It's getting emotional...

The future of SEL software

The theme of my week was social and emotional learning. In case you didn’t notice, going through a pandemic doesn’t feel great. That includes if you’re a student. Earlier this month ‘Inside Higher Ed’ reported that the pandemic is hurting students’ mental health, with 30.5% of students saying their mental health negatively impacted their academic performance this spring (up from 21.9% in fall) - I’m sure we can all imagine why.

Historically, social emotional learning (SEL) software has been distributed through K-12 schools, and thus sold through the lengthy school sales cycle. My favorite product in the space being Move this World. This model works because students of all backgrounds get access to tools to calm their nerves, to combat violence/ bullying, and to deal with the stressors unique to their life, while in a safe space - the classroom. Direct to consumer models for SEL haven’t been prominent to date, but as you read in my newsletter last week, parents are talking student learning into their own hands, and so the question becomes: is there a market for direct-to-consumer SEL software as a result? The newly funded Hopscotch thinks so.

The issue of access and social emotional learning are intertwined. Why? Because the students most in need of this type of curriculum, and where SEL software companies have focused their K-12 sales, are in school districts where students are more likely to have an issue with connectivity. 

Student’s having reliable internet connections has been one of the hottest topics since the pandemic hit. There are stories of some families driving to schools so they can leverage the school’s WiFi and learn “remotely” in the parking lot. As many of you know, my mom teaches the 8th grade in San Jose and when her 180 students transitioned to remote learners, only 75 students showed up to start because of connectivity issues (*note she had to call all of her students and work through each of their individual internet needs to eventually get to 120 of her 180 students attending class by the end of the school year). A big question is: Who is going to be the provider that gives internet access to all students everywhere? <Insert a hero story here>.

All of this leads me to my point, which is how do SEL products scale so that they’re accessible to all students who need access to them? My answer: put it on TV. The big path forward for SEL is to think of these products as media content and look for distribution partners in broadcast television.

Overall, my prediction in the short term is that there is going to be a lot of consolidation in the SEL space.  If you have an early stage SEL product with solid month-on-month growth, there is an opportunity for acquisition. And if you have a big SEL product, I believe you reach the scale of your dreams by partnering with media partners and by offering free or freemium solutions to the masses. And to answer my earlier question, I’m not convinced there is a big enough paid D2C market for SEL products outside K-12 distribution… or at least not yet.  

Few other things to share:

I was on the Village Global ‘Venture Stories’ podcast with Erik Tornberg this week, which you can checkout here: https://www.villageglobal.vc/podcast/

And if you’re interested in a more inside baseball conversation on higher-ed education, I was also on Test Bright’s episode of “Gap Year Alternatives During COVID” here: https://gettestbright.com/gap-year-alternatives-during-covid/

August 7th at 5pm ET/ 2pm ET I’m hosting a conversation on The ClubHouse App titled: Education Reboot. Holler if you need an invite to the app to join. 

In closing, I wish you all the best in mental health for the weekend :)