EdSales Edge Show
EdSales Edge is the strategy podcast for education founders, consultants, operators, and leaders selling into education.
For years, this show was known as Breaking the Grade, a space to challenge the status quo in education and think differently about how change actually happens. That mission hasn’t changed.
But the work has.
Over time, one thing became clear:
Education founders don’t just need inspiration.
They need clarity.
They need real strategies for selling into schools.
They need predictable ways to generate leads.
And they need to understand how trust is built in a system that doesn’t move fast, and doesn’t give many second chances.
EdSales Edge was rebuilt to match that reality.
Hosted by Josh Chernikoff, a two-time education founder who’s built and exited companies in this space, the show breaks down how selling into education actually works—across B2C, B2B, B2B2C, and B2E—always through the lens of how education institutions really make decisions.
This is not a show about hacks, shortcuts, or quick wins.
Education doesn’t work that way.
On EdSales Edge, you’ll hear:
- Real strategy for selling into education systems
- Conversations with education decision-makers who explain how buying actually happens from the inside
- Stories from founders, CEOs, and operators who’ve built real traction selling into schools—what worked, what didn’t, and what actually moved deals forward
- Teachings from the EdSales Elevation Experience, the system used to help education founders move from unclear and invisible to trusted and in demand
You’ll learn how to:
- Define your Perfect Client
- Pull the right credibility lever
- Move from being hidden… to trusted… to building a real lead engine
Josh is joined by his good friend and mentor, John Gamba—Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, and a former education founder who’s led companies through real growth and successful exits. John brings the institutional lens, shaped by years inside districts, universities, and education systems, seeing how decisions get made when the doors are closed and what earns trust over time.
Together, they sit on both sides of the table, the builder side and the system side, so the show stays grounded in reality, not sales theory.
If you sell into education and you’re tired of guessing,
guessing who to talk to,
guessing how decisions get made,
guessing why interest doesn’t convert—
this show is built for you.
EdSales Edge
Clarity. Credibility. Real traction.
If you sell into education, this is where you earn your edge.
EdSales Edge Show
Let’s Make SEL More Effective with Nicole Lipkin
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We know social-emotional learning is essential. But we haven’t all figured out how to teach it effectively.
Nicole Lipkin, Clinical Psychologist and founder of HeyKiddo, is breaking traditional methods with her unique curriculum. Join us today as she shares:
- Why social, emotional, and leadership skills are so important for kids in current times.
- Why typical SEL isn’t as effective as we’d hoped.
- How teachers can make an impact in the social and emotional lives of students.
After all, the future of the world is in our students' hands. Let's give them the skills they need to handle it with care.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Nicole Lipkin started her career with an undergraduate in Psychology and Dance, and later added on a degree in executive coaching, her MBA, and her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. She has founded and currently runs two companies — one of which falls in the education space.
HeyKiddo! Gives parents and teachers everything they need to teach social, emotional, and leadership skills both at home and in the classroom. The curriculum was created by a team of psychologists, educators, and parents for top-level trust. The school-based version is a no-prep curriculum that can make a measurable impact in virtual, hybrid, and in-person classrooms in just 125 minutes each day.
Nicole is also the owner and founder of Equilibria Psychological and Consulting Services and proud author of “What Keeps Leaders Up At Night” and co-author of “Y in the Workplace: Managing the ‘Me First’ Generation.” She’s a Forbes.com contributor and has been featured on NPR, NBC, CBS, and more.
