To solve your customers' problems well, you have to understand their problems from their point of view. This is why technical people often need a business co-f

To solve your customers' problems well, you have to understand their problems from their point of view. This is why technical people often need a business co-founder: one who understands the domain well. I had a brief stint as a teacher (three years in a private school) so while my experience is not vast, I do have a sense for the teacher's point of view. Teachers often do resent spending their own money on their classrooms, but it's not out of a sense of entitlement. Often the budget is tight, so teachers have to buy pencils, classroom posters, etc. out of their own small paycheck. Also, simple things like how many copies you can make are limited. So imagine a software shop where each developer: (1) had their bandwidth per month capped (2) if they wanted an extra monitor, productivity software, or anything beyond the standard developer setup they'd likely have to pay for it themselves (3) has their salary cut in half (or by two thirds) So it's not a case of entitlement at all; it's a case of scarce money. About teachers not wanting technology solutions: as a teacher I had very little time during the day. There were some days where I very literally did not have five minutes to spare and had trouble finding time to go to the bathroom (other days were more sane). My personality is one that craves change, but as a teacher I found that I was juggling so much work that I did not necessarily welcome changes to existing procedures. So I think there may be some truth to this in that teachers may not have the time resources to adapt to a lot of new technology. That said, target the teachers in the summer. They've got time to make changes then.