It's been a very good week for us. We've presented to five schools about what Thumbprint can do and proposed pilot programs so that the school can see for themselves. All five have said yes. That's pretty good, considering I expect to be shown the door 50-75% of the time. I don't think our success is due to our being sales geniuses - we aren't. Nor do I think it's because of our marketing, or our track record, or our user interface. I think it's because of this: We built something that teachers want. When they see that, they want in.
We spent a very, very long time trying to understand what it is to be a teacher, and then to build technology that made that experience easier and more powerful. We built something that we thought addressed those needs very well. But until you start talking to real teachers, and lots of them, you're still guessing. Did you get it right? Who knows?
Now we are beginning to know. It is very gratifying to talk about where you think teachers and technology are at, and to have the teachers agree with you. It sounds easy, but it is incredibly rare to really lock in on what your customers need. Apple does it like clockwork, but the rest of us struggle. To have done this even once in my career is something I'm very proud of, although the lion's share of the credit goes to the Development team, who relentlessly hammered both me and each other to make it better, simpler, more powerful. And thanks to those teachers who have agreed to take the next step with us. We think it's going to be great.
