Product Innovation and New Initiatives at Focus Edumatics (US K-12 EdTech)

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Objective

To lead the product management and innovation charter for Focus Edumatics’ new initiatives aimed at expanding its digital solutions portfolio for the US K–12 education market. The goal was to identify emerging opportunities, build new web and mobile products, and strengthen the company’s technological and strategic positioning in preparation for fundraising and acquisition.

Strategy

Establish a multi-product innovation pipeline supported by agile, cross-functional teams and strong vendor partnerships.
The strategic pillars included:

  • Diversification: Develop complementary products to extend beyond the flagship tutoring platform.

  • Agile Delivery: Institutionalize scrum practices and delivery cadences for rapid MVP launches.

  • Capability Building: Recruit and nurture a full-stack product organization combining UX, technology, data, and education expertise.

  • Investment Readiness: Build product narratives and traction data to support private equity acquisition.

Implementation

  • Led a portfolio of new products, including:

    • TutorGuru: A .NET-based 1:1 coding platform teaching Scratch, Blockly, Python, HTML, and JavaScript.

    • FEVConnect: A Jitsi-based AV conferencing platform for tutoring and medical transcription use cases.

    • FEVProctor: An online proctoring solution for school assessments with live invigilation features.

    • FEVTutor.AI: A conversational AI virtual tutor for Math and English using Google Dialogflow (Python + .NET).

    • FEVLearn: A private-label Moodle-based LMS hosting SCORM-compliant courses for institutional clients; also adopted internally for tutor onboarding, reducing TalentLMS costs significantly.

    • FEVMath: A React-based hybrid mobile app leveraging computer vision to solve and explain math problems step-by-step.

  • Built and scaled multiple product teams (15+ members) including UI/UX designers, developers, analysts, data scientists, and curriculum experts.

  • Introduced agile methodologies, established product tracking systems on Jira and Confluence, and managed sprint cadences and reviews.

  • Defined product roadmaps and backlogs based on MVP milestones and long-term growth priorities.

  • Drove design and usability improvements through continuous collaboration with UX, engineering, and curriculum teams using tools like Figma, InVision, Draw.io, and Zeplin.

  • Evaluated build vs. buy decisions and onboarded external vendors on both fixed-cost and T&M models.

  • Contributed to fundraising readiness, preparing materials on new initiatives for investor presentations, which culminated in the company’s acquisition by Alpine Investors (PE).

  • Post-acquisition, integrated foundational work from new initiatives into the flagship tutoring product FEVTutor to strengthen scalability and feature breadth.

Outcome

  • Delivered six new digital learning products, expanding Focus Edumatics’ footprint across tutoring, proctoring, AI, and LMS solutions.

  • Institutionalized agile product delivery, increasing visibility, speed, and accountability across teams.

  • Reduced SaaS dependency costs through internal platform adoption.

  • Enabled investor confidence and due diligence during the Alpine Investors acquisition by demonstrating a scalable product innovation framework.

  • Established a culture of product-driven innovation, with long-term integration of new initiatives into the company’s core platform ecosystem.

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