Strategy, Serendipity, Sleepless Nights: 3 Edtech CEOs on ‘Great Exits’

▤ Summary

But according to Brekhus, now chief product officer at Renaissance Learning, PLATO failed to effectively communicate how Lightspan fit into the company’s strategy. “But the longer we worked together, the more I felt it was the right decision.” She learned not to include the entire team during the due diligence process, when an interested buyer requests and scrutinizes detailed information on the potential acquisition. Peter Bencivenga learned that while every executive should plan for an acquisition, the actual conversations with potential buyers can happen by chance. Case in point: He began receiving messages from a private-equity firm interested in his education data management platform, DataCation, after publishing an article in 2014 (in EdSurge) about how his product found traction in a market where IBM and Pearson had struggled, and sold to over 5,000 schools. He said that weathering the musical chairs of new owners has informed how he handles the aggressive growth strategy pursued by Renaissance, which acquired Early Learning Labs and Freckle Education this year.

▦ Linked Companies

Renaissance

$100M to $250M