Curt Allen’s BrainHoney at Agilix
Curt Allen(1)
Curt Allen, co-founder, President and CEO of the learning venture Agilix Labs, Inc.
AGILIX LABS, INC
Agilix Labs, Inc., founded in 2001, has since 2009 developed and hosted(2) a web-based classroom management system called BrainHoney that includes course authoring, drag-and-drop mapping of state standards, a gradebook, and a student portal.(3) The basic account is free for teachers and a premium account adds collaborative authoring and teaching, integration with existing software systems, customization, and providing online courses or virtual schools.(4) Agilix designs custom solutions based on BrainHoney,(5) such as a project for Brigham Young University that allows students to create assignments on the Internet and submit URLs to a secure gradebook for confidential grading, and commenting by professors.(6) At its beginning in 2001, Agilix developed software for student note-taking and organization on Tablet PCs and later developed software for offline use of Blackboard materials, and a course management system that allowed for both online and offline use.(7)
CURT ALLEN
Curt Allen studied Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University, worked at Hewlett-Packard in a networks division, and co-founded a consulting firm.(8) In 1986, he co-founded Folio Corporation and sold it three times to major corporations, leaving the last acquirer in 1997; he took over the CEO position of MyFamily.com in 1998 where he raised over $75 million, and secured strategic partnerships with companies like Microsoft and Disney and quadrupled revenues to over $10 million.(9) At Agilix he built relationships with Microsoft, Intel, and FranklinCovey.(10) His LinkedIn profile claims a near-term goal to “fundamentally improve the quality of teaching and learning through technology” and specialties in “founding start-ups, fund raising, strategy formulation, developing strategic alliances, technology strategy, business development”(11)
Allen is a serial entrepreneur with a technology background who has a long history of starting technology-related businesses, fund-raising, and building strategic relationships with major technology companies. His continued focus on information-oriented web-based businesses has probably helped him build on and leverage his experiences and connections.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Allen’s team consists of Dave McGinn, COO, Mark Luetzelschwab, SVP Product & Marketing, Mark Wolfgramm, co-founder & VP Development, and Shandon Gubler, initial angel investor & reseller.(12) McGinn raised $75 million for Ancestry.com and quadrupled its growth; Luetzelschwab has served as an executive in startup companies and directed award-winning products for 20 years; Wolfgramm co-designed and developed the core infrastructure for MyFamily.com and Folio, both previous Curt Allen companies; and Gubler taught strategy and entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University.(13)
The team includes seasoned entrepreneurs and developers who have worked in successful technology startups. In many cases they have links to Allen through former companies or his university. Luetzelschwab appears to be the most common hit in Google searches for talk about the actual BrainHoney product.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
The Agilix board of advisors consists of Clayton Christensen, M. David Merrill, Chris Thomas, and David Wiley. Christensen is a Harvard professor and author of books on innovation and one on learning called “Disrupting class: how disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns”(14) Merrill is an “instructional effectiveness consultant” who teaches online courses at Brigham Young University Hawaii.(15) Thomas is Intel Corporation’s Chief Strategist who “directs a worldwide team of solutions architects developing starter kits, workshops and architectures for education, health care, small business, and other solutions.”(16) Wiley is Associate Professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University, Associate Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling, and founder of the Open High School of Utah.(17)
The team includes recognized names in strategy and education who may provide helpful advice as well as name-dropping value to open doors, build relationships and raise funds. Merrill and Wiley are also fellow alumni of Brigham Young which may have helped secure BrainHoney its project at that university.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Allen built relationships with high-calibre people, maintained those relationships over multiple ventures, and leveraged those relationships to build his businesses, receive advice, enhance the value of his venture for fund-raising, and make connections with customers such as Brigham Young University.
In my own self-analysis, I have previously identified my strengths as gathering information, analyzing needs, creating options and communicating to an audience: a solutions orientation that reflects my background in journalism, law, writing and converting complex things into simple steps to get them done.
A facility for building, maintaining and leveraging relationships, however, is clearly essential for entrepreneurial success. I have worked on enhancing my relationship building and conflict management skills and I have practiced those skills through pitches to raise money for a business seminar, and chats and information interviews to build my own knowledge and connections within the industry of improving human performance. With a fascination for my chosen field, a solid set of skills, a solutions orientation and a growing network of relationships, I am building the foundations for future entrepreneurial efforts.
REFERENCES
(1) http://ebusiness.byu.edu/biography.php?person=26.
(2) http://www.agilix.com/about.html
(3) http://brainhoney.com/free-accounts/free-account/
(4) http://brainhoney.com/free-accounts/free-account/
(5) http://brainhoney.com/custom/
(6)http://educause.mediasite.com/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=29421747f419474c82268c040956d410 move slider to 36 minute mark
(7) http://www.agilix.com/products.html
(8) http://ebusiness.byu.edu/biography.php?person=26
(9) http://ebusiness.byu.edu/biography.php?person=26
(10) http://www.agilix.com/about.html
(12) http://www.agilix.com/about.html
(13) http://www.agilix.com/about.html
(14) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_M._Christensen
(15) http://mdavidmerrill.com/Resume/resume.htm
(16) http://www.wcit2010.org/speakers/239/Chris%20S.%20Thomas
FURTHER RESOURCES
Curt Allen twitter feed
http://twitter.com/#!/curtallen
Venture pitch slidedeck for Agilix growth 2010
Video interview of Curt Allen about Agilix working with Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/showcase/details.aspx?uuid=84c9e550-b915-4e75-a773-3f4d12ec51cc
Website for Clayton Christensen, Harvard prof
Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
khenry 4:48 am on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi David,
Thanks for your detailed post. I appreciated your discussion on Boards of advisiors and networks and relationships of the CEO. I did not find any board of advisors information for my venture however the CEO and founders have strong relationships with boards and the education sector. I wondered therefore at their funding, research and development and business advice/management.
Your discussion on identifying personal strenghts and weaknesses and developing experience and/or relationships/networks highlights essential processes in paving a path or action plan for us as desirous entrepreneurs. From your post and from my research I was taken aback at how many YEARS and research CEOs and Founders spent in the various fields and heading a number of other companies and/or departments, plus for some reasearch and development (10 years in my case study and $20 million) before stepping into their own venture.
In today’s culture the concept of time is such that 10 years and 29 years seem like such a long time. For many who are now transitioning to learning technologies it may also be rather daunting and somewhat disheartening as the reality is that the Bill Gates’ and Mark Zuckerbergs are the exception not the norm.
Kerry-Ann
David William Price 6:41 pm on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Very true. An easy mistake is to focus on the big wins of entrepreneurs, movie stars, authors, etc. and ignore the long trail towards their “overnight” successes. I have learned a lot by reading early works of master authors, seeing early films of award winning auteurs, and learning about the histories of business leaders. It provides a much more realistic perspective and highlights learning, persistence and passion as essential characteristics.
mcquaid 10:14 am on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi, David.
Sounds like a positive outlook for yourself, based on some good self-awareness and planning! I had heard of Agilix before, and not BrainHoney, so that’s what drew me to your post.
To be honest, out of all the program / background / team / skill info, two things stuck with me the most. On the program side, “drag-and-drop mapping of state standards” – it had me dreaming of having a page of draggable outcomes from one of my courses all laid out in front of me, and enabling me to match them with activities or marks in our school’s grading/attendance/records-keeping software. On the entrepreneur side of things, what stuck for me here was the ability to make and maintain relationships – a very useful skill that turns into an intangible asset… a storehouse of go-to people to draw upon when needed.
Steve
David William Price 6:36 pm on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I’ve noticed that people take their teams with them from venture to venture, building their networks over time. A key skill seems to be to assemble those teams (and be one of those key team members). I think part of that skill comes from being able to truly define yourself in terms of core skills and passions.