Why We Are Non-Profit

Why We Are Non-Profit

We aren’t interested in getting filthy rich by starting some killer ed-tech startup.  We’re interested in teaching. We just want to do it better and more productively.  It’s been our experience in our years in higher education that often the for-profit nature of many education technology providers gets in the way.  Often it leads to sudden changes in ownership or shifts in product strategies that don’t really help professors.  Other times the for-profit needs of investors drives technology providers to try to “lock-in” users or close-off the product so higher prices can be charged.

We aim to be open.  We also aim to be around a long time.  We want professors to trust us as a reliable support. Our services will be designed to be sustainable at low, free, or nearly-free costs.  We think that’s the best way to help higher education.  We realize this means that money for development costs is harder to come by since we can’t access profit-seeking venture capital sources, but we believe that grants, pilot investments by institutions, and  contributions will be sufficient to get the development done.

If for-profit corporations or schools want to change and provide the tools we need, we will support their efforts.  We’re willing to work with others to get the tools and improvements needed.  If others want to step up, we’ll help, advise, and then we’ll gladly go back to our teaching.  That’s what we really want to do.  But in the meantime, we’ll make sure the tools and services get here.

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