Stop letting EdTech vendors eat your lunch 🍔

Trust us. EdTech startups need you more than you need them.

Here's a fun fact: Coca-Cola spent 79 days in 1985 learning that sometimes the most expensive market research in history can't measure the one thing that matters most—people's emotional attachment to what they already love.

They tested New Coke on 190,000 people, declared victory, then watched millions revolt until they brought back the original formula.

Districts pull the same stunt with EdTech procurement—they'll spend months researching "innovative solutions" while completely ignoring whether teachers actually want to use them daily. This just ends up with digital graveyards full of "revolutionary" platforms gathering dust.

Ana Romero survived the chaos from both sides. She wrangled kindergarteners through Spanish immersion at Los Angeles Unified School District, then switched teams to become our Chief of Staff at Subject, where helps districts turn ambitious plans into results that stick.

Her winning strategy: Teaching education leaders they have way more power than they think—and vendors know it. That’s because the districts that know their worth as partners get custom (and effective) solutions instead of off-the-shelf disappointments.

How to Boss Vendors in 4 Easy Quarters

Your district treats procurement like ordering from McDonald's—check the menu, pick the least-terrible option, hope it doesn't give everyone food poisoning. ( It usually does…)

Ana Romero watched this tragic comedy from both sides: wrangling kindergarteners at Los Angeles Unified School District, then helping districts adopt and expand Subject in their schools.

Then the light dawned on her: educators have way more negotiating power than you think.

Most districts assume they're stuck with whatever exists in the catalog, like they're shopping at a gas station convenience store at 2 AM. Meanwhile, EdTech companies—especially startups—desperately need someone to tell them what actually works in real classrooms. They're basically building rockets based on YouTube tutorials while you're sitting on NASA-level expertise.

Here's how smart districts flip the script with quarterly power moves:

• Q1: Assess and Align: Stop accepting "take it or leave it" pricing like you're buying a used car from your sketchy uncle. Your authentic classroom feedback helps vendors build products people actually want to use, instead of digital paperweights that cost more than your mortgage.
• Q2: Request and Refine: True partners don't vanish after contract signing faster than your motivation on a Monday morning. They invite you to live product sessions where your opinion actually matters. (Wild concept: treating districts like they have functioning brain cells.)
• Q3: Review and Measure: Watch district leaders transform from "please sir, may I have some more features" to "here's exactly what we need, and here's when we need it by."
• Q4: Plan and Renew: Separate vendors who deliver results from those who deliver PowerPoints with more buzzwords than a startup pitch competition.

Your district doesn't have to keep getting swindled by companies selling "cutting-edge solutions" that work about as well as a chocolate teapot.

This is the "short and sweet" LinkedIn edition of our weekly On The Subject newsletter.

The full email version hits inboxes every Wednesday with:

• Today's Lesson Deep dives into teaching strategies, curriculum trends, and education insights that actually help educators do their job better
• This Week’s Reading: Curated links to resources worth your time
• From Our Desk: Updates on tools and strategies making a real difference in schools
• Show of Hands: Quick polls that help us understand what educators actually need (revolutionary concept, we know)

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