing anything to improve public education if they are just another private company, with a profit motive, having access to student data.

I have rarely seen companies continue to serve students well when there is a profit motive involved. People should get paid well for their work, I have no issue with that. But I am wary of where the profit motive leads ed tech initiatives.

It sounds like you hit on a key strategic insight. If you're free to principals, they'll find a way to use you without the admin headaches of finding money in an era of declining budgets. They get the added benefit of better apps too.

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