Whiteboard Advisors

Education Policy Consultingwhiteboardadvisors.com

Whiteboard Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based social impact consulting firm providing policy advocacy, communications, research, and strategic advisory services to investors, nonprofits, and companies in the U.S. education sector, with an owned media portfolio including the Whiteboard Notes and ETCH newsletters.

Company typePrivate
Founded2016
HeadquartersWashington, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Whiteboard Advisors does

Whiteboard Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based social impact consulting firm that provides policy advocacy, strategic communications, market research and due diligence, and strategic consulting services to organizations operating in the U.S. education sector. The firm serves a deliberately diversified client base that includes private equity investors (Carlyle, GSV Asset Management), education nonprofits (Code.org, Hispanic Heritage Foundation), publishers and training providers (Scholastic, General Assembly), and EdTech companies. Its core offerings are delivered as bespoke professional services engagements rather than packaged products, with pricing that is quote-based and negotiated per project. Whiteboard Advisors is owned by the nonprofit Strada Education Network and was incubated within a global public affairs firm in 2009 before launching as an independent agency in 2016 with support from the Morgridge Family Foundation and impact investors.

The firm has built a content and media portfolio that functions as both a marketing channel and a standalone asset. This includes the weekly Whiteboard Notes newsletter, the daily What We're Reading PK-12 and Higher Education digest, the W/A Jobs job board, and the ETCH suite of online resources for education investors (acquired June 2024), which together reach tens of thousands of education investors, policymakers, grantmakers, and executives. Distribution is direct, relationship-based, and concentrated in the United States, with a small senior team of roughly 11-50 employees supplemented by subject-matter advisors drawn from state government and journalism.

Whiteboard Advisors generates revenue exclusively through professional services fees and does not sell technology products, software, or APIs. The firm invests in recurring thought leadership (blog, newsletters, the annual Solutions Summit co-hosted with ISTE+ASCD) as its primary go-to-market motion. Recent strategic activity has emphasized talent acquisition (former Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn, former NJ Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges, former U.S. News & World Report journalist Lauren Camera) and the ETCH acquisition, indicating a strategy of deepening the senior advisory bench and expanding proprietary media and data assets rather than scaling headcount aggressively or raising institutional capital.

Whiteboard Advisors firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Whiteboard Advisors
Legal name: Whiteboard Advisors, LLC
Website: https://whiteboardadvisors.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2016
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Whiteboard Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based social impact consulting firm providing policy advocacy, communications, research, and strategic advisory services to investors, nonprofits, and companies in the U.S. education sector, with an owned media portfolio including the Whiteboard Notes and ETCH newsletters.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Whiteboard Advisors industry classification

Industry

Product category: Education Policy Consulting
NAICS: Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)
SIC: Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYBPAHAOAG
Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs)
Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/M&A, Transaction & Restructuring Advisory
SECONDARYBPAHAOAA
M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side)
Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/M&A, Transaction & Restructuring Advisory

Keywords

Education policy consulting
Advocacy communications
Research due diligence
Strategic consulting services
Edtech market intelligence

Where Whiteboard Advisors is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Washington
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Whiteboard Advisors business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Professional Services: Whiteboard Advisors generates revenue through consulting engagements, research services, communications work, and advocacy services for education-focused clients including organizations, entrepreneurs, and companies in the education sector.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Whiteboard Advisors product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Whiteboard Advisors is a social impact consulting firm that sells policy advocacy, strategic communications, research and due diligence, and strategic consulting services to education-focused organizations, investors, and EdTech companies. The firm also operates content products including the Whiteboard Notes and What We're Reading newsletters, the ETCH investor database/newsletter suite, and the W/A Jobs education job board.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

ETCH: EdTech newsletter and investor database for education and investment professionals
Whiteboard Notes
W/A Jobs

Products and services

Advocacy Services Helps education-sector organizations understand, navigate, and shape public policy through advocacy campaigns and stakeholder engagement.
Communications Services Elevates people, products, and perspectives through creative public relations and marketing campaigns targeting education audiences.
Research & Due Diligence Services Demystifies the complexity of education issues and trends through market research, policy analysis, and due diligence for education sector clients.
Strategic Consulting Services Helps businesses and organizations in education navigate critical inflection points, from product strategy to leadership transitions, mergers, and acquisitions.
ETCH A suite of online resources for education and investment professionals, including a newsletter and transaction database, with a weekly reach of over 30,000 education investors, policymakers, and executives.
Whiteboard Notes A weekly newsletter recapping major education policy and industry news, read by thousands of education leaders, investors, grantmakers, and entrepreneurs.
What We're Reading: PK-12 and Higher Education A curated daily roundup of PK-12 and higher education news, reports, and research delivered free Monday through Thursday evenings.
W/A Jobs A job board featuring career opportunities from organizations across the education industry, accessible at jobs.whiteboardadvisors.com.

Companies that use Whiteboard Advisors

Customer profile

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Whiteboard Advisors technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Whiteboard Advisors partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major.

ISTE+ASCDmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhiteboard Advisors co-hosts the annual Solutions Summit with ISTE+ASCD, bringing together education executives, product leaders, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. The fourth annual Solutions Summit takes place June 28 in Orlando, Florida ahead of ISTELive and ASCD Annual Conference.
ETCHmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhiteboard Advisors acquired ETCH, a suite of online resources for education and investment professionals including a newsletter and transaction database. ETCH joins the Whiteboard Media group and has a weekly reach of over 30,000 education investors, policymakers, and executives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Whiteboard Advisors competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Whiteboard Advisors financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Whiteboard Advisors leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Whiteboard Advisors subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries1 record

Whiteboard Advisors funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Whiteboard Advisors M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whiteboard Advisors

What does Whiteboard Advisors do?

Is Whiteboard Advisors a public or private company?

Whiteboard Advisors is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Whiteboard Advisors founded?

Whiteboard Advisors was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Whiteboard Advisors based?

Whiteboard Advisors is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.

How does Whiteboard Advisors make money?

One revenue line is on record: professional Services.

Does Whiteboard Advisors have an API?

No public API is recorded for Whiteboard Advisors.

What industry is Whiteboard Advisors in?

Whiteboard Advisors's product category is Education Policy Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAOAG, Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs), with a secondary code of BPAHAOAA, M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side). Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.