GSV Advisor: American Revolution 2.0

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GSV Advisor: American Revolution 2.0

Aug 8, 2012

TALKIN' BOUT A REVOLUTION: The latest report from GSV Advisors, "American Revolution 2.0," does not shy away from using bellicose rhetoric to highlight the significance of today's education battlegrounds. (A glance at the cover, or the table of contents, immediately sets the tone.) But once you get over the cloying zealotry (and we highly advise that you skip the U.S. history primer in the beginning), you'll likely find that Michael Moe and the three co-authors have done their homework, serving up a healthy dose of tables, charts, graphs, and profiles of the big players and companies at the forefront of the edtech biz.

Notable tidbits include a "vocabulary of innovation" (64), megatrends (78), investment themes (114) and categorization of companies (134), prevailing business models (126), market snapshot (150), and a list of VCs and investment firms worth calling when your product's ready (161). The analyses for pre-K, K-12, post-secondary, lifelong learning markets dive pretty deep. Equally extensive is its 15-year "strategic battle plan" (292) aimed at making the U.S. essentially numero uno at everything. And finally, don't miss the Declaration of Independence! (295)

Some will find all the pomp and circumstance distracting from the report's genuinely valuable insights. (The historian in Tony burns with rage, while the edtech observer is rather impressed.) But there's definitely something for everyone, and the report could well serve as a textbook for, say, those taking Ed Startup 101 later this month.

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