(Inspired by the Social Capital Index located here on xigi.net, two analysts are posting their take on the enterprises listed in Deals in Play. Deals in Play is a new feature of the Social Capital Index that lists social ventures actively seeking capital. Following is Jason Rissman’s analysis of one of these enterprises.)
SCHOLARCENTRIC
By Jason Rissman
Sad, surprising fact: Every nine seconds a student drops out of an American school. Another: Over 30% of all public school students drop out before graduating high school. For some minority groups the dropout rate is even worse: close to 50% for Hispanic, Native American, and African American students. The overall impact of this dropout rate is simply unfathomable.
Enter Scholar Centric, a for-profit educational business that provides drop-out prevention curriculum, assessment and professional development services to middle and high school students. The company reports early successes, including 64% rise in retention, 137% improvement in school attendance, 52% improvement in grades and 33% increase in classes passed.
While its results with students are impressive, Scholar Centric might face an even more challenging task in selling to schools with very limited resources. The company offers an online fundraising guide with grant writing tips and lists of grants. Hopefully this strategy will be combined with strong PR and sales efforts. If the company can continue to document such impressive results it seemingly will have a compelling story to tell. With increased brand recognition, Scholar Centric could see shortened sale cycles and more inbound leads. While partnering with other organizations serving at risk students might be difficult as they could be competing for the same scare school dollars, such an effort could further demonstrate the impact of Scholar Centric’s program and help raise awareness for the company. For instance, partnering with College Summit could help develop noteworthy case studies and raise the profile of both organizations as parts of a comprehensive strategy to maintain and motivate students. Does anyone know of other possible partners?
Whatever its marketing tactics are, the acquisition cost of new clients seems to be an important metric to track.
The Scholar Centric team is a definite strength. They bring extensive experience within the educational space, especially in developing products for students.
Meanwhile, local support could only help. Is anyone involved in a local school that might want to learn more? Get in touch at 800-995-8779 or info@ScholarCentric.com.
