Ep. 31: Immigrant Entrepreneur Raised $12 Million for EdTech Startup: Vlada Lotkina of ClassTag

In this episode, Vlada Lotkina, founder of ClassTag, shares valuable tips for first-time founders and fundraisers on successfully raising funds in a difficult category - education. She covers strategies for scaling ClassTag's user base to 5 million teachers and parents, convincing investors who initially said no, and selling the company smoothly after raising $12 million in venture capital. HERE ARE SOME KEY POINTS IN THIS EPISODE: 03:04 - Challenges of scaling an EdTech company 05:37 - Fundraising strategy into raising $12 million in venture capital 17: 10 - Lessons learned in funding options 20:39 - Selling ClassTag 26:55 - Vlada's advice for new founders This episode is sponsored by ThunderVC, an investment bank for founders by founders. Raising capital? Get a list of vetted VCs for FREE here: https://web.thunder.vc/list-of-investors-vcs-for-founders  Raising debt? Find the perfect lender in minutes here: https://debt.thunder.vc Get the latest fundraising insights, news, and tips - https://join.thunder.vc ABOUT VLADA Vlada Lotkina is an immigrant entrepreneur from Ukraine who was raised in an entrepreneurial family. Coming to the US, she chose to have a corporate career and rose the ranks before she founded ClassTag. ClassTag is a FREE app that enhances parent-teacher communication. It brings everyone together through messages, announcements, videos, pictures, a library, a calendar, parent-teacher conferences, actionable engagement stats, and much more in one place. Connect with Vlada on: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklicea/ X: https://twitter.com/vlotkina?lang=en Her podcast, CEO Unboxed, is available on: Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ceo-unboxed/episodes/Welcome-to-CEO-Unboxed-e2ckena Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vladalotkina ABOUT FUNDRAISING DEMYSTIFIED Our goal is simple: to equip you with the knowledge, inspiration, and guidance to navigate the labyrinthine world of fundraising. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking seed funding or an established founder looking to scale your business, this podcast will provide you with the tools you need to conquer the fundraising landscape. Thank you for being a loyal subscriber to Fundraising Demystified. We appreciate your support and are excited to continue bringing you more inspiring stories from successful founders. ABOUT JASON Jason Kirby is the co-founder of Thunder VC. He is a serial entrepreneur with 4 multi-million exits and decades of experience in fundraising and business building. He has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs in his career on fundraising, investing, capital strategy, and business development. You can reach out to Jason through: Email: [email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrkirby/