EdSales Edge Show

Josh Chernikoff
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EdSales Edge is the strategy podcast for education founders, consultants, operators, and leaders selling into education. For years, this show was known as Breaking the Grade, a space to challenge the status quo in education and think differently about how change actually happens. That mission hasn’t changed.But the work has. Over time, one thing became clear:Education founders don’t just need inspiration.They need clarity. They need real strategies for selling into schools.They need predictable ways to generate leads.And they need to understand how trust is built in a system that doesn’t move fast, and doesn’t give many second chances. EdSales Edge was rebuilt to match that reality. Hosted by Josh Chernikoff, a two-time education founder who’s built and exited companies in this space, the show breaks down how selling into education actually works—across B2C, B2B, B2B2C, and B2E—always through the lens of how education institutions really make decisions. This is not a show about hacks, shortcuts, or quick wins.Education doesn’t work that way. On EdSales Edge, you’ll hear: Real strategy for selling into education systemsConversations with education decision-makers who explain how buying actually happens from the insideStories from founders, CEOs, and operators who’ve built real traction selling into schools—what worked, what didn’t, and what actually moved deals forwardTeachings from the EdSales Elevation Experience, the system used to help education founders move from unclear and invisible to trusted and in demand You’ll learn how to: Define your Perfect ClientPull the right credibility leverMove from being hidden… to trusted… to building a real lead engineJosh is joined by his good friend and mentor, John Gamba—Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, and a former education founder who’s led companies through real growth and successful exits. John brings the institutional lens, shaped by years inside districts, universities, and education systems, seeing how decisions get made when the doors are closed and what earns trust over time. Together, they sit on both sides of the table, the builder side and the system side, so the show stays grounded in reality, not sales theory. If you sell into education and you’re tired of guessing,guessing who to talk to,guessing how decisions get made,guessing why interest doesn’t convert—this show is built for you. EdSales EdgeClarity. Credibility. Real traction.If you sell into education, this is where you earn your edge.

  1. 3d ago

    Your Expertise Isn’t Enough. Your Buyer Needs Evidence

    Your credibility walks into the room before you do. It can determine whether a buyer replies to your email, accepts your connection, takes your meeting, and eventually buys, or simply moves on. You could have the right solution and know your market inside and out, but if your buyer hasn't seen enough proof to trust that you're the right person to solve the problem, you can lose the deal before you ever get the chance to make your case. And if your credibility isn't already visible, another credential, certification, or decade of experience may not close that gap. In this episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, breaks down what actually makes an education founder credible in a buyer's eyes, and how to give buyers the evidence they need to believe in your expertise before you ever sit across from them. Because your buyer doesn't need another list of qualifications. They need proof they can see for themselves. . WHY THIS MATTERS Your perfect client needs to experience how you think before they experience your product.  That kind of trust doesn't come from one impressive credential. It builds through lived experience, results, trusted relationships, and the visibility that lets your buyer see all of it. 🔑 KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ Expertise ≠ credibility.  You own your expertise. Your buyer decides your credibility. 2️⃣ Start with the perfect client.  Different buyers need different evidence. Know who you're trying to reach before deciding what they need to see. 3️⃣ Build three kinds of credibility.  Lived. Proof. Borrowed. Then use visibility to multiply all three. 4️⃣ Claim vs. evidence.  “We understand district leaders” is a claim. Tell a story that makes them think, “Wow, they really understand district leaders.” 5️⃣ Make earned credibility visible.  The problem may not be that you need more credibility. It may be that the credibility you've already earned is invisible. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders Teacherpreneurs EdTech leaders Consultants selling into schools Founders struggling to turn expertise into qualified leads🚀 NEXT STEP Take 10 minutes. Google yourself. Open your LinkedIn profile. Open your website. Pretend you're your perfect client. Ask: “What do I find here that gives me a reason to trust this person?” Maybe you've spent 20 years inside schools but never tell those stories. Maybe you spoke at a respected conference. Don't just post the picture. Teach what you taught. Make the evidence visible.  If you want help doing it, text "90 DAYS" to 771-333-4233 for the 90-Day Founder Challenge. Teacher-founders: limited 1:1 planning sessions are open, too. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and share this with an education founder who keeps adding credentials instead of making their proof visible. Your expertise is yours. Your credibility belongs to the buyer. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    Your Expertise Isn’t Enough. Your Buyer Needs Evidence

  2. Sep 27

    Repetition Without the Robot: How Education Founders Get Better at Sales

    Practice your sales message too little and you stumble through it. Practice it too much and you worry you’ll sound like a robot. So where’s the line? It’s not about how many times you’ve said it. It’s about what you do once the conversation starts. In this live episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, and John Gamba, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, explore the difference between repetition and memorization—and why knowing your message cold can actually make you more human in a sales conversation. Athletes don’t invent the fundamentals in the middle of the game. Musicians don’t figure out the chords during the concert. The reps happen before the performance so you can be present when it matters. Education sales works the same way. Know the message. Practice the proof. Then listen. Because repetition doesn’t make you robotic. Stopping listening does. WHY THIS MATTERS You finally get the meeting. Then someone asks what you do and your 30-second answer becomes three minutes. Or you stick so closely to the pitch you prepared that you miss what the buyer is actually telling you. That’s the problem. Knowing your message creates freedom. You can pause. Ask questions. Read the room. Listen. Your message stays consistent. Your delivery adapts. 🔑 KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ Memorize the core, not the conversation. Know your headline, value proposition, proof points, and key stories. Leave room for the conversation. 2️⃣ Vary the delivery, not the value. How you say it can change. The value you communicate shouldn’t. 3️⃣ Pause before you apply. Deliver what you know. Then stop. Listen. Ask. The pause moves you from your message to their problem. 4️⃣ Practice relaxed concentration. Know what you came to say without becoming so focused on saying it that you miss what’s happening in the room. 5️⃣ Be interested, not interesting. Don’t prove how much you know. Ask sharper questions, listen closely, and show the buyer you heard them. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders Teacherpreneurs EdTech leaders selling into schools Founders preparing for buyer meetings Anyone who wants to sound confident without sounding scripted🚀 NEXT STEP Before your next sales conversation, explain what you do without your website, deck, or notes. Can you communicate the value without searching for the words? If not, you probably don’t need a better pitch. You need more reps. Once you know it cold, stop rehearsing and start listening. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and send this episode to an education founder who thinks practicing their message will make them sound rehearsed. Repetition builds confidence. Listening keeps it human. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    Repetition Without the Robot: How Education Founders Get Better at Sales

  3. Sep 20

    Your Leads Aren't Cold. They're Just Not Ready Yet

    A superintendent is not a lead generation strategy. Neither is a curriculum director, a principal, or a dean. Those titles tell you who someone is. They don't tell you why they'd care about your solution right now. In this episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, compares two superintendents who look identical on paper.  Superintendent A just renewed a three-year contract, so nobody's pushing for a new solution. Superintendent B's board just made chronic absenteeism a top priority, with funding attached and pressure to show results.  Same title, completely different lead. Josh calls this the snow shovel test: a Phoenix homeowner and a Boston homeowner can technically buy the same shovel, but only one has twelve inches of snow coming tomorrow.  The product didn't change. The situation did. Your perfect client isn't just a person. They're a person in a moment. WHY THIS MATTERS Education sales runs on long cycles, boards, budgets, and competing priorities. Timing isn't a detail in your targeting, it is the targeting. Title targeting gives you a database. Buying situation targeting gives you a lead list. MediatorSpark, which helps middle schools build peer mediation programs, is a good example. Every principal fits the title, but the real lead is the school where discipline referrals are climbing and culture just became a stated priority. THE BUYING SITUATION TEST 1️⃣ What changed? New leader, funding, priority, requirement, deadline, or failed initiative. 2️⃣ Who owns the problem? Not the biggest title, the person accountable for the outcome. 3️⃣ Is there evidence they care? Strategic plans, funding, hiring, board discussions, RFPs. 4️⃣ Can you find the pattern? Look at what was true right before your best customers bought, then look for it again. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders trying to generate better leads.  Teacherpreneurs selling into schools and districts.  EdTech leaders leaning too hard on job titles. Sales teams struggling with cold outreach. 🚀 NEXT STEP Take the first 25 names on your prospect list.  Beside each, write "why now?" What changed, who owns the problem, what evidence shows they care.  "They're a superintendent" isn't an answer. Then look at your five strongest customers and ask it backward: what was true right before they bought? Compare the answers, look for the pattern. Want help turning that pattern into a plan?  Text "90 DAYS" to 771-333-4233 for the 90-Day Founder Challenge. Teacher-founders: limited 1:1 planning sessions are available. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and share this with a founder building lists of people who could buy but don't yet have a reason to care. Don't just find the person.  Find the moment. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    Your Leads Aren't Cold. They're Just Not Ready Yet

  4. Sep 13

    From Ideal to Perfect: Why Your Sales Process Feels Harder Than It Should

    You’re afraid that getting too specific about your perfect client will shrink your market. But what if it does the opposite? In this episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine and John Gamba, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE challenge education founders to rethink the way they define their target customer—and why “ideal client” may not be specific enough. “Schools” is a market. “K-12 schools” is more specific. But what happens when you keep narrowing the target until you know exactly who you want to serve, what problem they have, and why your solution fits? That’s where “perfect client” comes in. The goal isn't to find a flawless customer. It’s to find a business fit so clear that you can describe your best-fit customer so clearly that your sales team knows exactly who to pursue—and who not to. And getting that specific can do more than sharpen your targeting. It creates repetition. You start seeing the same problems. Hearing the same language. Refining the same message. Building credibility with the same type of buyer. You stop reinventing your sales process every time. WHY THIS MATTERS Many education founders believe that niching down means giving up growth. A narrow target can actually create a stronger path to growth because specificity makes it easier to understand your customer, repeat what works, deliver measurable value, earn renewals, and build credibility in a market. You don't need to sell to everyone. You need to know who you can help best. KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ Perfect client = a specific target. Don't stop at a broad market. Get specific about the customer, problem, environment, and outcome so your message speaks directly to the people you want to reach. 2️⃣ Specificity creates repetition—and repetition creates confidence. Serving similar customers helps you recognize patterns, sharpen your message, and improve your sales process without becoming robotic. 3️⃣ Narrow doesn't mean small. A focused target can become a center of excellence: deliver great results, earn renewals, generate referrals, and expand into surrounding opportunities. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders Teacherpreneurs Education sales teams Founders struggling to define their target market   NEXT STEP Look at your current “ideal client.” Now make it more specific. Can you clearly describe: Who they areWhat problem they’re trying to solveWhen that problem becomes urgentWhy your solution is the right fitIf your answers are still broad, your target probably is too.  Then text “90 DAYS” to 771-333-4233 to get the 90-Day Founder Challenge. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and share this episode with an education founder who is trying to sell to everyone. Get specific. Find your target. Repeat what works. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    From Ideal to Perfect: Why Your Sales Process Feels Harder Than It Should

  5. Sep 6

    The Perfect Client Test: Why Your Best Customer Could Be Holding You Back

    What if your best customer isn't actually your perfect client? Josh Chernikoff learned this lesson while building his second business, an afterschool enrichment company. At first, he pursued schools that didn't have enrichment programs. They wanted a program—but they didn't necessarily need one. The difference changed everything. When Josh started working with schools that genuinely needed a program, he understood their problems, spoke their language, and could see the world from their perspective. That became his version of the “clean windows” idea: when you know exactly who you're serving, you can see the problem clearly because you're looking through the same window. Now he's seeing the same pattern with education founders. The right clients don't just need what you sell. They believe you can help, they're ready to act, and they're part of a pattern you can serve repeatedly. That's why Josh asks one uncomfortable question: “If 100 more customers exactly like this showed up tomorrow, would you be excited—or overwhelmed?” WHY THIS MATTERS Education founders often confuse a customer who worked with a customer they should pursue repeatedly. A customer can need your solution and still not be ready to buy. They can love your product and still require enormous effort to close or serve. Your perfect client is different. They're part of a pattern. They have the problem, enough urgency to act, the authority or access to make a decision, the resources and willingness to move. When you find that pattern, sales becomes easier to focus, messaging becomes clearer, and growth becomes more repeatable. THE PERFECT CLIENT TEST 1️⃣ Ask: “Would I want 100 more?” Look beyond revenue. Would you want 100 more with the same needs and demands? 2️⃣ Separate need from readiness. Need isn't enough. Look for urgency, authority, resources, and willingness to act. 3️⃣ Find the pattern behind the yes. Study what your best customers share—and build your acquisition around it. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders figuring out who they should pursue. Teacherpreneurs worried that getting specific means giving up opportunities. EdTech leaders constantly reinventing how they serve customers. Founders unsure whether their best customers represent a repeatable growth opportunity. 🚀 NEXT STEP Pull up your best customers. Don't start with revenue. Start with a question: “Which one would I actually want 100 more of?” If you're not sure who you should spend the next 90 days pursuing, text “90 DAYS” to 771-333-4233. You'll get the 90-Day Founder Challenge—a practical framework for deciding what deserves your attention next. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and share this episode with an education founder who may be chasing great customers instead of the right customers. One great customer proves you can make something work. The right pattern shows you what to build around. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    The Perfect Client Test: Why Your Best Customer Could Be Holding You Back

  6. Aug 30

    Defending the Yes: Can Your Education Business Survive Buyer Scrutiny?

    You can love your solution and still make it incredibly hard to buy. Because your school buyer is wondering what happens to them if they say yes and you are wrong. The Department of Education just released new guidance on responsible technology use. And buried inside it? Five questions every education founder should probably be able to answer before walking into their next sales conversation. That’s why, in this live episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, and John Gamba, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE challenge the belief that having a great education solution is enough to earn the sale. The guidance asks: What problem does it solve? Who should use it? When? For how long? And what evidence proves it improves learning? Those aren’t just policy questions. They’re sales questions. WHY THIS MATTERS You see possibility in your solution, but your buyer sees another decision they may have to defend. So when you say, “This works for everyone,” you hear opportunity while they hear risk. Your buyer needs enough evidence to create confidence of their own. KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ Stop hiding behind what you built  Your school buyer cares less about what your solution contains than the painful problem it removes. 2️⃣ Have the courage to exclude  Saying who your solution is not for can make the right school buyer trust you faster. 3️⃣ Stop confusing usage with impact  More minutes or activity mean nothing if you cannot connect them to a meaningful result. 4️⃣ Bring proof they can repeat  Your evidence does not need to be enormous, but it must give your buyer something credible to carry into the next meeting. 5️⃣ Make yourself easier to defend  The sale gets stronger when your champion can explain why choosing you is safer than doing nothing. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education founders who know their solution works but struggle to prove it Teacherpreneurs turning classroom expertise into buyer confidence Education business leaders selling into cautious schools and districts Founders tired of hearing “this looks great” without getting the yes 🚀 NEXT STEP Pull up the sales deck you used in your last school conversation and underline every promise you made. Then ask yourself: “If my buyer had to defend choosing me tomorrow without me in the room, what would they actually have to say?” If the answer is just a list of features, you are in trouble. Ready to change the conversation? Text "90 DAYS" to 771-333-4233.  Get the 90-Day Founder Challenge — a practical framework for your next 90 days.  Teacher-founders: limited 1:1 planning sessions are available. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and share this episode with an education founder who keeps getting interest from school leaders but cannot turn it into a confident yes. You do not win because you believe harder. You win when the buyer has enough reason to believe with you. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    Defending the Yes: Can Your Education Business Survive Buyer Scrutiny?

  7. Aug 23

    AI Closes Nothing: Why Your Sales Numbers Still Depend on You

    AI can research the district. It can write the email. It can prepare the meeting, summarize the conversation, draft the proposal, and even write the follow-up. So what exactly are you bringing to the sale? In this episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, challenges education founders and teacherpreneurs to rethink how they use AI in their sales process. This isn't anti-AI — Josh uses it every day. The problem is convenience quietly making strategic decisions for you. When AI handles research, outreach, discovery, prep, proposals, and follow-up, founders get efficient while getting less human.  In education sales, that's a dangerous trade. Buyers don't purchase your prompts. They buy your experience, judgment, and understanding of their world. AI organizes information. It can't develop wisdom. The advantage is shifting from information to interpretation.  Everyone can pull the same district data. Founders and teacherpreneurs who win understand what it means for the people across the table. WHY THIS MATTERS Saved time shouldn't become fifty more automated emails. It should become more conversations, school visits, and deeper relationships. The sale still starts when the buyer talks — where curiosity, empathy, and reading what isn't said take over. KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ AI does the work. You do the thinking. Let it draft, research, and organize. Keep the judgment yours. 2️⃣ AI preps the conversation. It doesn't have it. Once the buyer's talking, your job is to listen — not read a script. 3️⃣ Information is cheap now. Interpretation isn't. AI tells you what a district says. You figure out what it means. 4️⃣ Use AI to argue with your thinking, not confirm it. Don't ask it to write the email. Ask what it's missing. 5️⃣ AI should buy you time, not just volume. Use it to get back in the room — not to send more emails. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education foundersTeacherpreneursEducation sales teamsAnyone wondering where AI belongs in the sales process NEXT STEP Look at every place you've used AI over the past seven days. Then ask yourself one question: "Did AI replace work, or did it replace thinking?" If it replaced work, keep going. If it replaced thinking, take that responsibility back. Ready to put that into a plan? Text "90 DAYS" to 771-333-4233. Get the 90-Day Founder Challenge — a practical framework for your next 90 days. Teacher-founders: limited 1:1 planning sessions are available. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and send this episode to an education founder or a teacherpreneur who's using AI to sell faster but needs a reminder not to lose the human part of the sale. Use AI for the work. Don't use AI to avoid the relationship. Because education will always be a people business. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    AI Closes Nothing: Why Your Sales Numbers Still Depend on You

  8. Aug 16

    Take the Swing: Why Education Founders Should Enter Competitions & Apply for Grants

    You found the competition. You looked at the application. Then you told yourself: "We're not ready." And maybe you're right. But what if that's exactly why you should apply? In this live episode of EdSales Edge, Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, and John Gamba, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, challenge one of the most common excuses education founders and teacherpreneurs make: waiting until they feel ready before putting their business in the arena. Because competitions aren't just about winning money, trophies, or a spot on a stage. They're pressure tests. Whether it's the Milken-Penn GSE Business Plan Competition, South by Southwest EDU, ASU GSV Cup, StartEd/EdTech Week, or Shark Tank-style competitions, the value isn't limited to what happens if you win. Grants like SBIR and IES create another opportunity to put your business through a rigorous evaluation while pursuing non-dilutive funding. The application forces you to answer questions you may have been avoiding: Who actually buys this? What problem are you solving? Why does your solution win? What's the evidence? How big is the opportunity? What's different about you? And how do you scale? If you can't answer those questions clearly, the competition didn't expose your weakness. It exposed your next move. WHY THIS MATTERS Education founders and teacherpreneurs get so close to their businesses that they can't always see what's missing. A competition or grant application creates productive pressure, feedback, and a chance to challenge your assumptions. Sometimes the most valuable outcome isn't advancing. It's finally seeing what needs to change. KEY STRATEGIES & MENTAL MODELS 1️⃣ Fear is a liar. Avoidance is fear's best friend. "We're not ready" can be an honest assessment—or an excuse to avoid being tested. 2️⃣ The application is a business-development exercise. Use it to sharpen your buyer, problem, value proposition, market, evidence, and path to scale. 3️⃣ Not winning isn't failure. Use the feedback to make the next application—and the business—stronger. 4️⃣ Keep swinging. Some founders apply once. Others keep improving until they advance, reach the finals, or win. 5️⃣ Choose the right arena. Find opportunities that offer the right mix of funding, feedback, mentorship, exposure, or connections. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Education foundersTeacherpreneursEdTech leadersEducation Founders considering competitions, grants, or accelerators NEXT STEP Find one competition or funding opportunity that fits your business. Don't wait until you're certain you'll win. Apply because the process can make you better. Then text "90 DAYS" to 771-333-4233. Get the 90-Day Founder Challenge — a practical framework for your next 90 days. Teacher-founders: limited 1:1 planning sessions are available. 🔁 SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Follow EdSales Edge and send this to an education founder who's waiting until they feel ready. Prepare like you plan to win. Take the swing anyway. Connect with Josh Chernikoff Founder, Edsales Revenue Machine Host, Edsales Edge Show 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/ 📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com Join the Edsales Entourage Get closer to the conversations, strategies, and operators inside the ecosystem: 👉 https://www.skool.com/entourage

    Take the Swing: Why Education Founders Should Enter Competitions & Apply for Grants
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

EdSales Edge is the strategy podcast for education founders, consultants, operators, and leaders selling into education. For years, this show was known as Breaking the Grade, a space to challenge the status quo in education and think differently about how change actually happens. That mission hasn’t changed.But the work has. Over time, one thing became clear:Education founders don’t just need inspiration.They need clarity. They need real strategies for selling into schools.They need predictable ways to generate leads.And they need to understand how trust is built in a system that doesn’t move fast, and doesn’t give many second chances. EdSales Edge was rebuilt to match that reality. Hosted by Josh Chernikoff, a two-time education founder who’s built and exited companies in this space, the show breaks down how selling into education actually works—across B2C, B2B, B2B2C, and B2E—always through the lens of how education institutions really make decisions. This is not a show about hacks, shortcuts, or quick wins.Education doesn’t work that way. On EdSales Edge, you’ll hear: Real strategy for selling into education systemsConversations with education decision-makers who explain how buying actually happens from the insideStories from founders, CEOs, and operators who’ve built real traction selling into schools—what worked, what didn’t, and what actually moved deals forwardTeachings from the EdSales Elevation Experience, the system used to help education founders move from unclear and invisible to trusted and in demand You’ll learn how to: Define your Perfect ClientPull the right credibility leverMove from being hidden… to trusted… to building a real lead engineJosh is joined by his good friend and mentor, John Gamba—Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, and a former education founder who’s led companies through real growth and successful exits. John brings the institutional lens, shaped by years inside districts, universities, and education systems, seeing how decisions get made when the doors are closed and what earns trust over time. Together, they sit on both sides of the table, the builder side and the system side, so the show stays grounded in reality, not sales theory. If you sell into education and you’re tired of guessing,guessing who to talk to,guessing how decisions get made,guessing why interest doesn’t convert—this show is built for you. EdSales EdgeClarity. Credibility. Real traction.If you sell into education, this is where you earn your edge.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Chernikoff
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    132
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 EdSales Edge Show
  • Show Website
    EdSales Edge Show

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