Founder Breakthroughs

The Future of Education Technology - with Dr. Michael Connell

January 20, 2023 Jeff Durso Season 1 Episode 18
Founder Breakthroughs
The Future of Education Technology - with Dr. Michael Connell
Show Notes

One morning just over 11 years ago, I met up with my friend Dr. Michael Connell in a Panera to talk about a startup idea he was working on in the education space.

He told me about a groundbreaking research study that had been done during the 90’s that could have revolutionized how children learn math – but how previous attempts to deliver it at scale had failed to move the needle.

During our breakfast, we pondered whether the newly introduced iPad could create an opportunity to take a new approach to bringing the research to life.

And thus began one of the most incredible journeys of my career.

A year later – we released Native Numbers into the iPad app store. 6 months after that – it ranked up to #2 in the education section, and 10 years later – it’s helped over 700,000 kids and counting learn math.

On this episode – Mike and I talk about the story behind Native Numbers – and also get some of his prescient insights about what’s happening in the ed tech space.