The Education Business Podcast

Episode Overview Phil Robinson shares the unconventional journey that led him from military service and central government IT programmes into education and eventually founding Tide Education. In this conversation, Phil talks openly about the realities of building an education business from scratch. He explains how his experience working inside schools revealed both the pressure teachers face and the operational gaps that still exist around student support and communication. The episode explores leadership, trust, systems, scaling, networking in education, and the financial realities of launching an edtech company without major backing. Phil also reflects on what founders often underestimate when entering the education sector, including time, trust, visibility, and the challenge of simply getting people to engage with a new product.   00:01:00 – Phil’s career journey from engineering to the Army00:03:35 – Moving into education and discovering the problem00:05:00 – Why Phil founded Tide Education00:08:00 – Similarities between military leadership and schools00:12:10 – What founders should do first with an idea00:16:20 – Why networking matters in education00:17:05 – The realities of funding and marketing an edtech startup00:22:05 – The hardest part of building Tide Education00:27:15 – Scaling, automation and reducing barriers for schools00:29:25 – Final reflections on building an education business All About Phil:Philip Robinson is a dad, technologist and veteran with a background spanning defence, UK Government and education. A former Major in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Philip served for 16 years, culminating in leading mission-critical IT system in Afghanistan.On retiring he worked in central government leading IT programmes and portfolios for a number of years before moving into education as Head of Business Intelligence in a medium-sized Multi-Academy Trust. Here he brought together fragmented information to create 360-degree views of students, enabling better insight, coordination, and outcomes across schools and trust.Philip is the founder of Tide Education, a real-time inclusion support platform for teachers, providing one view, one timeline, and one shared understanding of each child’s support journey.Website: www.tide.educationLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-robinson-22ba9a30/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Overview Sarah shares how she built a tutoring franchise from an “accidental” start into a long-term business. The conversation explores franchising from both sides, decision-making under uncertainty, and what actually drives sustainable growth in education businesses. The discussion focuses on practical realities: communication failures, hiring decisions, scaling challenges, and the operational pressure of running a small business. It also looks ahead to long-term thinking, including succession, flexibility, and what “retirement” really means for founders.   00:01:00 – Sarah’s accidental path into business 00:03:30 – Leaving a franchise and starting from scratch 00:05:00 – Building a family-run franchise model 00:07:45 – Where franchisors get it wrong 00:11:30 – What makes a great franchisee 00:19:30 – Online tutoring and building Study Central 00:24:30 – Rethinking retirement as a founder 00:32:00 – The reality of small business pressure 00:36:00 – Why outsourcing matters more than hiring 00:39:30 – Final advice: you are not alone   All About Sarah:Sarah always wanted to run her own business, a passion that began in her teenage years and continues to shape her career today. She is part of the family behind MagiKats Tutoring, a company that delivers small group tuition through a network of franchised Tuition Centres across the UK and internationally. Alongside this, she supports private tutors through the Study Central subscription.While tutoring itself isn’t her focus, Sarah is most passionate about helping educators grow and succeed in building their own businesses, so that they, in turn, can help the next generation achieve their full potential.. Outside of work, she sings professionally and enjoys keeping active with the gym, as well as spending time on coffee outings and dog walks. Website: https://www.studycentral.info/ and https://www.magikats.co.uk/ Instagram: @sarahmagikats LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-marsh-51227523/ TikTok: @sarah.magikats Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011448608582See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.