Hi fellow classmates! For the Founders Parade, I chose to go back to my roots and feature a man who has helped me teach my classes. I’ve never searched anything about him until now. If you’re an ESL teacher, chances are you might have used a resource from his site or you might have encountered this site through word of mouth.
Name: Ben Buckwold
Venture name: Ellii formerly called ESL Library
Venture: Ellii is a Canadian based online resource site for English teachers. Through a monthly subscription service, users can access hundreds of resources targeting the 4 basic skills which are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. They’ve also recently ventured into producing videos. The resources are constantly updated to reflect current events and trends within these ready-made classroom resources.
According to Ben Buckwold’s LinkedIn profile, Ellii is used in more than 10,000 public schools, universities, colleges, private language schools, and online schools around the world.
Bio: Mr. Buckwold holds a Bachelor Degree in Broadcast Journalism and a Bachelor Degree in Commerce. He started ESL library after returning to Canada from 5 years of teaching in Japan. It is at that time where he developed his love for creating lessons. He decided to quit his job and write lessons full time. He started the business in 2002 and during that time it was hard to attract clientele to pay for subscription services. To his surprise, teachers were willing to pay and as time went by teachers who used the service recommended it to their fellow colleagues.
He started off the business by writing the lessons himself. He even asked his mom, who is a retired ESL teacher, to help him create the materials. His dad is a retired accountant and started looking after the books. His wife joined in 2006 to take care of the operations. He then hired Tara Benwell as one of the first employees. Tara is now the Vice President of Publishing. According to Tara’s LinkedIn profile, she’s a very accomplished content writer for many ESL publications. She also started as an ESL teacher and is a current fiction writer on the side. Currently, the company has 35 employees.
I love that this business started off with a passion. I also love the fact that the CEO himself was a former teacher and that he built this business from scratch. I admire the courage to leave a teaching job and start an online based business considering that the online space wasn’t as popular as it is today. It is an impressive 22 year run and the company has recently rebranded and is still keeping the business going.
I am surprised to learn that they have not taken any venture capital funding and yet it’s one of the leading websites that ESL teachers go to for ready made materials. Ben wrote in one of his blog entries that their focus is not on making money but creating quality and engaging content. This has clearly resonated with his market because it helps address a major pain point which is the need for quality resources to help lessen teacher prep times. I also think that his success story is a reminder that teachers can have fruitful careers outside the classroom and can make a business out of their skills.
Based on the bio you wrote about Mr. Buckwold, he appears to be a strong model for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. He clearly has a passion for what he does and he appears to do it well. For the business to grow to 35 employees and last for 22 years is an impressive feat. That being said, the fact that they have not taken any venture capital makes me wonder if Bill meets the needs of the growing venture or if a replacement is what’s best for the business.
Hi Nik,
Thank you for your contribution to my post. I’m also not sure about your comment regarding growth of the company. Surely, they’re doing something right as they’ve managed to sustain the business. Printed resources are quite expensive so for a significantly affordable subscription service per month is quite a good deal if we’re talking about a school paying for it. I guess this also resonated with a lot of professionals as printed resources can be outdated pretty quickly ,whereas with Ellii, there’s a constant stream of new and current resources.
Could you please elaborate what you meant by a replacement?
I think that’s extremely fascinating that this all grew simply from a passion project. And from a former teacher as well. It’s stories like this that continue to keep the door open for all of us teachers. It shows us the potential of what any of us can accomplish. I know myself, I have thought of ideas and been like “ah, I don’t have time for this while I’m teaching…” It’s really an inspiration to all of us. I really do hope that this project can be seen through to its full potential. I don’t know what it would take, but I would love to see it.