Venture: TeachMe (MathGames.com)
Description of a Venture:
TeachMe is the company and brains behind MathGames.com, a free, curriculum aligned platform for K-8 students and teachers. It offers interactive practice and reinforces various mathematical concepts and units, providing instant feedback, solid reviews, and the ability to make worksheets for teachers. Their values center around student’s ability to be engaged in interactive play, removing the paywall out of the equation, other than the occasional adds on the website.
Founder’s Bio:
Bill Karamouzis is an Edmonton-based, self-proclaimed, veteran in educational gaming, having created and sold Hallpass Media and Additing Games before founding TeachMe. Unlike the previous ventures that were focused on entertainment and profit, TeachMe is meant to offer a free, interactive, and educator-oriented alternative to subscription-based or costly competitors. While some venture capitalists chase the latest trends or worship the“invisible hand” of the market to “help” education, Bill is focused on meeting realistic educators needs, growing his website slowly for decades, going from “5,000 users per day to 200,000 by 2018.
Reflection:
Bill’s work demonstrates that meaningful innovation can come from caring or listening to teachers and their needs.In fact, MathGames.com further proves that math doesn’t have to be dry and monomodal, instead it can be interactive, multimodal, and deeply engaging. I believe the website can best be used as a supplemental tool to support educators’ units, allowing students to explore concepts through an interactive paradigm, experimentation, and instant feedback. It can be viewed as a free, at least for now, resource that allows educators to differentiate their instructional time and bring some energy and playfulness into the classroom.
Websites consulted:
Hi Vlad, thank you for the easy read on Bill’s story. I also looked up his venture.
Bill’s story has given me a lot to think about. I find it amazing that even when he built successful businesses before, he was able to move on with new ideas and keep growing himself. As someone who has attachment issues with any big or small projects, I struggle to walk away from an idea and start again from scratch. That’s an entrepreneurial mindset that I find myself lacking – give 120%, and do it again and again and again each time.