Hi I need some ideas on how to build an engaging community online for children.

Others have addressed social media here. Sure, that is important, but is only one piece of the puzzle. A comprehensive --- and tested --- marketing plan is the key. As a former CMO for an international higher education student-centric nonprofit that depended on direct/integrated marketing for 80% of its success, I suggest that looking at any and all channels is imperative. If you do not have a quality direct marketing list, then going to where potential students --- and their parents --- are going will be the biggest key. On the web, that will be the most-visited relevant sites that enable you retarget via companies like AdRoll. The other concern is the ever-expanding use of ad blockers. Therefore, simply "advertising" is not as powerful as it once was. Becoming a resource that will draw people to your site and blog will naturally increase your exposure via Google and other search engines over time. This is just a cursory overview, since I do not know your exact product and business plan. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to further discuss your challenges.

Investors do not fund ideas. You must prove significant market interest in a product. Statistics that highlight potential don't translate into your product's revenue. Investors want to see how they will get a return on their investment. As for a business plan, be mindful that this is an investment document that in addition to a narrative must contain solid CPA-driven financials. Investors also want to see that you have put more than thought into a start-up before they invest. Need a way forward? I'm happy to assist.

Qualifications on the answer: Created the first website to be ever commercially licensed by a ministry of education for in-school use (Brainium 1996). Was a VC associate at a 500,000,000 firm called Knowledge Universe focused on all things education-related that intersected with technology. Short Answer: Yes and no. Longer Answer: Learning analytics is one of those "lightening in a bottle" kind of industries. Everyone knows it's going to happen, whomever makes it happen at scale first, will have a huge advantage, and even more niche plays in this space will still create massive value for shareholders and significant transformation of education as we know it. That's the good news. The problem is that funding startups in the education space that are dependent on "permission" being granted by existing institutions and their employees is very much hit or miss. It's getting easier to raise a $500-800k seed round for a good idea with a good team, but the problem is that getting the next bigger round is very challenging in that the models of most of these seed-funded companies are not growing fast enough to prove to institutional investors that a growth model of the idea being very big in a relatively short time-period is credible. So if you're intent on pursuing this, I'd be sure to focus entirely on how you can get growth and adoption with requiring little to no institutional buy-in which sounds almost impossible on the surface of the area you're exploring but I believe isn't actually impossible. I'm very passionate about this space and want something like what you're describing to succeed so would be happy to do a quick call to hear where you're at and see if I can provide you some actionable ideas on how to reduce the friction / improve adoption of your analytics product.

I've had great experience as a user of Udemy and write my own courses but offer those privately for my clients. It's always better to build a course that answers a specific need. Think about the avatar for your business. You can't meet everyone's needs. Build a course with no more than 8 segments or modules with 4 - 8 learning segments within each module. You will allow the user to achieve rapid and measurable results by completing each section and ending each module with an assessment (quiz) that further validates learning the skill. Udemy is easy to use so you will have a broad audience looking for specific needs.

Are you pursuing a for-profit or non-profit model for your school? Do you have an education background? Are you certified to run Montessori school? Initial recommendations: •Investigate the California Department of Education requirements for operating an educational institution. •Investigate the requirements for the two accrediting bodies for Montessori: AMS <http://amshq.org/School-Resources/AMS-School-Accreditation> and AMI <http://amiusa.org/>. While not required, private schools are reputation-based and accreditation plays into your brand equity. •Investigate the requirements for the regional independent school accrediting body. While not required, many Montessori schools struggle to keep enrollment through elementary and middle school as parents expectations shift to college preparation, which Montessori does not have strong brand recognition for, and adopt a academic rigor / progressive education model of education accredited by a regional independent schools association for credibility. While starting with kindergarten frees you from the state early childhood childcare regulations, which can be onerous, it also cuts off your funnel. As a school brand, Montessori is precisely strongest at the very early ages, so you may have a challenge attracting families who already started their child with a Montessori school that has a preschool. Many Montessori school start with 18-month infant & parent programs. Best regards, Keith Gillette