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We’re headed to BETT, and I’m looking forward to meeting with educators and companies from all over the world. Every year at BETT, I end up having conversations with founders and operators who are excited about the U.S. market but unsure how to navigate it. The U.S. K–12 landscape is massive, but it is also uniquely complex. If you are entering from outside the States, it helps to understand a few structural realities up front, because they shape everything from your sales cycle to your hiring plan. Districts, Not Schools The first thing to know is that in the U.S., schools rarely buy on their own. Some districts operate a single school. Others run 100+ schools. That range matters because the district is the purchasing unit, the political unit, and the implementation unit. If you are trying to understand the U.S. market, you need to think in districts, not buildings. 50 States, 50 Markets The U.S. is not one market. It is 50. Each state functions almost like its own country, with its own governance, funding structure, procurement norms, and decision-making culture. Even within a state, the way districts are organized can vary widely. One major distinction that international companies should pay attention to is whether a state is built around small local districts or large county-based systems. If you are looking for larger volume per win, county-based states can be a smart place to focus. Where the Big Districts Are Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina are good examples of states with county-based district organizations and much higher average student enrollment per district. In these environments, you are not selling to a school with 400 kids. You are potentially landing in a system with tens of thousands of students. Of course, there is a tradeoff. The larger the district, the longer the sales cycle, and the more complex the internal decision-making becomes. Sales Cycles and Stakeholders Smaller districts often allow you to move faster because you can get to a single senior leader who owns multiple areas of responsibility and can drive a decision. In a large county system, responsibilities are distributed. Curriculum leaders, instructional teams, technology, procurement, finance, and legal all have a say. You are not selling to one person. You are building alignment across many. This is why first wins in large districts often begin with a pilot or a limited rollout. That is not a sign that the district is not serious. It is how risk is managed in public education. Trust Drives Purchasing The fourth thing to understand is that U.S. district leaders tend to be referral-driven buyers. They are often risk-averse, and they are under constant pressure to avoid solutions that could fail publicly or create implementation friction. The fastest way to overcome that risk is trust. Superintendents call peers. Cabinet leaders call peers. People buy from people, and they buy from vendors who have a track record with someone they already trust. Superintendents trust IEI, so companies from outside the US who partner with IEI automatically earn that trust with the districts in our community. There is also a practical requirement that can surprise international teams. Most districts are only allowed to contract with a U.S. entity. If you want to close deals in the U.S., you need a plan for how you will transact, whether that is a U.S. reseller partner or a U.S. LLC that can accept payment in USD and contract properly. Founder-Led Selling Still Wins U.S. K–12 is a relationship-driven market, and founder-led selling is often the most effective way for a young company to enter. If your company already has established itself in other countries, the people you select to work in the US should have founder-like skill sets, approaching sales conversations as 2-way dialogues vs. “pitching”. The companies we have helped successfully break into the U.S. have typically sent the founder or key executive leadership over to build relationships directly, learn the landscape, and position the product with credibility. This is exactly the kind of work IEI supports. We have a strong track record of helping international companies earn their first district partnerships, including teams like Magma Math, Kide Science, and Zen Educate. The pattern is consistent. Relationships first. Proof points second. Scale third. When to Hire in the U.S. Many companies assume that entering the U.S. requires immediate hiring. In reality, the best approach is often to wait until you have traction and clarity on where that traction is coming from. A common timeline we see is 6 to 18 months between a first U.S. deal and a major boots-on-the-ground hire. When you do hire, the goal should be to place someone close to where the momentum is building. The U.S. is too large to “cover” efficiently, and growth tends to cluster by geography. If you land one district in Georgia, the easiest next win is often another district in Georgia, because the superintendent network is local and referral paths are tight. Localization Matters More Than You Think One last point that sounds small but matters more than people expect. Localization is not just a product question. It is a trust question. Messaging, tone, and even details like spelling and idioms can affect credibility. If a district leader feels like a vendor does not understand the U.S. context, it creates doubt, even if the product is strong. The good news is that this is solvable, and IEI can help companies translate their success in other countries into a U.S. narrative that lands. Big Picture Despite what you are reading about what’s going on in the US, particularly some of the more controversial headlines like the immigration enforcement actions and the contraction of our federal department of education, the day-to-day reality in U.S. public schools remains unchanged. District leaders are still focused on improving outcomes for kids. They are still looking for solutions that work. And they are still building partnerships based on trust, evidence, and relationships. All of the federal funding from last year was renewed this year. It is business as usual in our schools, and district leaders, especially those in the IEI network, are constantly looking for better, more efficient ways to deliver outcomes for the students they serve. If you are at BETT, I hope to see you at the U.S. Ed Tech Booth (Stand NC70) or perhaps for a pint at the Fox! |
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Onwards, |