Want to work for an Ed Tech unicorn?
Are unicorns imaginary creatures? Not in the Ed Tech industry. Ed Tech unicorns are very real and they can be an exciting place to build the Ed Tech career of your dreams. In this blog, we explain why. What are tech unicorns? In short, “unicorn” is a term that has long been used to describe the dream outcome of any startup founder: a valuation of over $1 billion before becoming publicly ...
Surveying Ed Tech in the Silicon Hills of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas has rapidly emerged as a notable center for Ed Tech enterprises. Benefitting from the tailwinds of a decades’ long expansion in Texas, a home-grown talent pipeline at UT-Austin, and a growing reputation as a regional tech hub (The New York Times recently profiled the booming "Silicon Hills" economy), the state capital is a natural fit for Ed Tech enterprises and talent. The...
3 Steps to the Perfect Job Description
Vetting is central to the hiring process in any industry. Only by evaluating candidates in a systematic way is it possible to identify the right candidate for the job. But when exactly does the vetting process begin? Conventional wisdom suggests that vetting starts after receiving a critical mass of applications for the position. To hire with maximum velocity, however, it’s critical to b...
Paving a De-Risked Road to Ed Tech Talent: Retained vs Contingent Fee Search
Ed Tech leaders looking to enlist the assistance of an executive search firm face the choice between two basic options for structuring this relationship: Retained Executive Search: In this model, the client pays an upfront fee for an end-to-end consultative relationship covering every phase of the hiring process, including strategy, sourcing, evaluation, and final selection, hiring, and ...
How CRO’s Are Leading a New Model for Revenue Management
Companies in Ed Tech and beyond are learning to think more holistically about revenue generation. HighFive has seen this trend up close: we have successfully closed multiple searches that reflect an accelerated market interest in talented professionals capable of filling a Chief Revenue Office role. The budding interest in this relatively new c-suite title is indicative of a broader tran...
Demystifying Equity in Ed Tech Hiring: A Practical Guide
Equity plays a central role in management-level compensation for Ed Tech startups. Granting equity stakes to startup-stage talent not only helps defray the present cash cost of compensation but ideally helps align the long-term incentives of the employee and employer. This article presents a focused overview of equity (a term that can accurately be used interchangeably with “stock”) in E...
EdTech 101: A Guide to The Education Technology Industry
Ed Tech is one of the hottest fields in the greater tech sector. Individuals who are new to the industry or making a career pivot between roles within Ed Tech need a bird’s eye view of the industry, but don’t know where to start, spending many hours researching the field.. This blog provides a quick onboarding tool for this mission-focused industry, with a focus on the potential for rewa...
Guerilla Hiring in Ed Tech: Tips and Tactics
A Strategic Primer by HighFive Partners. Leaders of Ed Tech startups face a constant imperative to make quality hires to support growth, scale up vital business units, and begin defining the desired company culture. They’re facing this challenge in a hyper-competitive hiring market where Ed Tech startups have to win top talent while competing against bigger companies with more capital an...
How to Create Your Own Supply of In-Demand Leadership Talent
The right hiring strategy can proactively shape your supply of talent, now and into the future. Long before Marissa Mayer rose to national prominence as the President and CEO of Yahoo, she earned a legendary reputation at Google by tackling one of their toughest long term challenges: creating a successful strategy for attracting and developing leadership-grade talent with the skills need...
Top Talent Needed: 5 Steps to Identify Star Candidates in the 21st Century
It’s no secret that Ed Tech is booming. Investments reached a historic high in 2015, rocketing through a massive $6 billion industry threshold. In applying technological solutions to learning, Ed Tech breaks new ground and offers tremendous new opportunities. But with new opportunities come new challenges. Money alone will not solve these challenges. Neither will strategy, no matter how ...