Raphael: Hey folks, and welcome back to the Small Tech Podcast.
Today, we have another amazing guest.
She has been a business advisor, a director of a Montessori school,
and for the past few years, she has been building Edify Learning Spaces,
the world's leading tutor matching platform for neurodivergent children.
She is Priya Tronsgard.
Hi, Priya.
Priya: Hi, thank you.
I think most people, to say neurodivergent is a mouthful, and I like to say
neurodivergent, and I also like to say anyone who learns differently,
Raphael: Yeah,
Priya: and I think that is very easy to understand and say.
Welcome to the club.
Raphael: Yep, definitely tripping over my words there.
Priya: Everybody.
I mean, saying it, spelling it, you think they would choose an easier
word, but here we are, neurodivergent.
Yeah.
So that's anybody with ADHD living as an autistic has dyslexia, dyscalculia,
and any other learning difference and need more support and have.
There's a lot of additional powers that are given to them that we can all benefit
Raphael: yeah, I mean, with that, I'd love to learn more about how you got here.
I was you know, Doing my research, digging through your LinkedIn and, you know, I've
talked to you in the past, so I kind of know some of this stuff, but I wanted
to dig into how you ended up starting Edify what was this journey like through
life that led you to to this place?
Priya: Yeah so I've lucky in life to experience lots of
different things like most of us.
But I think what really helped me start Edify was And I think that was
my belief in seeing kids who could do better in our current system.
Both of my kids are neurodivergent, they learn differently, they
are awesome and autistic.
They are awesome and have ADHD.
And I learned so much from them.
And I think seeing them thrive in our current education system was the
impetus of what helped me start Edify.
And You know, working in the education field for over 20 years helped me
realize that parents need support.
And I knew that there was something really magical happening
and I wanted to share that.
And that's what Edify is.
Raphael: Awesome.
And I think I know this already, but this is your first step into entrepreneurship,
or not, had you started things before?
Priya: Oh, yeah.
So I basically started when I was 12.
So what happened was a sad story.
So my mom passed away when I was 12.
My dad's an entrepreneur.
And my brother was seven years old.
So there we were with a mortgage to take over.
And mortgages were a lot more affordable back then.
But it's still we still were not making enough.
So So on the weekends, we would DJ local weddings during the summer.
And then we started to build out our offerings.
And I did that for 10 years until I graduated from UBC.
So I think that was my first opportunity in really building the product
offering and increasing our revenue.
Our net revenue by 10X, so I think it, that was our
first, that was my first step.
Even though I didn't start it, I was part of that business and then
also started with the offerings.
And there was a lot I learned in that, in those years while growing up.
Raphael: Mhm.
What sort of things can you think of that you learned back then
that you're sort of applying
Priya: Yeah, and I think a lot of that still sticks with me today.
I'm a non technical founder, but the things that I learned about
building relationships started from that young age of 12.
And so I was DJing at 12 and you know, Like setting up the amp and making sure
that I knew how to run a turntable and connect all of that to the speaker system
and then put the speaker system away and by the time you hit the bed, it's 4am
and you're still, you know, in grade eight for example.
And so I think I got lost in the sauce, meaning that I was really
about how to set up the DJ equipment.
Raphael: Mhm.
Priya: But as I grew into the business and saw opportunity, I saw that the
main thing that I had to serve is for the customers, not the speakers.
And that has stayed and stuck with me.
And I think those No matter if there's a technical aspect to what
you're doing, or a brick and mortar, or you're doing, you know, a barter
system, I think the most important thing is who you're trying to help.
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: And so that stuck with me.
Raphael: Amazing.
And so from then, from UBC where do you move on?
What happened next?
Priya: Okay you know, Everybody's get into business!
And I have my degree in psychology, which is useful.
And then I decide, you know, I think I want to live in Japan and work
for the Tokyo Board of Education.
Raphael: Amazing.
Priya: Yeah, not the same thing.
, it was very cool.
I really wanted to know more about the culture.
I really wanted to immerse myself in a culture.
Growing up in Vancouver, I felt Vancouver didn't have a culture.
And now I think differently.
I think that it is a beautiful culture of many.
But there wasn't like a monoculture and I really wanted to immerse myself into that.
And I learned a lot about education in Japan as well and how they
run their education businesses.
And that was interesting and eye-opening for me.
So I learned a lot of different things there and I really, I heard a lot of
things like, you're not going to get a job because you were brown and they're really
just looking for a white person with blue eyes and blonde hair to teach English.
And I ended up just making more connections and making
more friendships and getting extremely awesome opportunities
that nobody else was getting.
And so if 99 percent of the population is Japanese and there's only 1
percent who isn't, and they have a big idea about foreigners, and I
found a way to make that connection.
I think that was my biggest win is making that those connections
and those relationships that were meaningful that cut through some
of the, you know, apprehension.
Raphael: Yeah.
Can you pull a bit or dig a little deeper into that?
I feel like you've talked about building connections and talking to
people and connecting with people.
What, how does that work for you?
What's important when you're exploring a new culture, when you're trying
to connect with a new community?
Yeah.
Priya: Yeah.
So I really think that I really wanted to know, you know, why
the culture was so polite and how they had systems within systems.
And I looked at that and I looked at how it's an island.
My family originally comes from an island, so I kind of felt like
I understand a little bit about you know, the community aspect.
And so I think I went in with the understanding and that the empathy that
I know what it feels, I kind of know what this could feel like even though I grew
up in Vancouver, so I kind of, use that empathy to make stronger connections.
I didn't think of it at the time.
I just vibed with it and, you know.
Enjoyed it.
But as I look back now, I think there's some clear themes of
connecting, making real relationships and really trying to understand.
Of course, it's easy to be like, okay you're racist and that's done.
but then that would have been a short trip.
I ended up staying for five years.
Raphael: Oh, wow.
I didn't know it was that long.
That's awesome.
That's super cool.
Priya: Yeah.
I felt very welcomed by most people.
Raphael: Nice.
And so when you were there, you were working in the education space.
What did you pull out of that experience that you're applying now or in your
previous experiences here in Vancouver?
Priya: Yeah, I think the idea of doing your best is something that
I will always take away from Japan.
Like they really have that ethos of trying to do your best.
It doesn't mean everywhere.
It means in your specific lane, and I think the teachers seeing that in
the kids and really trying to pull that And, you know, the quality
out is kind of different from here.
Yeah.
And then also I feel like they work a lot and so that's really hard.
So I wanted to use that as a warning to, to myself okay there's a limit.
It's, There's nobody, no culture is perfect, but I think based on
what I saw in the education system there, they had few resources.
They had very little resources in comparison.
I think it's very interesting to what I see here.
They have more students in a classroom.
They have less support.
They don't have EA's.
They have teachers who are working way too late into the night.
And I just think we have something special here too.
I had to see.
There's, you know, Canada has a great, It has great resources, even though it
doesn't feel like it, but in comparison to a country like Japan that does, still
does really well with math and science and has fewer resources I think we can pick
good things from each of these systems.
And make a little, you know, wonderful product for families
to get the best of the best.
Raphael: Amazing.
Yeah.
So maybe let's dig into Edify a little bit.
Like how what are these things that you've brought together and that you're sort
of infusing into this platform, Edify?
Priya: Yeah one of the things that's really interesting about Japan is that
they have a separate school called Juku that's after school, and the kids usually
study, From late to late, so like 3.
30 till 8 o'clock, but it's not even related to their school.
Raphael: Oh, interesting.
Priya: Yeah, it's related to it could be their university entrance
exam, or it could be other exams that they're preparing for.
So that is one idea that I think Edify uses so what we study after
school one on one, or it doesn't even have to be during school.
So we have all modalities that use Edify.
So we even had a family that wanted their child to know how to read mortgage
rates and interest rates, right?
Rather than doing certain types of math,
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: so the family had their own goal.
And I think That piece of juku is okay, this is a big goal that your
family wants, which is different from your daytime education.
So I think that's one of the things that we take.
And then the other is to stretch capabilities.
So a lot of times kids who are neurodivergent, who have ADHD, who
are autistic, feel like they are bored at school or that it's not important.
And then Coming from that, if you're not interested, you're not going to
do your best, and all of these things kind of cascade in a way that we think
doesn't have to be the only way, and so stretching the capability based on the
child's interest, so that, based on the child's interest, that's separate, but
stretching the capability, it is possible, especially if they're interested, let's
say they like Minecraft so then we can do math through Minecraft, and it's,
Or there's kids who have a, so in Canada we say ODD officially, but parents around
the world have been using PDA, which is a pathological demand avoidance.
But a lot of parents are saying a pervasive look for autonomy and
like looking for that autonomy.
And that the kids bodies are, and minds are wired that way.
So it's really important to kind of see, a lot of kids don't want to go to school.
If they have that profile of PDA, a pathological demand avoidance, that
means they're going to school, able to do all of those things, but once they
get a demand, their mind says, no.
Raphael: Interesting.
Priya: So what happens to those kids?
A lot of them can't do well in the school system because they're not given that.
You know, autonomy to explore for themselves, and they're wired that way,
and, you know, to get penalized for your life because you can't do a couple of
years of school seems a bit harsh to me.
So I know, and these kids are amazing.
So we have some kids that teach our teach our tutors of how to get into their games.
Raphael: I love that.
Priya: Yeah, so
the tutors jump into their world.
Raphael: Huh.
Priya: A lot of these kids are didactic, autodidactic.
They learn best by themselves.
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: So how do we stretch that?
We jump into their world.
Raphael: Huh.
Priya: And you know, it's kind of interesting because that
piece, that face to face piece.
Of course, kids could learn a lot of things through the Khan Academy or other,
you know, math videos online or AI.
But the reality is that there's some sort, there's still some sort of connection.
Through face to face
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: and voice to voice, that's a real person
and there's still that connection.
So I think that's where we stretch capabilities when the child is
ready and they feel safe and they can show us what they're doing
and we can help them stretch that.
I think That's a bit of how we get our children to thrive and give them the
opportunities to be leaders in this world.
Raphael: yeah, that's amazing.
I'm curious, like, how, okay you have all of these ways of structuring your
teaching, and you're building a platform, like, how do those two things come
together the education side of it, and the technology side of it how do those merge?
Priya: I feel like I'm still figuring out exactly how they merge, but
what I do know is that my experience working, training And supporting
and providing resources for staff is part of what makes Edify different.
So we hire people who know how to work with kids like mine and ours.
And Then, so the hiring process has to be vetted very carefully, right?
These aren't average teachers, nor should they be.
This is specialized.
This is niche.
You know, this could be considered even coaching, right?
So it's really going with strengths and where children show their own strength.
So it's really important that we hire the type of person that really
understands who these kids are and what these families are trying to do.
So that's.
The main thing, and then we're still coming up with training opportunities.
But at the moment I am looking to grow the teaching aspect of that.
So it's more automated.
Raphael: Awesome.
Priya: Yeah.
And there's different segments, right?
So ADHD, and sometimes it's ADHD with dyslexia.
Sometimes it's autism with dyslexia.
And sometimes it's PDA.
Like it's a, it's all mixed.
It's never usually just one.
Raphael: Yeah and so you have this platform and you have these educators
that you're sourcing and you're making sure that you've got the right people.
How do you bring them together?
How do you find, like, how do you match children to the right educators?
What does that process look like?
Is it a tech process or is it a
Priya: It's a tech, it's a semi tech process, I think there's the
opportunity as a non tech founder and a business minded person to
create the technology ourselves.
But currently we are pre matching using simple aspects such as Google Form right?
And so I think the pre matching component.
It's here at the moment until we reach the tipping point of not being able to
manage it and then build out the matching technology, which we're not there yet.
So we are on our way.
Currently, I have not automated The lead generation.
And once that happens, I think it's an opportunity to build
out because I always grew up in that way of not not having debt.
Because I'm an old school, old, I grew up in the old school way
where you make the money first,
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: right?
So I guess now we could say product market fit.
So I wanted to prove the product market fit, know my customers, know my families,
and know what works best for them before I invest in a standalone product.
But until then, I've been using products that exist.
And that's been really lovely.
And it has allowed me to grow and still be here.
Most businesses fail in the first five years,
Raphael: Yeah.
And
you're on your six and a half or something like that now?
Priya: But so Edify, this iteration started in August, 2020.
Raphael: Okay.
Priya: Yeah.
So it's been four years.
Raphael: All right.
Priya: Yeah.
And you couldn't you couldn't put me out of business unless I.
I got into building a brand new product or just paid somebody
a bunch of money because on its own, it's running on its own.
And I think that's a fantastic place to be because it's just running on its own.
Any new onboarding that happens is without any paid advertising.
But I know that there's other people all around the world that would benefit from
this and are completely underserved.
We grow, the tech component will need to be more standalone it won't
be wrapped up by somebody else.
I'm going to have to do that.
I need a lot of advisors to help me make the right decision because I'm a
non technical founder, but even then, even if you are a technical founder,
I think you kind of know what you know, and things are changing daily,
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: right?
Even with AI and how that's integrated,
Raphael: All of this stuff moves so fast.
And I feel like it's, I feel like if you're going to be in tech, like
one of the things that you need to embrace is just that you're going to
have to constantly learn about stuff.
It's, yeah, it's
Priya: yeah I
Raphael: there.
Yeah.
Priya: Yes, completely agree.
And I think one of the things that helps me sleep at night as a
non technical founder is knowing that I have a community of people.
That's my moat.
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: My moat is the community, right?
The community of advisors, the community of experts, and they're
all I'm going to be supportive and they're all data points in how I make
the best decision for my company.
And I think that's how I sleep at night because if I didn't have that,
I would constantly be trying to fill in the gaps and I'm only, one person
and even with a team of a hundred people, I think you still don't know,
based on what technology is coming ahead and you just still don't know.
But I think with that community piece, you have a better sense on how to proceed
to your vision in the, in a better way.
Raphael: Yeah.
I feel like particularly in tech and I think particularly for technical people
in tech, we tend to undervalue the strength and just sort of power that
comes from the human connections and the value that you provide to an actual human
being within the context of a business.
So yeah, I think
Priya: Yeah.
I think and I agree that it's the real person.
And a lot of times, you know.
I got lost in the like reading what was the best and who put out this
information and they're a leader, a thought leader, but the best information
always came out from my circle.
And yeah, I think as a non technical founder that is one of the most
important things that I have.
Yeah.
And so going from, you know, non technical founder in kind of the old world not
using technology and trying to move that into a tech enabled world has been a
lot smoother because of the community.
I've also been really fortunate to be part of an incubator and accelerator program.
And I think anybody who's a non technical founder, if there is an
accelerator program or incubator program, Where there's some sort
of structure and community built in that is going to increase your
chances of success even more.
So I've been really fortunate to, to be part of that.
Raphael: That's awesome.
And with that in mind what's next?
Like how are things moving forward?
What's, what are you excited about?
Priya: Yeah, so I just left the Mosaic Accelerator yesterday.
That was the end of the eight weeks.
And so what's next is we loved it so much that our cohort has decided to stay in
touch and have a standing meeting time.
So that is a continuation.
Everything that I had learned from the incubator is basically
being implemented as we speak.
So I am obviously changing my landing page and making sure that
is optimized to mobile phones that are being used now and operating
systems, making sure that it shows up.
It's clear.
I'm speaking to my audience and all of that.
Needs to be updated quite often.
So that's what's next is my UX UI piece.
I will be going to the Collision Conference in Toronto June 15th.
So in a couple of weeks from now, I will continue to grow my community and
look for partnership opportunities.
I'm always looking for, More tutors who want to help the outcomes of
the lives of these kids that can do so well if they're supported.
And just a continuation and growth and scalability for Edify.
Those are Really, I'm going for the moonshot.
I really think that and believe that once people see that in three to
six months, their kids have changed how they approach learning, and
they have that inner confidence, and they have that inner confidence.
Increased their grades by one year or two years within three to six months,
or they're going back to school, or they're standing up to their bully, or
they're passing grade 12, or they're entering the program that they want.
Once they see that, then I know that other families will be positively
affected and just want to join in to that opportunity for their families.
Raphael: I love it.
That's awesome.
I'm, yeah, I'm super excited to see what comes next, and I love
the way you talk about your vision and your mission and where things
are going, yeah, thank you so much
Priya: I believe in it.
Thank you.
It's so easy.
It's so easy when your kids are showing you how good things can be,
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: right?
You know, before we end, I want to say that I found out that you
know, my daughter was autistic when she was two and a half.
And they gave me this report.
And in the report, it said that she was more likely to have autism.
Raphael: Oof.
Priya: And here's this girl who's two and a half and I knew that
there was a better way they did not talk about the good case scenarios.
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: It all came from a deficit model.
I really want to change that because I know that if it wasn't for my, I
guess, optimism, that I could have fallen into this downward spiral.
Raphael: Yeah.
Priya: And I think it's very important for families to know that there are Fantastic
outcomes, there's great outcomes, and there is a pathway to success.
And I want to highlight that to all these families so that they
don't have to see what I saw.
Raphael: Yeah.
I, that's, you're amazing.
I love it.
Priya: Oh, thank you.
I really, I'm really hopeful, and I know that we can help families.
And when I see families after a couple years and they start crying
when they see me, and they're crying happy tears, I didn't know at first.
Raphael: that's so lovely.
Priya: Oh, no, they're crying.
What did I do?
We changed the trajectory of our lives.
So I think it's really easy to keep going with Edify.
It's already built in terms of helping families.
It doesn't need any additional money.
Until we get to a certain point.
So it's really easy to do this.
I'm fueled on good vibes.
Raphael: That's awesome.
Priya: yeah thank you for this opportunity to share.
And, you know, for all of the impact support that you have for small
entrepreneurs and for small businesses, it's really hard to, that support, but to
have you, you know, shout out an impact company like we are trying to solve United
Nations Sustainable Goal Number 4 for inclusive education, and to get that shout
out from your podcast is such a gift, and I really appreciate you for that.
Raphael: No, it's, I'm, I appreciate you.
This was amazing.
I love talking to you.
It's always just lovely to hear what you're building and it was,
Wonderful to have you on the podcast.
Um, with that this is the small tech podcast.
So if you want to talk about a small tech product , that has
a positive impact on your life.
Yeah.
What do you got for us?
Priya: This is a Canadian company called Virtual Gurus.
It's based out of Alberta and basically they help entrepreneurs like me.
They have all types of support, not just administration, but lead
generation, automation, sales.
The owner, Bobby Reset, who's Indigenous and is amazing, an amazing
CEO, has found women who are needing to work more and needing to share
their knowledge and she's amazing.
Giving them their value back.
So she's hiring women and people who can help others and have these
specializations based right out of Canada.
And they're so good at what they do.
And I really feel like the CEO is so very helpful.
It's just the vibe of the company.
Everybody that has been there, who's helped edify.
They've been so amazing, and it makes me feel so happy that we have
people like this in leadership.
I know Bobby Reset also was a judge on Bear's Lair, which is the
Indigenous version of Dragon's Den.
And I just think it's so wonderful to see Indigenous people get that power back but
still continue to spread that generosity.
Raphael: That's amazing.
Priya: Virtual gurus.
Yeah, amazing.
Raphael: That was a great one.
I'm going to check it out.
Thank you so much, Priya.
Priya: Thank you.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Raphael: Folks that is it for my interview with the awesome Priya
Tronsgard of Edify Learning Spaces.
I loved this chat.
I hope you did too.
You can find her and edify at edifylearningspaces.com.
You can subscribe to the podcast at smalltechpodcast.com and if you need help
building a digital product, or you want some advice, you can find us at goec.io.
We are a small team and we will take all the help we can get.
So if you can like, and subscribe, that would really help us out.
If you give us five stars on your podcast, app of choice, that would also be amazing.
Also make sure to share the podcast with your friends.
If you know anyone who would really enjoy this content, share it with them.
We'd really appreciate it.
In the meantime.
We all want to do something good in the world.
So go out there and build something good folks.
I will see you in the next one.
See ya.