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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
Why “What You Do” Isn’t Why Education Leaders Buy
Why is Apple more innovative than everyone else? It’s not better technology; it’s a different way of communicating.
In this episode of EdSales Edge, Josh applies Simon Sinek’s "Start With Why" framework directly to education sales.
For early-stage founders (<$2M revenue), school leaders aren't just buying software or curriculum. They are buying you. They are buying your judgment, your conviction, and your belief.
This episode explores why clarity of belief is the fastest route to confidence and the most reliable way to attract your Perfect Client.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Most education companies communicate from the outside in: Here is what we do, here is how we do it. Inspired leaders communicate from the inside out: Here is why we exist.
Leading with features makes you a commodity. Leading with belief makes you a partner. When you articulate your "Why," you stop trying to convince skeptics and start acting as a magnet for leaders who already believe what you believe.
Josh references the foundational framework that changed how leaders communicate. Watch the full TED Talk here:
👉 Simon Sinek: The Power of Why
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- People buy why you do it: Sales isn't about doing business with everyone who needs your product. It’s about doing business with people who believe what you believe. That is your Perfect Client.
- The Founder Story is not fluff: Under $2M in revenue, the buyer is betting on the founder. They need to know why you started this and why this problem matters. Your story is your proof of conviction.
- Specificity creates gravity: Josh shares how Paul King stopped selling "tutoring" and started selling "Algebra 1 Regents pass rate improvement for NYC Principals." By being specific about the Who and Why, he stopped chasing leads and started closing contracts.
- Clarity creates confidence: When you clarify your belief system, you stop posturing and start leading. This clarity gives the buyer the confidence to trust your judgment.
- Saying "No" is strategic: Turning down districts that don't share your beliefs is the most strategic move you can make to protect your runway and sanity.
If these themes feel familiar, the Perfect Client Builder will help you get clear fast. This is the same framework used inside 3E to help founders identify who owns the problem and where urgency lives.
- Avoid wasting months talking to the wrong people.
- Stop chasing meetings that feel "productive" but never turn into decisions.
- Stop over-explaining and start leading with confidence.
👉 Text PERFECT CLIENT to +1 771-333-4233 and we’ll send the framework straight to you.
A MOMENT THAT STOOD OUT
Josh highlights the "Vendor" vs. "Partner" shift. Vendors lead with features and compete on price. Partners lead with shared beliefs and are hired to solve problems. Shifting your pitch from what to why slows the conversation down in the best way, you stop convincing and start qualifying.
WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR
- Early-stage Education Founders (<$2M revenue)
- Leaders uncomfortable telling their "Founder Story"
- Sales teams struggling to differentiate in a crowded market
SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
If you found this valuable, follow EdSales Edge and share it with a founder who needs to stand out. Clarity compounds when it’s shared.
