Zoya Hasan is a reporter on the Under 30 team. She edits the Forbes 30 Under 30 lists, including U30 U.S., Europe and Local, co-authors a weekly newsletter and writes features on young founders. Prior to joining Forbes, she reported on entrepreneurship at Inc. Magazine and The Story Exchange. Send her your tips at zhasan@forbes.
"This is my first gig. In the beginning it was very difficult just because I was a brand new entrepreneur," Fang said about starting SchooLinks."I really wanted to solve a problem and just never thought about, 'Am I ready?'"n June, Katie Fang received an unsolicited term sheet from a fund looking to invest in her edtech startup, SchooLinks.
Large districts like Chicago Public Schools, Dallas ISD, Newark Public Schools and more across 40 U.S. states have signed on as SchooLinks customers. Each district pays a fee depending on their student population and in return gets school-wide access to the platform. “We have more than a hundred experiences on the platform depending on a school district strategy and their college and career readiness . We basically personalize that experience to meet a district goal,” Fang explained.
The pivot to working with school districts was the biggest risk she’s taken in the company so far but it seems to be paying off. SGE’s Elser says their due diligence took them to dozens of SchooLink’s customers, each of whom expressed how mission-critical it is for their districts. “It pulls together the students, the parents, the guidance counselors, the principals, the superintendents, and even congressmen and congresswomen. Everybody has a stake in this,” he said.
Other softwares like SchooLinks do exist. Naviance, which was founded in 2002 and was most recently sold to PowerSchool for $320 million in 2021, is one example. And there’s startups like Xello, which says it serves over 9 million students and teachers. Fang claims that her tech is simply more engaging .
SGE Michael Kohlhagen Funding Education K-12 Growth Equity $80 Million Series B Term Sheet
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