EdSales Edge Show

What happens when your billion-dollar success story ends—and the market forgets your name? Robert Martellacci knows. And he didn’t quit—he reinvented. This episode isn’t just about resilience. It’s about the bold mindset shift it takes to reclaim relevance, rebuild trust, and restart traction when everything you built gets wiped off the board. Robert Martellacci —founder of MindShare Learning —joi...

Here's the Messaging Fix You Didn’t Know You Needed If your EdTech offer sounds “nice” but never gets past your perfect client to respond… this episode is your wake-up call. Carlos Zapata , founder of Unicorn Academy , joins me live from the IFE Conference in Monterrey, Mexico — and pulls back the curtain on the exact moment his company stopped stalling and started closing. And here’s the kic...

Let’s get one thing straight: September doesn’t start in September. It starts now—in June, July, and August. Because the biggest mistake founders make in summer isn’t taking a break. It’s confusing rest with silence. You can recharge and still generate leads. But most EdTech founders go dark. They hunker down. Rebuild ops. Tweak product. And completely disappear from LinkedIn. Then they roll into...

Most EdTech founders are still chasing views. Anissa Bouderraoui is closing pilots. She didn’t wait to go viral. She showed up consistently—with clarity, credibility, and the kind of messaging school leaders actually respond to. The result? No gimmicks. No funnels. Just a pipeline built on trust. Bolstered by LinkedIn consistency.  🎯 When Anissa started posting on LinkedIn, she wasn’t playing the...

Most education founders treat traction like a treadmill. When the leads slow down, they don’t stop to ask why—they sprint faster. More posts. More emails. More calls. More grind. But here’s what most founders miss: 📉 Motion ≠ Momentum 📉 Hustle ≠ Clarity 📉 Activity ≠ Conversion In this episode, Josh goes solo to unpack a hidden truth in EdTech sales: Your burnout might be bottlenecking your lead...

Most education companies don’t lose leads because their product is weak. They lose them because the message doesn’t land. They try to sound professional. Strategic. Smart. But polish ≠ presence. And clever ≠ clear. In this episode, Josh sits down with Mitch Weisburgh —a lifelong educator, EdTech veteran, and founder of MindShifting with Mitch —to unpack what really happens when education founders...

Let’s start with a sitcom—and a truth bomb. In Seinfeld Season 5, Episode 22 ("The Opposite"), George Costanza hits rock bottom. No job. No love life. No confidence. So he flips the script.  “If every instinct I have is wrong, then the opposite must be right.” And suddenly? He orders chicken salad instead of tuna. He tells the girl he’s unemployed and lives with his parents—and she’s int...

If you’re trying to grow your education business beyond where you started—this episode is for you. Because whether you’re moving from one country to another, or just one state to the next… The real challenge isn’t translation. It’s trust. In this episode of Breaking the Grade , I sit down with Denise Abulafia —EdTech founder, Penn GSE professor, and the visionary behind Educatina , a platform that...

LinkedIn builds your credibility — Speaking amplifies it. In this episode of Breaking the Grade , I’m sharing how I went from avoiding stages entirely to speaking at in the last 13 months at Penn GSE, the University of Chicago, SXSW EDU, DC Startup Week, Education Research and Development Institute, XEdu, Institute for the Future of Education in Mexico, EdTech Institute of Chicago, and more. Not b...

You’re not afraid of hard work. You’ve put in the hours. You’ve sent the emails. You’ve done the demos. And still—no one’s biting. That was Ashton Tate . Founder of The Form Curriculum . Fitness coach-turned-EdTech founder. 500 cold calls deep… and still stuck. Then he changed one thing. He stopped selling—and started listening. In this episode of Breaking the Grade , Ashton shares the real story...

You think your sales process is tough? Try launching a brand new EdTech company during a global pandemic—while building trust with schools that aren’t exactly raising their hands. In this episode of Breaking the Grade, I sat down with Paul Moch , Founder of Camino 21 and now Vice Provost at Talisis , to break down what it really takes to build a scalable education business that gets acquired. Paul...

You’re busy. But you’re not booked. You’re showing up on LinkedIn. You’re attending conferences. You’re tweaking your SEO. You’re following the playbook everyone told you to run. And still—your pipeline’s empty. In this episode of Breaking the Grade , Josh Chernikoff breaks down the silent mistake most education founders don’t realize they’re making : Mistaking motion for momentum. Mistaking activ...

Recorded live at IFE in Monterrey, Mexico , this episode features Beatriz Guillen , Executive Director at The Resource Foundation—a leader focused on strengthening education outcomes across Latin America. While her work centers on Latin America, the insights she shares here resonate globally—especially for education companies and founders navigating the U.S. market. This conversation is packed wit...

Too many education founders build something incredible—only to realize they can’t sell it. They try to figure it out themselves… piecing together advice from free webinars, Twitter threads, and late-night YouTube binges. But without a proven system, the growth stalls—and burnout creeps in. In this episode of Breaking the Grade , I sit down with Nick Farrenkopf, CEO and founder of Wibly, who went f...

You’ve got the vision. The team. The momentum. So why does it feel like you’re sprinting on a treadmill with no finish line in sight? Here’s the truth: Most education companies don’t burn out because of a bad idea. They burn out because they’re trying to scale without a system . In this live episode of Breaking the Grade, recorded at IFE 2025 in Monterrey (Mexico), I sit down with Sergio Abramovic...

You’ve added decision-makers on LinkedIn. You’ve liked a few posts, maybe even commented. You’re showing up … but nothing’s turning into a call, let alone a contract. Sound familiar? That’s what I call the LinkedIn illusion—where activity feels like progress, but the results just aren’t showing up in your pipeline. Here’s the truth: If you're an education company trying to sell into instituti...

Selling into education institutions—whether K–12 or higher ed—isn’t just about having a great product. It’s about understanding how those institutions work: how decisions are made, what roadblocks slow things down, and how to position yourself as a trusted partner—not just another vendor. In this special live episode recorded at IFE in Monterrey, Mexico, I sit down with Michael Fung, Executive Dir...

Does this sound familiar? You just spent thousands of dollars flying to ANOTHER education conference, setting up a booth, shaking hands with decision-makers. You collected a stack of business cards, had great conversations, and walked away thinking, this was a success. Two weeks later? It was the kiss of death for their conference strategy—no follow-ups turning into deals, no real sales pipeline,...

The education sector is buzzing with AI, but are schools and EdTech businesses truly leveraging it for sustainable growth? In this live episode, we cut through the hype to explore how AI, combined with strategic partnerships, can drive real impact. In this special live episode of Breaking the Grade , recorded LIVE from the IFE Conference in Monterrey, Mexico, I sat down with Jaime Pales , Co-Found...

Summary When you're growing your education business, one big question always comes up—should you seek investment or bootstrap your way to success? In this episode, Josh Chernikoff breaks down the real challenges behind this decision. He shares lessons from his own journey, the mistakes founders make when chasing investment too soon, and what it really takes to build a business that attracts t...

Summary In this episode of Breaking the Grade , Josh Chernikoff tackles the big question: when’s the right time to bring on a sales team for your education-focused business? He shares why rushing to hire too soon can be a mistake and what you need to do first to make sure you're ready. Josh opens up about his own experiences, talking founder-led sales, how to refine your process, and the impo...

Summary In this episode of Breaking the Grade , I chat with Ernie, a seasoned leader who's been navigating the ever-changing education landscape since 2001. He shares valuable insights on how he completely transformed his sales system and unlocked 7-figures in proposals before the new school year started. Ernie shares all about staying adaptable, building relationships, and why rejection can...

Summary Nine years of building a business—and then, overnight, everything changes. Suddenly, you’re scrambling to keep things afloat, unsure of your next move. That’s exactly what happened to Matt Barinholtz, founder of Future Makers. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he had to pivot fast—shifting from offering services to selling products. The truth is, pandemic aside, business is always unpredictab...

Summary: In this episode of Breaking the Grade , Josh Chernikoff and Toni McMurray tackle the challenges of sales planning for education companies as the new year approaches. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the tight sales window or struggling with staying top of mind with prospects, this episode is for you. We discuss the impact of inconsistent outreach and follow-ups, and how early planning and...

Summary: Sales in the education space can feel like an endless maze—long cycles, multiple decision-makers, and constant resistance. In this episode, Josh Chernikoff pulls back the curtain on the challenges EdTech founders face when selling to schools and districts. It’s not just about getting through the door; it’s about navigating complex decision-making processes and staying persistent when thin...