Tom Adams, the former longtime CEO of Arlington, Va.-based Rosetta Stone, may be best known for molding the powerhouse education technology company into a global brand. Adams led the company from 2003 to 2012, as Rosetta Stone transformed from a CD-ROM provider into a 21st century cloud-based software creator.
Today, three years removed and yet still inspired by the positive impact that education can play in people’s lives, DC Inno has learned that Adams is working with a hand-picked team of talented former Rosetta Stone colleagues to launch Smartly—a mobile-first business education startup that hopes to disrupt the entire edtech industry one “bite-sized” lesson at a time.
Adams came up with the idea for Washington, D.C.-based Smartly as he was “cycling out” of Rosetta Stone, he told DC Inno. The 20-person Smartly team is made up of what Adam’s calls “some of the smartest people I knew during my time at Rosetta Stone” and other developers, designers and strategist from Pedago, an Arlington-based edtech content developer for which he is also the co-founder and chairman.
Former Rosetta Stone director of R&D Alexie Harper and Director of Software Development Ori Ratner are among those that joined Adams from Rosetta Stone. Harper and Ratner are also co-founders of Pedago. Smartly is technically a Pedago product.
At the moment, Smartly is largely funded by Adams and a few unnamed outside investors.
Targeting MBA students
Adams told DC Inno that for what would be equivalent to a 2-year MBA program, Smartly will offer its application for a fee of roughly $9 per month.
The payment system will be based on a subscription model. A limited but free trial run/download will also be offered when the application launches on both iOS and Android. The Smartly app, which will eventually be available internationally and in a number of different languages, can currently be accessed in its beta form from the company’s website.
Though still in development, the plan is to officially launch Smartly in a limited capacity in September, when it will first target students in MBA programs. As time progresses, Adams said that the variety and subjects covered in lessons will also expand beyond business education courses. “We want Smartly to change the way people learn, globally,” Adams said.
While the edtech industry has progressively favored a video learning experience followed by short quizzes, he doesn’t believe it to be the most effective method for quickly learning and retaining educational content. In addition, because Smartly will not be a video-centric education platform, the D.C.-based company can adapt to cover other languages—broadening the user base—without spending an exorbitant amount of money.
“A Smartly lesson can be completed in the same time that someone would play CandyCrush or some other similar game,” Adams told DC Inno.
Fun & interactive
The central design and development theme behind Smartly, Adams described, is to provide a fun, convenient, interactive and extremely efficient learning experience for today’s extremely mobile “student.” Lessons within the app, which are geared around usually complex subjects like macro-economics and statistics, will be reactive.
"A Smartly lesson can be completed in the same time that someone would play CandyCrush or some other similar game."
Essentially, incorrect answers will be responded to with tailored corrections and oppositely, correct responses will be enabled by a different type of feedback that builds on progress. This approach, Adams told DC Inno, will make the lessons “sticky in your brain” and easier to recollect weeks later.
The user interface will be clean, simple and easy-to-use, Adams described. Progress will be recorded and achievement/badges can be unlocked as user progresses through a specific topic. That being said, Adam’s said that he believe the edtech industry has gone too far, in many cases, with the “gamificiation” of education content. “It will be an aspect to Smartly but not a central theme. The purpose is on the learning,” Adams said.
Smartly’s lessons and its overall content will be created in coordination with some of the top business and economics professors in the U.S., Adams told DC Inno. Partnering with a number of top higher education institution is critical and Adams briefly mentioned that his company is already working with a professor from Georgetown University.
Also worth highlighting: Clayton M. Christensen, the well-known Harvard Business School professor and author of "The Innovator's Dilemma," is a content contributor to Smartly. Michael Horn, who is the co-founder and executive director of the Clayton Christensen Institute, is an advisor.
As they approach the September launch, Smartly is looking to add talent across the board, Adams said; the plan is to hire another 10 people before end of year 2015. When asked about the possibility of a venture capital funding round, Adams said that “it’s all about finding the right investor who really believes in our mission. And that’s something we may approach after the launch.”
Photos courtesy of Smartly.
