Problem-Framing for EdTech Founders

Why problem framing is really positioning

GTM, marketing and product strategy are all based on positioning, and how you frame the problem you're solving for informs your positioning.

Your problem framing unconsciously determines how you see your users, buyers and gatekeepers, and which educational ideologies you align yourself. That turns into whether schools you're targeting hear 'they get what we're trying to do here' or 'this isn't for us' through your messaging and marketing.

Certain framings will resonate with some schools and professionals but might even disgust others! It can be that controversial.

Most people don't go to this level, but everyone should. If you have never examined yours, this is your chance to check the assumptions your positioning is based on - for free!

Get the framing right and the rest gets easier. No amount of iterating and optimising your marketing will help if your positioning and messaging foundation is shaky.

Where this comes from (brief background)

The framework we'll use is based on Carol Bacchi's "What's the Problem Represented to be?" (WPR).

Instead of taking an educational problem at face value, it turns the question around to "how has this problem been represented, what does that representation assume, and who does it leave out?"

Let's see how a high-ranking article represents some of the biggest problems facing education today , using adapted WPR questions.

Two of the "biggest problems" are framed as Being an Older Student and - wait for it - Being Female .

Who is framed as "problematic" and how could that sort of framing affect interventions with those groups?

Consider too how Unpaid and Underqualified Teachers might feel if that was how you had framed your product's messaging. Would they be more or less open?

You could apply this to other marginalised groups, including ethnic minorities and learners with SEND.

It doesn't replace co-design and other ways of exploring problem framings that involve users, but it is a low-resource way to unpack and examine your assumptions.

Why it's free

This is for you if:

• you have a clear problem that you are trying to solve for

• you are actively planning or running pilots or co-design with schools or teachers

• you can describe your idea(s) for how your product will help

• you are willing to reflect before the session, have your assumptions tested and then go into pilots or co-design having gained new perspectives.
  

This is not an open session to ask about marketing or recruiting participants. It's also not a strategy session for founders who are interested in when to work together on positioning, messaging or evidence communication.

If you run a programme for founders and are interested in my approach, or for media and collaboration enquiries, please use my contact form.

This is a legit sparring session, not a pitch. So why is it free?

I'm all about evidence-led edtech, and offering a limited number of sessions a month helping early-stage founders reframe problems before they unconsciously accept and build for the dominant framing is one way I contribute towards more inclusive and innovative edtech.

I get a lot of messages from startups asking me to run their marketing unpaid (for equity), but that's not what I do or how I work best. I run short-to-mid length projects building stand-out positioning and clear, consistent and coherent messaging focused on your ideal customer's priorities. It's the foundation of product and marketing, so continues to return commercial value for many years after the engagement ends.

Still not a pitch! This is free because I believe it's more important that founders have access to this than for finances to be a barrier. I benefit when you, having experienced my thinking and approach, recommend me to other education founders that sell to schools and you know when we can work together, when you're ready :)

Who it's for

How to Apply

BEFORE

When you apply, you'll send me one line on the problem you solve, in your own words rather than in polished pitch language.

Brownie points if you think about the questions yourself beforehand.

DURING

30min session exploring your problem statement together using WPR questions. We will not get through all six in half an hour but I will tailor the session to those that are most relevant for you.

AFTER

You leave with a clearer view of what you are actually solving for, what it assumes about schools and learning, what the framing leaves out and one or two alternative framings worth testing during pilots and co-design.

Any time someone is trying to fix or solve something, they make a framing choice - usually without noticing. As a founder, that choice is the foundation of your product, your evidence, your messaging and your customer relationships.

You don't need to understand the theory of WPR to take part, you just need to reflect and be curious.

The button below takes you to the application form.
I will review this within 5-7 days and, if you meet the criteria, contact you about booking the session. Please only book a Strategy Call if you are interested in paid positioning, messaging or evidence communication engagements.

If we haven't met yet, hi! I'm Rebekah.

A former science teacher and curriculum leader, I've worked in and led across the commercial side of edtech. I started Laine Education to help founder-led companies sell to schools ethically, by being genuinely worth choosing.

I was introduced to WPR during my MA in Education, Policy and Society and have used it in researching how policy is talked about and actually plays out in reality, involving teachers, school leaders and government education leaders.

WPR is not the only way of exploring problem framings, but I find it a rigorous and practical framework to gain alternative perspectives and uncover how your "solution" represents educational problems.

Most founders don't know how powerful this simple step can be. Therefore, solutions may be missed that could challenge the accepted way of looking at educational problems. That's why I think this helps to develop truly innovative, transformative and inclusive edtech.

About Me!

This session is a small, free taste of how I think and approach discovery with clients.