3 ms·

That market is small to non-existent. If you're creating a startup that doesn't seem like the audience you want to focus on, at least not at first.

by DasIch 10y ago

dasmoth 10y ago
Government stats [1] suggest well over a million homeschooled children in the US. This is towards the low end of various estimates out there. Certainly not non-existent. It varies a lot from country to country, but the YC guidelines are clearly US-centric, and I don't think you can write homeschooling off there. [1] https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_206.10.asp?current=yes https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_206.10.a...
- DasIch 10y ago
  This is still not that many compared to the children going to school. Additionally that's a very heterogenous group, homeschooling their children for a variety of different reasons, using different approaches following different curricula. There is certainly space for companies who want to sell educational products and there are companies already doing so. What that means though is that you already have quite a bit of competition in a market that you're not going to completely capture. If this is your target audience you have a relatively low ceiling and you won't be able to push past it. Additionally you can't scale to different countries or even states that easily. You need different materials to account for different languages, cultures and curricula. You need to account for regulation and a sales teams to approach the various homeschooling groups.
garysieling 10y ago
Aren't there specialty publishers for home schooling? I was home-schooled for a year as a kid, and we used to get catalogs of specialty curriculum (classical education in greek, latin, religious books, etc). Perhaps not material for a "start-up", but there is definitely a very enthusiastic customer base.
- subpixel 10y ago
  I have a homeschooling family member and her behavior closely resembles that of early Ravelry/Etsy/Meetup adopters: she's finding fellow travelers online, meeting up in person, collaborating on events (co-teaching, field trips), and she feels likes she's at the vanguard of a movement. I'd say this is a stellar business opportunity, especially for a company that is mission-driven, transparent, and possibly even partially crowd-funded. Many readers of this message may feel a lifetime away from questions of childhood education, but today more than ever parents are realizing the insanity of letting school districting determine where they work and live. And millions of parents want to give their children a better education than their district offers, but can't move or afford private school. I suspect non-traditional schooling will be as common as remote working in a decade or so.
  - garysieling 10y ago
    That's an interesting set of observations. My parents have a beekeeping business, and the homeschooling set seems to have been great for them. A lot of people are interested in alternative food/medicine stuff, as well as educational 4H type demos of honey extraction, and the homeschooling groups seem to have referred a lot of people to them. I suspect there would be a bit of culture clash with ycombinator though.
    - subpixel 10y ago
      Not to get all wiseacre but the real culture clash is when primary education amounts to almost nothing. I've taught in inner-city high schools and I'm positive that a single person (parent or otherwise) with the right motivation and tools can better educate a child than a failing system.
      - garysieling 10y ago
        Fair enough, I appreciate hearing your experience!
20years 10y ago
Not so small or non-existent anymore and growing fast http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/01/why-homeschooling-is-growing/ http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/01/why-homeschooling-is-gro... I would say this is a great market to focus on as a startup. Get into a fast growing market while there is still little competition.

That market is small to non-existent. If you're creating a startup that doesn't seem like the audience you want to focus on, at least not at first.

by DasIch 10y ago

That market is small to non-existent. If you're creating a startup that doesn't seem like the audience you want to focus on, at least not at first.

dasmoth 10y ago

Government stats [1] suggest well over a million homeschooled children in the US. This is towards the low end of various estimates out there. Certainly not non-existent. It varies a lot from country to country, but the YC guidelines are clearly US-centric, and I don't think you can write homeschooling off there. [1] https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_206.10.asp?current=yes https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_206.10.a...

DasIch 10y ago
This is still not that many compared to the children going to school. Additionally that's a very heterogenous group, homeschooling their children for a variety of different reasons, using different approaches following different curricula. There is certainly space for companies who want to sell educational products and there are companies already doing so. What that means though is that you already have quite a bit of competition in a market that you're not going to completely capture. If this is your target audience you have a relatively low ceiling and you won't be able to push past it. Additionally you can't scale to different countries or even states that easily. You need different materials to account for different languages, cultures and curricula. You need to account for regulation and a sales teams to approach the various homeschooling groups.

garysieling 10y ago

Aren't there specialty publishers for home schooling? I was home-schooled for a year as a kid, and we used to get catalogs of specialty curriculum (classical education in greek, latin, religious books, etc). Perhaps not material for a "start-up", but there is definitely a very enthusiastic customer base.

subpixel 10y ago
I have a homeschooling family member and her behavior closely resembles that of early Ravelry/Etsy/Meetup adopters: she's finding fellow travelers online, meeting up in person, collaborating on events (co-teaching, field trips), and she feels likes she's at the vanguard of a movement. I'd say this is a stellar business opportunity, especially for a company that is mission-driven, transparent, and possibly even partially crowd-funded. Many readers of this message may feel a lifetime away from questions of childhood education, but today more than ever parents are realizing the insanity of letting school districting determine where they work and live. And millions of parents want to give their children a better education than their district offers, but can't move or afford private school. I suspect non-traditional schooling will be as common as remote working in a decade or so.
- garysieling 10y ago
  That's an interesting set of observations. My parents have a beekeeping business, and the homeschooling set seems to have been great for them. A lot of people are interested in alternative food/medicine stuff, as well as educational 4H type demos of honey extraction, and the homeschooling groups seem to have referred a lot of people to them. I suspect there would be a bit of culture clash with ycombinator though.
  - subpixel 10y ago
    Not to get all wiseacre but the real culture clash is when primary education amounts to almost nothing. I've taught in inner-city high schools and I'm positive that a single person (parent or otherwise) with the right motivation and tools can better educate a child than a failing system.
    - garysieling 10y ago
      Fair enough, I appreciate hearing your experience!

20years 10y ago

Not so small or non-existent anymore and growing fast http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/01/why-homeschooling-is-growing/ http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/01/why-homeschooling-is-gro... I would say this is a great market to focus on as a startup. Get into a fast growing market while there is still little competition.