Talking Impact for EdTech Founders Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:22:47 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2526240 en-gb © 2026 Talking Impact for EdTech Founders yes e731c3c6-b19e-56ee-86cc-93629fd4d83a robert.dickinson@impactedgroup.uk ImpactEd Group episodic false Welcome to Talking Impact for EdTech Founders with your host, Kristy Evers, Director at ImpactEd Evaluation. 


This Autumn, we're diving deeper into one of the most critical aspects of making educational technology impactful and successful: evaluation. If you're an EdTech founder wondering how to move beyond vanity metrics and truly demonstrate that your technology drives meaningful learning outcomes, this series is for you. 


Over the coming episodes, we'll explore how rigorous evaluation can become your competitive advantage, turning evidence into your most powerful sales tool. We'll break down the practical steps to design evaluations that actually work, share real founder stories of evaluation successes and failures, and give you the basics you need to build learning impact right into your product development cycle.


Whether you're a pre-seed startup looking to validate your concept or a scaling company preparing for your next funding round, understanding evaluation isn't just nice to have—it's essential for sustainable growth in today's evidence-driven education market.


So let's get started on your journey from building EdTech to building EdTech that works.


Subscribe on your podcast platform of choice to listen in.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) ImpactEd Group robert.dickinson@impactedgroup.uk https://storage.buzzsprout.com/kjyljn4wh69n0js3ll83bjmp3o4l?.jpg Talking Impact for EdTech Founders How investment can support EdTech - Kristy speaks with Rhys Spence Head of Platform & Research at Brighteye Ventures How investment can support EdTech - Kristy speaks with Rhys Spence Head of Platform & Research at Brighteye Ventures In today's episode, I'm joined by Rhys Spence to explore how EdTech companies can secure and work with investment companies. We'll discuss the different stages in which investment is available, our top tips for working with investors and how to build a meaningful partnership.

Whether you're a founder trying to break into the education market or scaling your EdTech solution across multiple schools, this conversation will give you actionable insights on what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to school engagement.

]]> In today's episode, I'm joined by Rhys Spence to explore how EdTech companies can secure and work with investment companies. We'll discuss the different stages in which investment is available, our top tips for working with investors and how to build a meaningful partnership.

Whether you're a founder trying to break into the education market or scaling your EdTech solution across multiple schools, this conversation will give you actionable insights on what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to school engagement.

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-18752484 Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000 2092 2 6 full false Kristy speaks with Emma Darcy and James Garnett about how EdTech can work with schools effectively Kristy speaks with Emma Darcy and James Garnett about how EdTech can work with schools effectively In today's episode, I'm joined by Emma Darcy and James Garnett to explore how EdTech companies can build truly effective partnerships with schools. We'll discuss the practical realities of working with educational institutions, from understanding their needs and constraints to demonstrating real value in the classroom.

Whether you're a founder trying to break into the education market or scaling your EdTech solution across multiple schools, this conversation will give you actionable insights on what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to school engagement.

]]> In today's episode, I'm joined by Emma Darcy and James Garnett to explore how EdTech companies can build truly effective partnerships with schools. We'll discuss the practical realities of working with educational institutions, from understanding their needs and constraints to demonstrating real value in the classroom.

Whether you're a founder trying to break into the education market or scaling your EdTech solution across multiple schools, this conversation will give you actionable insights on what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to school engagement.

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-18577702 Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000 2969 2 5 full false Kristy Evers speaks with Bozhidar Bashkov at IXL about practical evaluation at scale Kristy Evers speaks with Bozhidar Bashkov at IXL about practical evaluation at scale Most conversations about EdTech evaluation focus on early-stage startups trying to prove their concept works. But what happens when you're no longer a scrappy startup? How do you approach evaluation when you're operating at massive scale, serving millions of learners across different markets and contexts?

Today, I'm speaking with Bozhidar Bashkov from IXL, one of the world's leading EdTech platforms. IXL serves students across multiple subjects and grade levels, which means their approach to evaluation needs to be both rigorous and scalable.

In this conversation, we'll explore how a mature EdTech company thinks about impact measurement, the practical challenges of conducting evaluation when you're already at scale, and how evidence generation evolves as your company grows. We'll also discuss what early-stage founders can learn from IXL's approach, even if they're nowhere near that scale yet.

Whether you're dreaming of reaching millions of learners or just trying to prove impact with your first hundred users, this conversation offers valuable insights into how evaluation practices need to adapt as you grow.

]]> Most conversations about EdTech evaluation focus on early-stage startups trying to prove their concept works. But what happens when you're no longer a scrappy startup? How do you approach evaluation when you're operating at massive scale, serving millions of learners across different markets and contexts?

Today, I'm speaking with Bozhidar Bashkov from IXL, one of the world's leading EdTech platforms. IXL serves students across multiple subjects and grade levels, which means their approach to evaluation needs to be both rigorous and scalable.

In this conversation, we'll explore how a mature EdTech company thinks about impact measurement, the practical challenges of conducting evaluation when you're already at scale, and how evidence generation evolves as your company grows. We'll also discuss what early-stage founders can learn from IXL's approach, even if they're nowhere near that scale yet.

Whether you're dreaming of reaching millions of learners or just trying to prove impact with your first hundred users, this conversation offers valuable insights into how evaluation practices need to adapt as you grow.

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-18223494 Thu, 18 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000 1261 full false Kristy Evers speaks with Marjo Kenttälä on EdTech Testbeds Kristy Evers speaks with Marjo Kenttälä on EdTech Testbeds Today, I'm speaking with Marjo Kenttälä, an expert in EdTech testbed programs, to unpack what testbeds actually are, how they differ from traditional evaluation approaches, and why they might be the competitive advantage your startup needs.

We'll explore how testbeds create structured environments for testing educational technology in real-world settings, what founders should expect when entering a testbed program, and how to make the most of these opportunities to gather the kind of rigorous evidence that investors, schools, and procurement teams are increasingly demanding.

Whether you're considering applying to a testbed program or just curious about alternative pathways to validation, this conversation will give you practical insights into an evaluation model that's gaining momentum across Europe and beyond.

]]> Today, I'm speaking with Marjo Kenttälä, an expert in EdTech testbed programs, to unpack what testbeds actually are, how they differ from traditional evaluation approaches, and why they might be the competitive advantage your startup needs.

We'll explore how testbeds create structured environments for testing educational technology in real-world settings, what founders should expect when entering a testbed program, and how to make the most of these opportunities to gather the kind of rigorous evidence that investors, schools, and procurement teams are increasingly demanding.

Whether you're considering applying to a testbed program or just curious about alternative pathways to validation, this conversation will give you practical insights into an evaluation model that's gaining momentum across Europe and beyond.

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-18223486 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000 1471 2 2 full false Kristy Evers speaks with Professor Alison Clark-Wilson on evaluating edtech Kristy Evers speaks with Professor Alison Clark-Wilson on evaluating edtech Episode 1: Kristy Evers speaks with Professor Alison Clark-Wilson UCL IOE on her experience evaluating edtech throughout her career

Professor Alison Clark-Wilson is a former secondary school mathematics teacher with a 30-year career focused on all aspects of EdTech, from digital resource and curriculum design to teacher professional development and mentoring hundreds of EdTech startups.

This conversation provides EdTech founders and practitioners with crucial insights into:

- How to approach evidence generation through systematic testing environments
- The importance of authentic school-based trialling for product validation
- Global standards and frameworks for responsible EdTech development
- Collaboration opportunities with the international testbed community

]]> Episode 1: Kristy Evers speaks with Professor Alison Clark-Wilson UCL IOE on her experience evaluating edtech throughout her career

Professor Alison Clark-Wilson is a former secondary school mathematics teacher with a 30-year career focused on all aspects of EdTech, from digital resource and curriculum design to teacher professional development and mentoring hundreds of EdTech startups.

This conversation provides EdTech founders and practitioners with crucial insights into:

- How to approach evidence generation through systematic testing environments
- The importance of authentic school-based trialling for product validation
- Global standards and frameworks for responsible EdTech development
- Collaboration opportunities with the international testbed community

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-17982323 Fri, 17 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0100 1572 2 1 full false Re-Introducing Talking Impact for EdTech Founders Re-Introducing Talking Impact for EdTech Founders Explore where your organisation stands and learn more about how to leverage your impact for future growth. Whether you're just starting or looking to improve existing processes, this series offers valuable guidance for EdTech founders and leaders.

Subscribe to follow the series.

]]> Explore where your organisation stands and learn more about how to leverage your impact for future growth. Whether you're just starting or looking to improve existing processes, this series offers valuable guidance for EdTech founders and leaders.

Subscribe to follow the series.

]]> ImpactEd Group Buzzsprout-17625312 Wed, 06 Aug 2025 17:00:00 +0100 80 1 1 full false