教育科技行业隐现风投泡沫

    这类公司第二类最常见的问题在于进入市场的策略。纳派克发问道：“它们的问题确实是和钱有关吗？有时，由于联邦政府发布了某个法令，于是，学校和各家公司签署了合同。但后来情况发生改变，结果这些公司就失去了收入来源。”

    纳派克曾预言，现在蜂拥投向教育类初创企业的风投会大浪淘沙，但说这次情况又有所不同。他说：“教育科技公司领域也遵循达尔文法则，适者生存。但这不会是教育科技的最后一个泡沫。我们确实能从这个泡沫中筛选出一些真正的公司来。”

    眼下还不清楚他所说的“真正的公司”是不是指那些已经成功募资的企业。去年秋天，一些募得大笔投资的初创企业暴露出种种短板，让行业观察人士纷纷质疑，这个泡沫是不是已经破裂了。比如，据奥姆•马利克称，先后从安德森•霍洛维茨基金、First Round Capital、Floodgate和其他风投募得一亿美元的Kno公司，最后只以1500万美元的价格卖给了英特尔公司（Intel）。还有曾募得2660万美元的Altius教育公司（Altius Education），最后却以人才并购的方式卖给了一家营销公司。还有曾获得基准资本公司（Benchmark）和GSV Capital 公司4470万美元投资的Grockit公司，在偏离了初期战略后，最后将核心资产卖给了开普兰公司（Kaplan）。教辅初创企业Tutorspree去年也已经关门大吉。

    而其他公司在免费提供主打产品时才刚开始考虑怎么赚钱，这就是所谓的免费增值商业模式。已募得8500万美元的Coursera公司已经开始尝试向借助它的平台完成免费课程的学生们兜售证书。而获得安德森•霍洛维茨基金2000万美元投资的Udacity公司正在尝试赞助一些课程，同时把学员介绍给匹配的雇主们。获得来自创始人基金公司（Founders Fund）、培生集团（Pearson）、Accel Partners、Bessemer Venture Partners和FirstMark Capital等公司5400万美元投资的Knewton公司也采用了免费增值模式，主要通过授权费以及为各大学提供专享平台来赚钱。而获得恩颐投资（NEA）、合广投资（Union Square Ventures）、Greylock Partners和基准资本等公司4000万美元投资的Edmodo不向使用它平台的教师收钱，而是向他们兜售各种应用。

    这些资金充沛的公司可不是什么“FNAC”小公司。它们打算通过免费或在线授课的方式彻底改变教育的某些方面。这种策略唯一的问题在于，它和提供那些乏味跟风的代数应用一样充满风险。只不过，它们拿来下赌注的钱要多得多。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    The second-most common mistake is with a startup's go-to-market strategy. "Is their problem actually attached to a pocket of money?" Napack asked. "Occasionally [a deal] happens by Federal caveat, and then that changes, and then the companies don't have a source of revenue anymore."

    Napack predicted a shakeout to the venture investment flooding education startups, but said things are different this time around. "There's a Darwinian thing that happens in ed-tech. It's survival of the fittest," he said. "But this isn't going to be like the last ed-tech bubble. We're actually going to get some real companies out of this one."

    It's unclear if "real companies" will be the ones which have raised the most money. Last fall, the shortcomings of some well-funded startups had industry observers asking whether the bubble has already popped: Kno, which had raised almost $100 million from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Floodgate, and others, sold to Intel (INTC) for just $15 million, reported Om Malik. Then Altius Education, which had raised $26.6 million, sold in an acqui-hire deal to a marketing company. And Grockit, backed by $44.7 million from Benchmark and GSV Capital, pivoted away from its initial strategy, selling its core assets to Kaplan. Tutoring startup Tutorspree also shut down last year.

    Others are only beginning to figure out monetization while offering their main product for free, the so-called freemium business model. Coursera, which raised $85 million in venture backing, has experimented with selling certifications to students who complete free courses on the platform. Udacity, backed by $20 million from Andreessen Horowitz, is experimenting with sponsored courses and matching students with employers. Knewton, backed by $54 million from Founders Fund, Pearson (PSO), Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and FirstMark Capital, is also going freemium, earning revenue with licensing fees and a premium platform for universities. Edmodo, backed by $40 million from NEA, Union Square Ventures, Greylock Partners, and Benchmark, doesn't charge teachers to use its platform, but instead sells them apps.

    These well-funded companies aren't "FNAC" startups. They're trying to completely transform some aspect of education by making it free or accessible online. The only problem with that strategy is that it's just as risky as offering a boring, derivative algebra app. Except here, there's a lot more money at stake.