036: Never Stop Innovating with Will Armstrong

Today, we're exploring Will Armstrong’s journey as an accomplished musician and founder of the successful WillYouLearn music education business. He also shares the story of launching MeTempo, a groundbreaking platform that enhances the student-teacher relationship with daily feedback and personal connection between lessons. Will offers insights into how MeTempo supports both teachers and students with its innovative approach, while discussing the challenges of building a scalable product, managing teacher availability, and pitching to investors. With over 22 years of experience as a musician and educator, Will highlights the importance of persistence, adaptability, and constant innovation in today’s music education landscape.Will shared a brief overview about "Me Tempo," a platform designed to help music students with daily guidance between lessons.Some early student challenges and issues that the platform encountered.Importance of having a technical partner who understands music for the development of the app.He emphasizes learning business skills, including dealing with finances.The intricacies of running a tech business, balancing fundraising, marketing, and maintaining the quality of education.How learning to pitch the product to investors requires building a thick skin and persistence.Partnerships with music influencers and local marketing efforts to help promote the platform.He shares their marketing strategies to find what works best for their budget and needs.Value of user feedback in constantly improving the platform.How the platform helps teachers and students build stronger relationships.Will clarifies that "Me Tempo" is not a marketplace for teacher, but a curated platform for high-caliber educators.Guest Links MentionedWill Armstrong WebsiteMeTempo WebsiteToday’s GuestWill Armstrong is an accomplished professional musician and music educator with over 22 years of experience, including 11 years as the founder and director of WillYouLearn LLC, a successful music education business based in New York City offering personalized lessons across multiple instruments, emphasizing an "ear first" approach to music education. With proven expertise in scaling music education services, Will has a strong background in piano pedagogy, curriculum development, teacher recruitment, and strategic planning. As a highly skilled pianist and composer with a Master of Music in Jazz Piano from NYU, he has recorded with Grammy award-winning Irish musician Joanie Madden and performed with jazz legends like Ron McClure, Stefon Harris and Ari Hoenig. Will has also toured nationally with bands like Oh Whitney and led his own group, WildTonic. Will is the founder and Managing Partner of MeTempo LLC, a platform connecting music instructors and students in a continuous feedback loop allowing for flexibility, accountability and personal, connection.About Rachel EhringDr. Rachel Ehring is a pianist, teacher, music administrator, and lover of piano teaching gadgets. She holds a DMA in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado Boulder and a MM in Accompanying from the University of Kansas. She currently serves as Director at St. John’s Conservatory of the Arts in Orange County, CA. Previously, she held positions at Concordia University Irvine and Henderson State University. Rachel is passionate about empowering music teachers to create engaging and exciting lessons for students of all ages. When she isn’t playing the piano, you might find Rachel reading books with her son or walking her beagle Frieda.Visit her website at https://rachelehring.com/Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehringVisit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender MusicTOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIALThank you for tuning in!Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you.If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show.Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly.